Week 17 Ethics Questions

What sorts of verification and accuracy standards are appropriate for material gathered on social networks?

With a greater deal of content entering the news room than ever before with the rise of trends such as citizen journalism, issues have risen such as the possibility of certain things entering the news room not being true. There is a belief that citizen journalism is “buffeted, and not to its benefit, by extreme, unsubstantiated assessments” (Chadha and Steiner, 2012). This can make it unreliable, and whilst there are many benefits to having news break quickly through the usage of functions such as social media, care must be undertaken when deciding to run with a story that may have been found by a source from online functions such as social media.

A simple way of looking to gauge whether content seen online is legitimate is by contacting the source. It may be possible to message them over social media and ask them questions about the situation that is being described. This is seen by many journalists as a good way of building connections with individuals who are at the scene of a potential breaking story, and this can therefore be an important tool for journalists to use in not only verifying the legitimacy of a source, but also looking to be able to keep up to date with potential updates that are occurring at the scene. It is believed that citizen journalism is a very important tool in journalism, and could have the potential to grow further. This could be done further through “collaboration” (Kurylo and Dumova, 2016), where the traditional news making processes collaborate with newer generation techniques such as citizen journalism in order to learn whether certain content is authentic.

Overall, it is clear that with social networks becoming a large source for news, media institutions must look to collaborate with social media platforms in order to keep with the times in the media. There are measures always to be taken in order to ensure the authenticity of news gained through social networks is legitimate, mainly through the usage of interaction.

REFERENCES

Chadha, K. and Steiner, L., 2015. The Potential And Limitations Of Citizen Journalism Initiatives. Journalism Studies [online]. 16 (5), 706-718.

Kurylo, A. and Dumova, T., 2016. Social Networking: Redefining Communication in the Digital Age. Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield.

Does a journalist need to get permission from a member of the public who’s posted material on a social network before using that material? What other rights issues need to be considered?

Many people within media institutions feel that if an individual is willing to share information with the rest of the world on a social network, it is therefore the media’s right to be able to report on content that has been put online. Belair Gagnon (2015) states there is a “tension in journalistic boundary maintenance in relation to social media.”This suggests that journalists are seen in a potentially negative manner when using content that has been gained from social media. Often journalists can be criticized for taking information from social media and placing it in stories without crediting the individual who has uploaded the photo to the internet.

In order for journalists to avoid this, a good practice may be to seek permission for certain types of material to be used. Often tweets that describe events that are going on in the world are directly quoted from journalists in their stories with accreditation to the individual who initially posted the tweet. This is also often seen when journalists use videos or photos that are taken from social media websites.Some individuals within the media industry would often encourage journalists to look to see if they have any sources that potentially have connections to the scene of a breaking news story before using content from social media due to how there is a perceived nature of amateurishness from the public often when news institutions resort to using information gained from social media platforms.

There are very complicated privacy rules on social media platforms that often allow for journalists to be able to use content from users, regardless of the users wishes to not have content they have uploaded be screened to a wider audience. There is a concern that when content is uploaded that is very newsworthy, there is a trend of “competitive journalism” (Thorsen, 2014). This is when journalists are looking to cover the content that has been uploaded by an individual in a very diverse way, and are therefore potentially making life difficult for the social media user when they could potentially feel that they do not want their content to be broadcast across the news.

It is clear that whilst journalists have a right to be able to use information gained on social networks, there is still a way to stay ethical about the process. It may be in the best interest of all parties to ask for permission, in order to build up a positive image for the media institution, as well as make life easier for the individual who has uploaded the content to social media that has been deemed newsworthy.

REFERENCES

Thorsen, E., 2014. Online Reporting of Elections [online].  London: Routledge.

Belaire-Gagnon, V., 2015. Social Media at BBC News: The Re-Making of Crisis Reporting [online]. London: Routledge.

Should a member of the public, who shares newsworthy material on social networks be credited by a journalist who uses that material?

