Ethics in the Media

Ethics in the Media
Introduction
Ethics and morals are critical elements in the success of any person. Ethics enable people to perform their chores diligently without engaging in unlawful activities. They enable people to carry out themselves in the way society expects them. All professions have their code of conduct that stipulates the way issues should be handled. For instance, journalists are expected to report the news after verifying the authenticity of the information in order to avoid instances of misguiding the public. However, ethics as a responsibility of each person are faced with several challenges due to the complexity of society.

Chapter One
Facts of the Case
The case involved a Boston Herald photojournalist Stanley Forman. Forman answered a call regarding a fire incident in one of the sections of the city. He ran down the alley to the back of the houses after arriving. On the fifth floor of the house, he saw a two years old girl together with her godmother aged nineteen years. The two were trying to escape the fire that had engulfed the house. Fortunately, for them, a fire engine had already raised an escape ladder for them to climb down from the building (Patterson and Lee 18). Additionally, another firefighter was stationed on the roof in an attempt to rescue the victims. Unfortunately, the fire escape ladder provided by the fire engine collapsed. Forman took four photos as the girls tumbled from the ladder using his 135 mm lens camera.

Key Issues
The case study raised several issues relating to ethics.

First, the photojournalist refused to take photos of the two victims after the impact of the accident. Secondly, the photo was published by a reputable media house thereby exposing the victims to the wrath of internet users who may attempt to put the issue out of proportion.

Alternative Course of Action
Ethical issues were raised as a result of the actions of the journalist and the media house. Every person accepts the fact that the role of the media is to inform people about pertinent issues affecting society. Forman did a good job of responding to the call. However, he and his employer acted unethically in the manner in which they carried out some issues about the unfortunate incident. Both parties when responding to the matter could have used various alternatives. In the case of Forman, he only photographed the victim when falling. Though he achieved the purpose of his mission, he should have taken photos of the victims after they fell. In the case of Boston Herald, the company published the story and posted the photos of the victims without evaluating the consequences of their actions. Alternatively, the company should have reported the incident without exposing the victims to the public in the sorry state they were portrayed.

Evaluation of Each Alternative
The two alternatives would have provided a better way of dealing with the issue. The first alternative required Forman to take the photos of the victims after they fell. This would have enabled the journalist to complete his task more efficiently. The extra photos might have provided a better picture to publish in the papers. It is ethical for a journalist to fully report the findings of a case other than selecting the parts that suit their aspirations.

The second alternative required Boston Herald to report the story without necessarily publishing the photo. Normally, graphic photos such as the one published have a negative effect on the viewers and the victims. The photos may psychologically traumatize the relatives and friends of the victims. In a bid to avoid such instances, it would have been prudent for the company to report the story without the photos.

Recommendation
After the evaluation of the alternatives, I would recommend the alternative of not publishing the photos of the victim. This is because of the effects of the photo on the victims and the public. Moreover, a story does not necessarily require a photo to pass the message intended.

Chapter Two
Facts of the Case
The issue involved a damning report by the Chicago Public Media about the working conditions in the Apple Inc. factories in China. Ira Glass broadcasted the report during one of the shows in the media house. The show had been based on one source identified as Mike Daisey. Mike reported that he had visited the factories personally and had received information from people about the poor working conditions of Chinese workers in the factories. At one point, he claimed that some workers were poisoned during the manufacturing of Apple devices. The story gained national coverage and in a few days had gathered 880,000 downloads by people who wanted to find out more about the story (Patterson and Lee 41). The story made Daisey an overnight celebrity as he was interviewed by various organizations about the incident. Later, Rob Schmitz who was a reporter for National Public Radio’s marketplace identified some discrepancies in the Daisey report. Three months later, Ira Glass gave a statement retracting the Daisey report claiming that it was based on allegations that were fabricated.

Key Issues
The case study raises several issues about ethics in the media fraternity. First, the issue of reporting true information by a journalist is raised by the actions of Daisey and Glass. Secondly, the issue of verification of reports by editors and other company employees before being released to the public also comes up.

Alternative Courses of Action
Based on the nature of the report, several alternatives would have been considered by the concerned parties. First, Daisey should have reported a true picture of what he saw and heard from other people. In the case of the Ira Gloss and the Chicago Public Media, they should have thoroughly edited and verified the report before releasing it to the public.

