Ethics: What Comes Up Must Come Down

Today in class, we talked about journalism, and specifically what the difference between journalism and news media is. Whether you realize it or not, journalism and news media are two very different things: journalism is conducted by journalists (and reporters) who gather information from various sources, whereas news media is the actual broadcasting or coverage of an event or "news."

To really delve into the importances in this distinction and how it affects our lives, let's start with news. What is news? As I was writing this blog, I did a generic google images search using the word "news" and was humored to see a Facebook logo come up as one of the results! How funny to think that today's "news" is often conveyed through social media just as frequently as it is the news media. Before I get too of topic, let's revisit the topic of "news." News is defined as, "A report of a recent event; intelligence; information." In short, news fulfills our need to know. We live in a culture that is moving at a million miles an hour, and news simply fulfills our need to keep up with our society as it continues to shape and change the way we live.

Now that we've discussed the topic of "news," let's dig deeper into the distinction between journalism and news media. Journalism is defined as, "The occupation of reporting, writing, editing, photographing, or broadcasting news or of conducting any news organization as a business." Journalism is the dirty work. As Dr. Wilson said, journalists focus on serving and educating the people. Their purpose of writing and reporting is to serve the public, not to make a quick buck. News media on the other hand is consumer focused. Whatever is going to bring in more revenue is more than likely what is going to actually reach the public.



The video above deals with the ethical issues we see in today's media. Are tabloids true journalism? If so, they definitely aren't following the journalism code of ethics. What stories are really necessary to be reported? Most importantly, what is "good" media and what is "bad" media? All of these questions are one that we struggle with each and every day, even as consumers, as we absorb news stories with every turn. Whether we realize it or not, when we buy a tabloid, we are breaking down the media ethics more and more as we encourage these news companies to continue to do such reports! As consumers, we actually have more control over what's reported than a lot of the journalists themselves!

So, what now? How do we, as consumers, shape the media? There is always going to be a tug and pull between the media companies and the consumers; the companies publish what they believe the consumers will like, and the consumers respond. In the truest form of supply and demand, if we did not buy those tabloids, the companies would cease supplying them. It is up to the consumers to stand up and transform the news media. Without such a stand, the news media will continue to veer further and further off the course, soon losing sight of ethics all together.