The Media and Its Responsibilities
The Media and Its Responsibilities
Lucinda Ramon
SOC120: Introduction to Ethics and Social Responsibility
Raymond Hudson
June 24, 2013
The Media and Its Responsibilities
Malcolm X captured it best when he stated, “The media’s the most powerful entity on Earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that’s power. Because they control the minds of the masses.” Media is defined as the use of any form of communication to reach and influence people such as radio, television, newspapers, movies, and magazines. The media has become an integral part of our society that has much psychological influence on the viewers. Relativism should be largely revered in the minds of all persons involved in the media business to better help them practice the deontology theory which follows the Golden Rule of treating others how you would want to be treated. It can be detrimental for the media to abuse its influence in such a manner that it results in an absence of morals in society.
People turn to the news media to stay informed of the latest information on many issues. The SPJ Code of Ethics states that journalists should be accurate in their reporting, verify that a source is reliable, avoid oversimplifying, avoid imposing values on others, avoid stereotyping, and distinguish between advocacy and news reporting. It is unethical to omit certain details in the reporting with the intention to influence a thought or feeling to the viewer or reader. Over the course of time, lines have been blurred as to what is considered to be the public’s right to know versus what is considered as newsworthy. The people have the right to know what decisions our government is making, what accidents happened, all weather related information, local and national sports scores, local and national rallies or movements, space exploration information, education information, stories of success, and other information that would be useful to protect or look out
Lucinda Ramon
SOC120: Introduction to Ethics and Social Responsibility
Raymond Hudson
June 24, 2013
The Media and Its Responsibilities
Malcolm X captured it best when he stated, “The media’s the most powerful entity on Earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that’s power. Because they control the minds of the masses.” Media is defined as the use of any form of communication to reach and influence people such as radio, television, newspapers, movies, and magazines. The media has become an integral part of our society that has much psychological influence on the viewers. Relativism should be largely revered in the minds of all persons involved in the media business to better help them practice the deontology theory which follows the Golden Rule of treating others how you would want to be treated. It can be detrimental for the media to abuse its influence in such a manner that it results in an absence of morals in society.
People turn to the news media to stay informed of the latest information on many issues. The SPJ Code of Ethics states that journalists should be accurate in their reporting, verify that a source is reliable, avoid oversimplifying, avoid imposing values on others, avoid stereotyping, and distinguish between advocacy and news reporting. It is unethical to omit certain details in the reporting with the intention to influence a thought or feeling to the viewer or reader. Over the course of time, lines have been blurred as to what is considered to be the public’s right to know versus what is considered as newsworthy. The people have the right to know what decisions our government is making, what accidents happened, all weather related information, local and national sports scores, local and national rallies or movements, space exploration information, education information, stories of success, and other information that would be useful to protect or look out
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