Evaluation of the Alternatives
The alternatives listed above should have been used to rescue the situation. The first alternative involving truthfulness when reporting news should be applied. The media should report what can be verified based on real facts or scientific explanations. Reporting biased or false allegation leads to negative exposure of the victims. Secondly, the alternative on verification of information would have cured the mess before it happened. It is the responsibility of editors and media organizations to verify claims. It is only through counterchecking that the truth about a report can be identified. This is due to the high number of people reporting stories without considering the accuracy of the information.

Recommendation
After a careful analysis of the two alternatives, I would recommend the alternative of truthful reporting by journalists. It is only through true reporting that the people can access the correct information. Therefore, a journalist should strive to give the people what is truthful. The advantage of this alternative is because of social media, which allows people to share as much information as possible without regulatory bodies evaluating the truth in the matter. However, whenever a journalist is truthful in the reports, false stories will never be reported. Every source of information will be authentic in its own way.

Chapter Three
Facts of the Case
The case involved a sponsorship deal between the for-profit University of Phoenix and non-profit Head Start service organization that provided pre-school to poor children. In their engagement, the pre-school was supposed to mention the University. The university was promoted as the lead sponsor of the pre-school during one of the annual fundraising breakfast through social sites such as Twitter and Facebook. The university cyber cafe was used during the event in a bid to promote the school. Later, the pre-school nominated the University for an award by the Head Start Corporate whereby they won. Later, the university was accused of charging exorbitant tuition fees and overemphasizes on low-income students to benefit from federal aid (Patterson and Lee 71). These left the students with large debts and low chances of getting jobs. In addition, the university was accused of employing part-time employees and rushing through the syllabus thereby providing poor quality education. The results of the allegations were suits and reduction in student enrollment.

Key Issues
Several issues regarding ethics are portrayed in this case. First, the issue of Advertisement in the disguise of sponsorships arose as a result of the engagement between the two parties. Secondly, the issue of the ethics in the activities for-profit organizations such as the University of Phoenix engages in to earn revenue for sponsorship.

Alternative Causes of Action
The parties in the case study could use several alternatives in order to perform their activities ethically. First, the University of Phoenix should have restrained from requesting the pre-school to mention them as their primary sponsors. Additionally, the preschool should have restrained from nominating awards to the university due to the relationship between them. The second alternative would be engaging in legal and ethical activities by the university in order to gain revenues for sponsorships.

Evaluation of the Alternatives
The first alternative involved the parties restraining themselves from engaging in activities that resulted in the advertisement. Sponsorships should not be a hidden form of advertisement. Being mentioned severally during the breakfast meeting as well as through social media was a mischievous way of advertising the university. The pre-school also should not have nominated their sponsor for an award given by their parent organization. The parties should have acted professionally to achieve the purpose of their intentions. Secondly, the university should have engaged in other ways of earning revenue such as engaging in business. Charging students excess fees as well as benefitting from the federal aid granted to poor students was unethical.

Recommendations
From the two alternatives given, I would recommend that the parties should use the first alternative of not engaging in unethical advertisements. In as much as both parties are each other’s clients, ethics and morals in their engagement are crucial. It is wrong for-profit organizations such as the University of Phoenix taking advantage of poor children in a bid to promote themselves. Strict rules on how for-profit and non-profit organizations engage require designing and implementation to avoid such scenarios.

Chapter Four
Facts of the Case
The case involved a relationship between a young female journalist named Jessica Luce and a Police sergeant Phil Schenck. The two lived and worked in small town with a population of below 12,000. Luce had worked as a reporter for the Herald-Republic for several years where she met Phil. The pair started giving company to each other quietly without the knowledge of their co-workers. One of Luce’s colleagues found out about the relationship and advised her that it was against the rules to have a relationship with a source. After some time, Schenck’s boss, Police Chief Wallace Anderson resigned after he was accused of high temper, keeping explosives and shooting a blue heron (Patterson and Lee 98). Schenck was promoted to captain and police spokesperson in the town. Luce saw the need to expose her relationship to her employer in order to avoid being accused of spearheading the resignation of Wallace. She had a conversation with her boss Craig Troianello about the issue and was relieved to learn more about work relations that caused a conflict of interest. Luce and Phil denied ever discussing work issues although both dealt with information beneficial to each other.