It is seen as good journalism and ethically correct often to credit members of the public when using their material for stories. This is seen especially when using imagery, often seen differently to discourse that has been published online by a social media user. Images posted online are often guarded by a sense of ownership from the individual who has taken the photo, and whilst this may not always be the case legally, it is good practice to ask the individual for permission to use the image in order to maintain a good image for the news institution.

 

Attribution is “regarded as a key element of journalistic practice that tells the reader or viewer how a news organization knows what it is reporting, and confirms that journalists are not simply giving their own version of events” (Harcup, 2014). This shows that attributing sources of material that is gained online is an important aspect of using citizen journalism as a tool in the modern day, due to how it maintains a sense of authenticity for a news organization. It can often be seen that if news institutions are not accrediting the individuals responsible with content that has been gained from social media, the news institution would be looking to exploit other peoples work. This would be seen potentially as unfair and would damage the credibility of any news institution and therefore makes asking permission to use social media content a very important thing to do for journalists.

It is claimed that often journalists have not shifted towards a trend of accrediting their social media sources and this is only seen in areas of journalism such as sport (Pedersen, 2013). It is clear that there is much more to be done in ensuring that news institutions look to accredit their sources for content that has been used within their stories. this could potentially be done through the usage of social networking websites adding more copyright restrictions to their users content, allowing the user more power in deciding whether news institutions are allowed to use their content.

REFERENCES

Harcup, T., 2014. A Dictionary of Journalism [online]. Oxford: OUP Oxford.

Pedersen, P M., 2013. Routledge Handbook of Sport Communication [online]. London: Routledge.

Week 16 Ethics Questions

When should a person or group be identified by race, ethnicity, gender or religion?

Often when these types of characteristics are identified by a journalist, common stereotypes can immediately go to the readers mind depending on the context. This can “create bias and shape misconceptions about social groups” (Len-Rios and Perry, 20. However it must be stated that these types of characteristics are often vital when writing a story that involves a description of certain individuals. Journalists can often show full awareness that certain stereotypes of race, religion, gender and religion exist, and will therefore look to rid their work of any potential distortion.

This can be seen when writing a story about a crime that has been committed. It may often be wise to not mention information such as their ethnicity or religion due to how this may go a long way to re-enforcing conceptions about these types of cultures. However, there may be scenarios when a person or group must be identified by race or gender when looking to report a crime, in order to describe a potential suspect when assisting the police. When a reporter is in this situation, it can be argued that”it is illogical to list gender, age, height, weight, attire, and other identifying characteristics while omitting race” (Foreman, 2011) due to how identifying information such as race goes a long way to describing the appearance of an individual. Highlighting information such as religion or ethnicity in these situations may bring attention to a whole group for a crime, whilst identifying features such as race or gender is an important descriptive feature in describing potential criminals. Other cases when this information is very much necessary can be seen for example when Theresa May became prime minister of the United Kingdom, and became the first woman prime minister. This is a historic event that has much to do with the gender of the individual at the centre of the story, therefore in these types of scenarios it is important to highlight this information.

Journalist’s often have a clear obligation to outline information such as race, gender, ethnicity or religion due to how it may be newsworthy. Often information such as ethnicity or religion can be used to add context to information such as an individual achieving something, to show the background of the subject of the story. Overall there are many cases in which this type of information should be outlined by reporters, but it is important for reporters to know when this type of information is newsworthy. When describing events such as a terrorist attack that has occurred in the very recent past, journalists must refrain from making accusations about certain cultures as this enforces stereotypes, which journalists have a moral duty to avoid doing.

REFERENCES

Len-Rios, M. and Perry. E., 2015. Cross-Cultural Journalism: Communicating Strategically About Diversity [online]. London: Routledge.

Foreman, G., 2011. The Ethical Journalist: Making Responsible Decisions in the Pursuit of News [online]. England: John Wiley & Sons.

What is the most appropriate language to use for transgender people and people who do not identify as male or female?

Coverage of transgender people is an important thing to consider for journalists when making stories that may for example involve an interview with a transgender individual, or when a newsworthy story has broken that is based on someone transgender. Often the terminology used by journalists could add stigma to the idea of an individual being transgender, and measures must be taken in order to avoid this potential problem. McInroy (2015) stated that the “media is the predominant source where people, both transgender and non transgender, gain general knowledge about transgender issues. Thus, media representation influences and informs the general public’s attitudes.” This goes to show how important it is to take certain measures when the narrative of a story involves incorporating transgender aspects.

