Open to the Readers: What would you do?

Lately in the news there have been a couple of interesting controversies surrounding journalistic ethics. University of Wisconsin-Madison held a discussion panel last week concerning the student newspapers decision in publishing a Holocaust denial advertisement. While publishing anything libelous, obscene is against the rules, technically the newspaper was free to publish practically anything they wanted. The debate can be read more in detail here.
Smathers, the Editor in chief of the Daily Cardinal was quoted, defending his decision in publishing the advertisement:

I believe that what we did was the ethical decision,” Smathers said. “I have a very strong belief in the rationality of this campus community.”

If you were in his position, what would your decision have been?

CIME/EthicsforMedia provides J-Ethinomics training for journalists and students who encounter these challenges every day on the field. Our 5-day long interactive courses are taught by veteran journalists who have had decades of experience on the field who will be available t answer any ethics related questions.

Media and Public Figures

In order to demonstrate a commitment to fairness in its reporting, journalists might consider the following questions: What do the media fail to report and how can this effect the overall balance of information in the public sphere?

In the case of the Julian Moti trial in New Zealand, Thakur Singh presented a thorough criticism of the media’s coverage of this public figure. Having been in the public eye for his position as Attorney General of the Solomon Islands, Moti was subject to media scrutiny prior to his appointment regarding a past sex case. Singh sees that this coverage focused too heavily on the past allegations and did not highlight the fact that: Moti was cleared of the charges and that there is standing evidence of the government having improper involvement in developing a case against him.

While the coverage can be viewed from many angles, it serves to remind journalists that it is in the public interest and in the interest of preserving fairness to be aware of how balanced their reporting is.

CIME/EthicsforMedia has developed an online training course that will provide journalists with practical lessons on how to best incorporate ethical techniques into their daily coverage of key stories and events. CIME/EthicsforMedia promotes enrichment of news media: it operates on the belief that public trust can grow out of more responsible journalism practices, including those that prioritize balance in coverage. A higher level of public trust will naturally be beneficial for the future of journalism, ethically and economically.