Dr. Stephen J. A. Ward

By Dr. Stephen J. A. Ward 

Journalism ethics is so needed today, and the responsibilities of journalism are so evident, that scepticism is either disingenuous or shows a woeful lack of reflection.

Journalists have responsibilities because of their social role. Our society protects their freedom so that journalists can inform citizens in a responsible fashion. Every group that has significant influence on the public, like journalism, accrues certain duties. Power and impact entail social responsibilities, whether specific individuals accept them or not.

Journalists have an ethics because they can do both substantial public harm, and substantial public good.

On the negative side, journalists can destroy reputations, deal in malicious rumours, demonize minorities, plagiarize and fabricate stories, ‘doctor’ images, intrude on private lives and add to the trauma of vulnerable people. They can manipulate elections, spark racial tensions; accept kick-backs for doing (or not doing) stories. They can sensationalize and misrepresent issues. In times of tension, they can support the removal of civil rights, support unjust wars, and act as a megaphone for demagogues.

There is also the positive side – contributing to the public good. Ethics is not just about restraints on journalism or what you should not do. It is also about what you should do. Ethics encourages journalists to seek truth without fear or favour, to act independently, and to do the sort of reporting that our society needs.

No one, and certainly no profession, that has power can avoid ethics. Freedom does not give journalists a sort of ‘ethical immunity’? Freedom is not a “get out of jail” card with respect to ethics. Freedom to publish is valuable as a means to ethical journalism. Otherwise, such freedom can be harmful and its ethical value questioned.

If some journalists puzzle whether they have an ethics, they should note that neither the courts nor the public are confused on this score. Courts see journalists as having social duties. The public’s trust in journalism is falling because they suspect a lack of ethics in newsrooms.

In the end, the most urgent question of journalism ethics is not whether journalism has an ethics. The most urgent questions are whether ethics is possible in today’s changing newsrooms, what sort of ethics is needed, and what we can do to support ethical standards.

We should spend our energy on trying to protect journalism from ethical debasement during this difficult time for news media.

Now these are questions worth asking. These are projects worth our collective effort. 

Dr. Stephen J. A. Ward is the James E. Burgess Professor of Journalism Ethics and director of the Center for Journalism Ethics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.