Ethical Standards

At some point, every media professional is going to have to make an ethical decision about a story.  This will be especially true if the story has not yet been divulged through any other means.  Additionally, because the line between journalism and entertainment has become fuzzy, the instant a “story” is sensed, it is broadcast.  Facts are nothing more than speculative statements that can be retracted later.  Today it seems that it is better to tell the story, even the wrong story, than to miss being the first to report.  As a media specialist I will work for my employer and the public.  I will have to consider those potentially conflicting stakeholders while assessing my own ethical standards.  At what point and/or under what circumstances might I consider crossing that fuzzy line to reveal something for a reason that compromises my ethics?  My goal is to never cross that line.  However, I know that this is a dilemma that I will have to confront.

Just about a year ago it was revealed that the “Terminator,” and Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger, is a philanderer who conceived a child with a member of his household staff.  For over a decade, the mother continued to work in his home as an integral part of the Schwarzenegger staff.  As such, she spent a tremendous amount of time with Arnold, Maria, and their children.  Now, the truth is out.  Arnold has another son.  His children have another brother.  His wife has been betrayed.  Their pain is ours to see.  http://youtu.be/E-rYgv8onqY and http://youtu.be/kFIhdqkCAcM and http://youtu.be/szDuQXlw9J8.

I think about my life, my family and friends.  There are more than a few indiscretions and heartbreaks within our network.  How would we handle it if all those painful truths were revealed?  What would that do to us?  The husband who cheated and left his family but the kids didn’t find out for years.  The wife who had an adolescent pregnancy that she’s never discussed with her husband.  The successful businessman who had his youthful rap sheet sealed.  The woman whose father committed suicide when she was a toddler but she’s always been told he died in an accident.  The list is long.  It is a Pandora’s box of potential stories. 

What criteria would I use to determine whether to report or withhold information that might be considered a secret to some but newsworthy to others?  In my mind I run through all the Ethical Codes I read.  Working backwards, I think about Scotty Reston’s simple "Publish and be damned" philosophy and I move on to consider the other philosophies and their standards and criteria; Dialogic, Narrative Communication, Contextual, and Universal-Humanitarian Ethics, and then I consider lists for the Ethics for Advertising and Marketing, and Ethics for Journalists.  Each has its pros and cons but which would I use to determine whether to share the “story”?   I look over the Multidimensional ethical Reasoning and Inquiry Task Sheet MERITS and begin to evaluate my position. 

There are conflicting needs and values at stake.  My employer and the affiliated advertisers will make money from my sharing the story, the public will be informed about a person and issues that are germane to our time and current events, the information has been validated and sources confirmed, it is accurate, and right now it remains unrevealed.  On the other hand, should I move forward, individuals will be hurt, careers destroyed, and innocent parties will be drawn into the mess revealing the story creates.

Plaisance wrote, on page 49, “Challenges arise when more than one perceived duty emerges in a situation, when rival goods compete for our allegiance. For instance, the impulse to protect a person may conflict with the universal duty to tell the truth.”

What would the bottom line be?  Am I willing to compromise my ethics to meet the demands of my employer and the voracious appetite of the media consumer?  Will I be hurt more by publishing or by remaining true to my ethics?  I could keep or lose my job, I could keep or compromise my credibility, I could remain aloof or become part of the secret, or I could maintain or destroy my own, and other’s personal and professional relationships.  There is no clear and simple answer.  I hope that such a dilemma is far in my future because I am unable to say exactly what I will or will not do.