When referring to the gender of a transgender individual, it is important for the journalist to present them in the manner preferred by the transgender individual. The reporter must not just assume that the person being referred to would prefer to be regarded as a certain gender and if possible must look to learn the gender they would prefer to be known as. This can be achieved simply through politely asking the individual. In the modern day, most news outlets look to refer to transgender individuals as the gender they prefer to be identified as. This is done in order to make transgender people within society feel more comfortable. Stories that are produced about transgender people are conventionally “gender conforming, family orientated, non-sexual and apolitical” (Carter, Steiner and McLaughlin, 2013). This shows an idea that stories within the media based on transgender people must not be focusing too much on the reality that they identify as transgender, as this in itself does not make a story newsworthy. There should instead be more focus on the issues at hand that a transgender individual may have found themselves in the middle of and are therefore a part of the story being reported.

Overall, it must be stated that the most important thing to consider for journalists when reporting on transgender people is whether the individuals gender orientation has a great bearing on the story. In most situations, this is likely to be the case and therefore it is unnecessary to make a large deal out of the individuals gender. However when referring to the individuals gender orientation, it is important to learn the manner in which they prefer to be regarded in, and this should be the gender used to describe the individual.

REFERENCES

Carter, C. and Steiner, L. and McLaughlin, L.,2013. The Routledge Companion to Media & Gender [online]. London: Routledge. 

McInroy, L B. and Craig, S L., 2015. Transgender representation in offline and online media: LGBTQ youth perspectives.Journal Of Human Behaviour In The Social Enviornment [online]. 25 (6), 606-617.

Does the diversity of a news staff affect the diversity of issues, topics and people depicted in news coverage?

In recent years, there has been large calls for diversity not only in institutions such as the government, but also within the media. There has often been a conception that news writers tend to be white males, and therefore a great deal of the representations that have been forged through the media are based on the thinking of middle aged white men. However in recent years it is clear that there have been great efforts made by many news institutions to have a diverse range of perspectives from different backgrounds, and it can be argued that as a result, there is a more diverse array of backgrounds within the media offering a greater range of issues, topics and people depicted in news coverage.

According to Lynn M. Zoch and Judy VanSlyke Turk (1998), women tend to be used as sources for news when they are the victim of something, and even when the reporters are female, this same trend tends to be prominent. This suggests that diversity doesn’t tend to affect the general conventions of finding sources for stories. This may be down to the idea that generations of reporting from middle aged white men has ingrained many conventions to news reporting, and a large amount of diversity in the news room would not do too much to affect this.

However, it can be argued that diversity in the news room is imperative to the future of reporting. This is asserted by  Clint C Wilson II, Felix Gutierrez and Lena Chao (2012) with the idea that “most newsroom managers are clearly aware that diversity plays a critical role in the news media’s future and progress.” There have been many examples of breakthrough individuals within the news room from different cultural backgrounds to most people that used to work in news rooms. This has been seen for example with Jemele Hill, “the first woman-and woman of colour-to cover Michigan state football and basketball for a Michigan newspaper.” (Wilson II, Gutierrez and Chao, 2012). This led to a great change in how sport was covered in Michigan, and goes to show how different cultural backgrounds can add a greater array of perspectives when reporting on different stories.

Overall, with a different range of backgrounds in the newsroom, there is always likely to be different perspectives offered when reporting on different types of stories. However, it is likely to depend on how the editor wants the work framed.

REFERENCES

Wilson II, C. and Gutierrez, F. and Chao, L., 2012. Racism, Sexism, and the Media: Multicultural Issues Into the New Communications Age. New York: SAGE Publications.

Zoch, L. and Van Slyke Turk, J., 1998. OMEN MAKING NEWS: GENDER AS A VARIABLE IN SOURCE SELECTION AND USE. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly. 75 (4), 762-775.