Where is the Ethics in Journalism?

In the old days, when I was a freshman at Kent State, my major was journalism. Even though I learned the basics of journalism in high school, my college major further explained the basics, and the importance of the 5 Ws, and the H – Who, What, Where, Why, and How. I also learned when you wrote a news story, you only told the facts. You didn’t slant a story or have an opinion. Opinions were relegated to the Editorial Page.

 

Over the years, as I watched the news on television, the Journalists, delivered the news, and found themselves in everyone’s living rooms, during the dinner hour. People looked up to these Journalists, and they depended on them for the news, and the news commentators didn’t let them down. By reporting news, and covering the 5 Ws and the H of the printed news media, they made us feel a kinship with them; they were our comfortable connection to the news.

 

But when those men like David Brinkley, John Chancellor, Walter Cronkite, Douglas Edwards, Chet Huntley Roger Mudd reported the news; the viewers never knew their political leanings. We, the listeners, didn’t know if they were Independents, Democrats, Republicans or Libertarians.

 

When those men retired, their news seats were filled with the likes of Tom Brokaw, Peter Jennings, and Dan Rather. These commentators wore their political affiliation as badges on their lapels. With every story that came out of their mouths, their audience knew what their political beliefs were and what party they supported.  They knew by the number of stories presented, how they presented their political party in a good light or even by the absence of the important stories that they seemed to omit.

 

Journalists both in the written media and the television media have a job to do. They should be above slanting the news. It should be covered in a fair and balance way. But now, more than ever…slanting the news is what they seem to do best. This has made me step back and ask the question, what are Journalism Schools actually teaching? Or are they? Where is the ethics that was once taught by Journalism Schools? Is that being taught anymore?

 

I was proud to be a Journalism major, and to have graduated with that degree. I still use what I have learned in my stories, interviews and magazine articles.

 

But when I see how the modern day Journalists are behaving and how they are reporting the news, and slanting it– I am deeply ashamed, frustrated, and embarrassed. Too bad they aren’t!