Journalism Ethics

In class, we watched a clip from The Daily Show where Jon Stewart mocked CNN's approach to journalism. Stewart particularly highlighted the fact that reporters today, in their rush to be the first to get news out, often get things wrong.

There are countless examples of this, but one of my favorites is KTVU's huge on-air blunder this summer. While reporting on the Asiana Airlines Flight 214 crash, they announced what they believed to be the names of the four pilots on the plane. Unfortunately, the news station had not checked their sources. When read phonetically, these names became offensive, racial puns. It was an obvious prank--one that the news team would have detected if they had been less concerned with being the first station to come out with a piece of "big news" on the developing story.

Although hilarious, it was a huge blow on the station's credibility. Luckily, KTVU issued a sincere apology and handled the situation extremely well. But in journalism, it's always better to be preventive than penitent.

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It is essential for journalists to be accurate. But even more than that, it's essential to report with integrity. In their book "The Elements of Journalism," authors Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel write:

"Every journalist, from the newsroom to the boardroom, must have a personal sense of ethics and responsibility--a moral compass."

Amen to that, boys.

*This week, I commented on Liesl's blog!