Key Issues
Several issues arose due to the facts of the case. First, the issue of the responsibility of journalists to expose their relationships if they posed conflicts of interest emerged. Secondly, the issue of the role of employers in the regulation of employee relationships also emerged.

Alternative Course of Action
The concerned parties could have used several alternatives to avoid the dilemma regarding this matter. First, Luce should have informed her boss about her relationship with the police officer immediately their relationship became serious. Secondly, the Herald-Republic should have published a code of conduct that outlined the kind of relationships that posed conflicts of interest.

Evaluation of the Alternatives
The first alternatives identified involved the responsibility of Luce in informing her bosses about her relationship with a source. It is ethical for a person to inform colleagues about an issue that affects their work. If Luce had informed her employer, perhaps she could have been deployed to another field that could not raise eyebrows on the operations of the company. The second alternative lies squarely on Herald-Republic. It is the responsibility of an organization to set out the regulations for the employees to follow precisely. From the facts, it was clear that the company had guidelines about the issue but was not clear about the issue.

Recommendations
From the facts of the case, the alternative that requires the disclosure of information by employees to their bosses about relationships that lead to a conflict of interest should be adopted. This is due to the complex nature of people and relationships. A company may have rules prohibiting such relationships but cannot prevent people from getting into such relationships. In case such a matter is reported in time, it is easy for the company and the employees involved to solve it.

Chapter Five
Facts of the Case
The case involved Anderson Cooper who worked as a journalist with CNN. In 2012, Cooper announced to the public through Andrew Sullivan that he was gay. However, most of the people in the media industry knew about Cooper’s sexuality through various reports from colleagues and online sources. He had been ranked as the second most influential gay American (Patterson and Lee 121). Cooper had refused to declare his sexual orientation in order to preserve his neutrality in journalism. He was born in a rich family whereby his mother was married four times by the time he was born. His brother committed suicide by jumping from the 14th floor of a house, an incident that made Cooper venture into journalism. He used forged credentials to cover democracy initiatives in Burma and events in Rwanda, Somalia, and Bosnia. He left his job in 2000 but returned after the 2001 terror attack. He covered the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina whereby he moved his career to another level.

Issues Raised
The facts of the case raised several ethical issues. First, the issue of whether it was necessary for Cooper to expose his sexual orientation emerged. Secondly, the issue of the privacy of journalists during their assignments also emerged.

Alternative Course of Actions
Several alternatives exist regarding this matter. First, it was not necessary for Cooper to declare his sexual orientation to anyone. He could just have kept quiet about it and leave people to speculate. Secondly, the alternatives of ensuring journalists perform their duties without making them reveal their private affairs should be embraced.

Evaluation of the Alternative
The first alternative involved Cooper not releasing a statement about his sexual orientation. This is because he owes nobody an explanation about his preferences. People including journalists should be allowed to have their choices respected. The sexual orientation cannot affect Cooper’s work since he is an already established journalist. In fact, Cooper rarely conducted reports on gay issues in order to remain objective in his business. The second alternative involves allowing journalists to perform their roles without pressure to reveal their privacy. Privacy is a right that all people are entitled to. Therefore, it is illegal for people to force others to reveal their secrets. A person should be allowed to reveal his privacy willingly. The world can only be a better place if people respect the rights of each other regardless of sexual affiliation.

Recommendations
I would recommend people to embrace the second alternative of respecting other people’s privacy. This can be done by accepting that all people have their private lives and should be left alone. This alternative will also enable a journalist to perform their duties more professionally without having to worry about who will question their work. The experience that Cooper had undergone before he finally announced his sexual alignment should not be encouraged by any media outlet or other organization.

Conclusion
Ethics are crucial in all fields that people engage in. Ethics and morals allow people to co-exist with one another due to the respect that arises as a result of this interaction. People are able to talk and work freely since no one acts against the code of conduct established by society. The journalism profession is one of the areas whereby ethics are very essential. This is due to the nature of the work journalists engage in. They educate the people on important matters affecting society. Therefore, truthful reporting is paramount to avoid misguiding the people. Although much has been achieved in relation to enhancing ethics in journalism, a lot more should be done to educate the young journalists about the need to respect the code of conduct they swear allegiance after completing their studies.
Work Cited
Patterson, Philip, and Lee Wilkins. Media Ethics: Issues and Cases. New York: McGraw Hill, 2014. Print.