Reporting Gone Wrong: The Lack of Ethics in Journalism

There are many examples of a lack of ethics in Journalism. Some of these practices include: Deception, giving misinformation, editorializing, and conflict of interest. These practices can not only hurt others, but can cause the public to stop trusting Journalists. These problems have been around since the beginning of Journalism and can still be seen everywhere. Just look at your local news each night. They run sensationalized stories that are more about bring in ratings then informing the ppublic about important issues. In addition to this, it's a safe bet that at least once during the broadcast, the reporter will say something like "such a tragedy" or "I hope they catch that guy." This is clearly not the objectivity Journalists are supposed to strive for. More and more, we are seeing this kid of reporting. The kind that values scandal over importance and ratings over ethics. Programs are more interested in talking about Anna Nicole Smith's baby or Lindsay Lohan's latest scandal then anything that will actually be of importance to the viewers. This is just one problem that has plauged Journalism.

Deception is another big issue today. It takes many forms and isn't always easy to spot. One form of deception is giving the impression you witnessed the event you are writing about when you did not. Tom Goldstein, author of "The News at Any Cost" admitted to being guilty of this himself. He recalls writing an article about Senator Alfonse D'Amato in 1982. His editor liked the draft he submitted, but the story was sat on for too long and needed revisions to make it work. He ended up discussing an event he had never based on interviews and other research. The way he told the story, however, made it seem as though he had actually been there. Even though he had not been there, he had actually gone out of his way to get the facts right. Some reporters don't.