Mass media ethics....needs and scope

1. Mass Media Ethics
Needs and Scope

2. Presented to:
Sir kamran khan
Presented by:
Hafiza Sana butt
Roll no# 14-002

3. Table of Content
 Developing a basic understanding of what it
means to act ethically for the media
 Learning the tools to identify and analyze
ethical issues
 Criticism on ethics for mass media
 Learning what some of the most relevant media
ethics issues are

4. Mass Media Ethics
Needs and Scope
Codes of ethics serve an important purpose by
setting standards against which conduct can be
measured and evaluated.
 Codes can also help to ensure that standards
are set internally, rather than having outside
bodies step in.

5. For both the media industry as a whole and for
individuals within it, codes can also help keep
attention directed toward principles that are
particularly important as guidelines for appropriate
behavior.
Codes can also serve as a starting point -- a
threshold , if you will, for considering which
principles deserve to be honored by ethical
practitioners in the mass media.
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6. Codes can also help to protect the mass media and
media practitioners from unrealistic expectations
and criticisms.
 On the other side of the coin, codes can also help
the public communicate reasonable demands and
criticisms of the media when that is necessary.
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7. Codes also provide a reference point that can be
raised to protect workers in the media from
internal pressures that could force them to
violate their own consciences.
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8. CRITICISMS
Lack of enforcement -- codes have no teeth;
just high-sounding rhetoric with no real
meaning since the ideals cannot be enforced.
No agreement that codes are fully
understood and embraced by practitioners.
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9. Concern that codes are laden with
ambiguities -- fuzzy, imprecise words
and statements that are subject to
interpretation.
Concern that codes are more show than
substance, that their major role is to give
the public the impression that the media
have high standards of professionalism.
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10. At the very most, codes inspire those
who are willing to accept them to be
sensitive to professional values and
practices.
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11. General code of ethics for mass
media
The primary themes common to most codes of journalistic
standards and ethics are:
 Objectivity
 Seek the truth and report it
Independence
 Never plagiarize
 Minimize harm
 Avoid misrepresentation
 Get all sides of the story
 Respect Anonymity
 Independence
 Neutrality
 Truthful
 Accountable
 Accuracy and standards
for factual reporting

12. Objectivity
Clear separation between news and opinion. In-house
editorials and opinion pieces are clearly separated from
news pieces. News reporters and editorial staff are
distinct.
Obvious separation between advertisements and news.
All advertisements must be clearly identifiable as such.
Persons who are the subject of adverse news stories are
allowed a reasonable opportunity to respond to the adverse
information before the story is published or broadcast.

13. Reporter must avoid conflicts of interest —
incentives to report a story with a given angle. This
includes not taking bribes and not reporting on stories
that affect the reporter's personal, economic or
political interests. See envelope journalism.
Competing points of view are balanced and fairly
characterized.
Interference with reporting by any entity, including
censorship, must be disclosed.

14. Seek the truth and report it
Journalists should be honest, fair and courageous in
gathering, reporting and interpreting information.
Journalists should:
Test the accuracy of information from all sources and
exercise care to avoid chance of error. Deliberate
distortion is never permissible.
Carefully seek out subjects of news stories to give
them the opportunity to respond to allegations of
wrongdoing.

15. Identify sources whenever possible. The public is
entitled to as much information as possible on sources'
reliability.
Always question sources’ motives before promising
anonymity. Clarify conditions attached to any promise
made in exchange for information. Keep promises.

16. Never distort the content of news photos or video.
Image enhancement for technical clarity is always
permissible. Label montages and photo illustrations.
Make certain that headlines, news teases and
promotional material, photos, video, audio,
graphics, sound bites and quotations do not
misrepresent. They should not oversimplify or
highlight incidents out of context.

17. Avoid misleading re-enactments or staged news events.
If re-enactment is necessary to tell a story, label it.
Avoid undercover or other secret methods of gathering
information except when traditional open methods will
not yield information vital to the public. Use of such
methods should be explained as part of the story.
Support the open exchange of views, even views they
find repugnant.

