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Ethics in the Media   Term Paper ID:27434 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: Examines the Richard Jewell case & concludes that the news media has lost whatever ethical & professional codes that it once had.... More...

6 Pages / 1350 Words 6 sources, 10 Citations, APA Format $24.00 Return to List of Papers

Paper Abstract: Examines the Richard Jewell case & concludes that the news media has lost whatever ethical & professional codes that it once had. Paper Introduction: Ethics in the Media Introduction The media is constantly criticized. There are those who contend that there is a pervasive liberal bias, others who believe that the media has no heart, and still others who decry the increasing "sleaze" factor in network programming, including the news. The intention in this report is to think about ethics in the media in relationship to the Richard Jewell case. Investigative Reporting In an article first written and published over 40 years ago, Jessica Mitford (1979) denounced the practice of trial by headline, which she noted was increasingly the practice in newspapers. According to her, the media was irresponsible when Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. In his own words, he felt"like a hunted animal, followed constantly, waiting to be killed" (Wagner,1997). What he recommendedwas an acknowledgement by journalists that along with their license tocriticize comes a responsibility to serve the public. This does not mean providing the publicwith spectacles. Neither Jewell nor his mother Bobi had any privacy. The question that Wagner (1997, 1 ) asked "Do the media have a specialmandate to cross ethical and legal boundaries other people must observe?"cannot be answered easily. The NewRepublic, 215(22), 16-18. Sheasked: "Should police be permitted, prior to indictment and trial, to feedthe press step-by-step details of their work?" and "Should the scramble forheadlines, in turn, be permitted to build up such pressure on police toproduce that careful, dispassionate, scientific investigation of the factsbecomes a near impossibility?" These could easily be applied to the FBIand the Richard Jewell case. Knopf. An ethical, andresponsible, journalism has to always remember that it has a task toperform in serving the public. Mitford, J. In the Richard Jewell case, the media performed a role that Goldstein(1985) called "shaping" the news, rather than reporting the news. Although heacknowledged that journalists are always going to have to worry aboutratings, or sales, this is only one aspect of the task. Bad plumbing: The case against leaks. (1996). This came to the attention of the media when an anonymous caller fromthe FBI itself called the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and told thenewspaper people that Jewell was a suspect. There are those who contend thatthere is a pervasive liberal bias, others who believe that the media has noheart, and still others who decry the increasing "sleaze" factor in networkprogramming, including the news. NY: Alfred A. Poison penmanship. Gitter noted that Jewell had an excellent opportunity ofmaking an impact on the practice of FBI and prosecutor media leaks and anexcellent chance of winning his lawsuit because of it (Gitter, 1996).Indeed, Jewell did win one of his lawsuits, against NBC, because of thefact that they had essentially announced over the air that he was guilty.Instead of trial by headline, this was trial by news commentator, and anerroneous judgment.Conclusion Gitter (1996) made the interesting point that although the media haspersuaded the public of the value of governmental leaks in such instancesas Watergate, this has little applicability to criminal investigations.Instead, he concluded, the government itself should clamp down on leaks inthis situation, treating them as similar to insider trading, involvingprofessionals trading information for professional gain. Does the media have the right,or even responsibility, to harass an individual who has not yet beencharged of a crime, much less convicted of one, and make that individual'slife a public spectacle?Richard Jewell The Richard Jewell case is a familiar one to most people. Ethics in the MediaIntroduction The media is constantly criticized. It does mean providing the public with relevantinformation and meaningful commentary within some ethical guidelines. His neighbors and his family were also partof this process, with all their movements and thoughts picked apart. Toward the end, however, the media did do an about-face and putpressure on the FBI to make a statement one way or the other about Jewell'sstatus as a suspect in the case. (1996). Insight on theNews, 13(1 ), 1 -13. Collins, J. Vanity Fair, 438, 1 -122. Jewell responded by instituting lawsuits against the FBI, NBC, theAtlanta Journal-Constitution, and his former employer, Piedmont College(Wagner, 1997). The FBI did eventually take the unusualstep of releasing a statement saying that Jewell was no longer a suspect.By that time, however, the damage had been done. Journalists need to develop thediscernment to separate a Richard Jewell case, which primarily related toscandal, public spectacle, and emotional curiosity from cases like thePentagon Papers, which involved the conduct of public policy and thecredibility and veracity of public officials. The result was thatJewell's reputation was completely destroyed, while all the details of hislife, some less savory than others were made public property. References Brenner, M. Breaking the news. Time,148(22), 34-41. The intention in this report is to thinkabout ethics in the media in relationship to the Richard Jewell case.Investigative Reporting In an article first written and published over 4 years ago, JessicaMitford (1979) denounced the practice of trial by headline, which she notedwas increasingly the practice in newspapers. Becauseof the high profile of both Jewell and the Atlanta bombing case, the mediadetermined that the case was worthy of full coverage and intense scrutiny,by whatever means necessary. TheAtlanta Journal-Constitution chose to publish this information in a specialedition of the newspaper (Wagner, 1997). Making news, breaking ethics. What is interesting about this article, besides her conclusion, isthat it described a situation very similar to that of Richard Jewell. A couple of the questions that Mitford asked about thatcase sound familiar, and are applicable to the Richard Jewell case. It is thestory of a media hero who became a media villain almost as quickly.Richard Jewell was the security guard in the Atlanta Olympics bombing thatoccurred in Centennial Olympic Park. Gitter, M. According to her, the mediawas irresponsible when it essentially tried a subject in the newspaper.She believed that the press needed to take strong action to police itself,or that the public would demand protections through legislation and courtaction. Fallows, J. For him, journalism has degenerated into a profession that isprimarily involved with creating stars, increasing public cynicism, andchasing stories that are not particularly newsworthy, but have thepotential for creating a spectacle, and high ratings. Wagner, D. Their livesbecame an open book for the media to present to the American public. (1996). He was unable to get a job, scorned by many, and under constantscrutiny in all his affairs. On the other hand, Fallows (1996) clearly implicates journaliststhemselves. (1997). What was the result for Richard Jewell? Jewell, who had become famous, andpopular, for his role in preventing an even worse scenario from unfoldingin the bombing, was identified as a suspect by the FBI. (1979). The strange sage of Richard Jewell. American nightmare: The ballad of RichardJewell. He wouldeliminate the leaks from the inside and lessen the reputation of suchleakers. (1997). However, eventually another person admitted to thecrime under consideration and the police eliminated the first suspect fromconsideration. The proper answer might be yes, in someinstances and no in other instances. The media concluded that he fit the profile ofa lone bomber and that he was probably guilty. Asuspect was identified by the police and the media essentially concludedthat he was guilty. Brenner (1997) noted that not only was Jewell scrutinized by themedia, he was judged by it. Theywere not allowed to live quietly with their mistakes and foolishness, butwere put on display for judgment. This FBI source gave thenewspaper details that seemed to indicate that Jewell was involved. NY: Pantheon Books. It is that decision to use all possible meansto obtain information, and to harass people day and night, that representsthe ethical crossroads in the Jewell case. This began the focus on Jewell,which was intense and long-term. If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.