18. Tell the story of the diversity and magnitude of the
human experience boldly, even when it is
unpopular to do so.
Examine their own cultural values and avoid
imposing those values on others.
Avoid stereotyping by race, gender, age, religion,
ethnicity, geography, sexual orientation, disability,
physical appearance or social status.

19. Give voice to the voiceless; official and unofficial
sources of information can be equally valid.
Recognize a special obligation to ensure that the
public's business is conducted in the open and that
government records are open to inspection.
Distinguish between advocacy and news reporting.
Analysis and commentary should be labeled and
not misrepresent fact or context.

20. Never Plagiarize
 Using someone else's work without
attribution or acknowledgement, whether
deliberately or thoughtlessly, is prohibited.
 Statements or words directly quoted from
sources other than the reporting journalist
shall be attributed.

21. Minimize harm
It is essential that all risks of being inflammatory,
misleading, or inconsiderate to subjects and sources
be minimized. This is especially relevant to those
engaging in original reporting. To minimize possible
harm, we encourage our writers to do the following:
Ensure facts are correct by getting verification from
multiple sources

22. Not publish an article based solely on speculation, hunches
or wild guesses
Show compassion for those who may be affected adversely
by news coverage.
Use special sensitivity when dealing with children and
inexperienced sources or subjects.
Be sensitive when seeking or using interviews or
photographs of those affected by tragedy or grief
Recognize that gathering and reporting information may
cause harm or discomfort. Pursuit of the news is not a license
for arrogance.

23. Avoid Misrepresentation
Do not publish any sort of interview story without
ensuring that the interviewee is absolutely happy with
the articles final text. Even if this means giving up the
interview - wiliness will only lose out if it offends
interviewees - remember to respect that they have
taken the time to talk to us.

24. Get All Sides Of A Story
Ensure sources and quotes from both sides of
an argument are included in articles to avoid
being biased towards either side. Ideally, all
opinions expressed in an article should be direct
quotes.

25. Respect Anonymity
Any source that requests to remain anonymous is fully
entitled to this. You are not obliged to bring up the
possibility of anonymity, but you are obliged to honor
requests for it.
It is important not to apply excessive pressure to the
source if they do not wish to be named. At the same
time, anonymous sources can make stories less
credible, so it is important to make some effort to
persuade reluctant sources to volunteer to go on the
record.

26. Explaining to a source why you would prefer
them to go on the record is a gentle and often
effective way of persuading them to do so. In
any case, the decision rests with the source.

27. Independence
It is important that a media person
should be an independent entity with
only the interest of the public at heart.

28. Neutrality
It is also important to provide news that
contains no bias. This includes removing
and re-editing stories that have been
determined to advocate a particular point
of view to the exclusion of others.

29. Truthful
Another important ethical task for a media person is
to be completely truthful and this requires that no
stories should be presented to the public which have a
doubtful origin and may later prove to be untruthful.
Furthermore, in the present age of a continuous string
of “breaking news’ this phenomenon becomes even
more important.

30. Accountable
The media is accountable to the public for
any content that they send out thus they
should be conscious at all times that will be
held responsible for any inaccuracies and lies.

31. Accuracy and Standards For
Factual Reporting
Reporters are expected to be as accurate as possible
given the time allotted to story preparation and the
space available, and to seek reliable sources.
Events with a single eyewitness are reported with
attribution. Events with two or more independent
eyewitnesses may be reported as fact. Controversial
facts are reported with attribution.

32. Independent fact-checking by another
employee of the publisher is desirable.
Defendants at trial are treated only as
having "allegedly" committed crimes,
until conviction, when their crimes are
generally reported as fact (unless, that is,
there is serious controversy about
wrongful conviction).

33. Opinion surveys and statistical information
deserve special treatment to communicate in
precise terms any conclusions, to contextualize
the results, and to specify accuracy, including
estimated error and methodological criticism
or flaws.
Corrections are published when errors are
discovered.