Dilemmas in the Professional Media

(Lecture/speech delivered by Violeta M. Gloria on Dilemmas in the Professional Media for Communication Studies 109 students as part of the thematic discourse on Journalism Ethics, Ram Café, Mindanao State University-Main Campus, Marawi city; October 1, 2013)

The world is in disarray. There are varied forms of conflict: controversial social issues, corruption within our bureaucracy, increasing poverty (disparity of social classes), wanton destruction of ecology, rapid influence of libertarian practices that challenged norms and customs, and scaling competition within media (both as a profession and as a business institution) amid rising number of victims of summary execution with impunity[1]. We also confront cultural fragmentation and waning multicultural identities, hence the spatter of ideologies and influences unfortunately result in a cacophony of indifference...which situate pluralism at a misnomer [resulting to] e.g. organizational browbeating and political bigotry.

The implications are diverse but we hope that our values and integrity will shape the right direction to enable us to walk-the-talk/translate our ideals to better goals and for us to adopt better approaches. Amid all these, the media hated and love; profit and loss the tricks of politics. The institution thrived albeit the changes of struggles in our civil rights, political movements, identity politics, cultural conflicts, health and HIV-AIDs concern that affect personal domains.

Nowadays, our bureaucracy is challenged with demands for transparency with the deluge of campaign against corruption. And thus we ask: Where is the campus media situated within this continuum of reality? Are we contributing to correct and strengthen our bureaucracy or are we contributing more to anarchic tendencies? Will the standard and ethical principles of journalism help us advance our goals? Will we be able to lead the rest of our readers and viewers for improved decision-making as we provide them with information from our interviews, research and opinions? Are we really in a dilemma? 

This will bring me to the next question: what is ethics?

What is ethics?

           Ethics, in the dictionary, is generally considered as “moral principles that govern human behaviors. It directs propriety and moral correctness of conduct.”

           Every profession has its own code of ethics. Businesspersons, nurses, physicians, lawyers, priests, researchers, and government employees’ behaviours are regulated by code of conduct or ethical rules. This defines their identities. Some of these are Nichomachean that are directed on what is reasonably good. Some are philosophically inspired. Others are optimized to strategize corporate management or organizational development. And still, others used ethics to regulate business interests and secrecy of trades.  

          Plato, Aquinas, Socrates, Kant, Sart, Keirkegaard, Rand and all the rest of the philosophers and social-psychologists in the contemporary times have multipolar and multidimensional definition of ethics for persons to adhere on what is reasonable, just, right, proper and sensible rules of conduct of human behaviors.

Thus, we have philosophical ideation on:

1. The golden rule: “Do not do unto others what others don’t want to do unto you.”
2. That a person is a person of reason and thus we should be rational in our decision-makings and choices… and this constitute what is right.
3. That justice is fundamental in human relations and thus, we must behave to be just or fair with others.
4. That each person has a role to partake and thus, should be directed to positivism—whether this is inspired from Divine ethics (Ten Commandments of God), from vested rights (Bill of Human Rights of the 1987 Philippine Constitution), or from epistemic framework of humanitarian causes.

But what motivated philosophers to put premium on defining and regulating human behaviours? This may vary and I could only understand some of the causes.

Ethics and Motivations

1. We believed that each person has the right to be respected, be treated with dignity and that without them exercising their basic human rights [and the democratic principles], they cease to be human;
2. That every person has the right to access a comprehensive academic counselling program noting that our diversity and cultural distinctions need a culture of tolerance and recognition to varied “ethnic/racial identity, age, economic status, abilities/disabilities, language, immigration status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity/expression, family type, religious/spiritual identity and appearance[2].”
3. That every person have the right to receive and impart information and support for self-direction, development and affirmation within one’s group identities, to be integrated with one’s ecology, for adequate educational services, and access to both conventional and non-conventional knowledge.
4. That every person has the right to understand the meaning of his or her choices and opportunities.
5. That every person does not have only the right to privacy and counsel (in moments of personal, social or political confusion) but also the right to learn and unlearn from laws, policies, and ethical standards [which also respect the value of confidentiality][3].
6. That every person needs to be reasonably informed to be free and safe from abuse, bullying, neglect, harassment or other forms of violence.
7. That every person has the right to help create a world of peace or a home where we felt we belong to.

           Hence, ethics, as body of rules of human conduct, became a blueprint of moral practices in all professional endeavors,  in human relations, and in defining our associations. It serves as guide for self-appraisal and relational evaluations in the academe, at home, in exercising our journalistic profession, in dealing with communities and in nurturing our personal integrity or credibility. It defines and refines our organizational and personal values as stakeholders of information, in community development, in administration, in management, in providing what is just/fair for people, as well as in managing changes to professionalize our ranks.

          But let me deepen the discourse on journalistic ethics. Whatmedia has that we need to be regulated; that we need to have some set of principles to adhere to in relating with our interviewees or with our readers, listeners or viewers?

The media influence. You influence. You change lives. You alter decisions. You make the dull intelligent. You kick asses in local, national and international bureaucracy. You persuade people to act to change despotic government--- to demand for the enjoyment of civil rights and for the restoration of democracy.


Realize that influencing others is not only the domain of kings, patriarchs, emperors, presidents, leaders of agencies, businessmen, educators, strategists[4].  Influencing is not only the power of Shakespeare, Cleopatra, Anthony, Freud, Carl Jung, Adler, Michel Foucault, Machiavelli,  Nietzche, Russel, Ferdinand Marcos, Hitler, the Nazis or the prime minister of Thailand, or UN’s Ban Ki Moon.

Reflect on your thoughts, look at your hands and listen to your mouths. They bear the power of influencing. When you started to assume the roles as editors and writers, you begin to possess “role power, resource power, information power, network power, and reputation power[5].” You begin to optimize your personal skills and assets: the powers of knowledge, expression, attraction, character, history and your meta-power—that freewill[6]—the courage to do amid odds and challenges.

But this power can only be generated or sourced from peoples’ perception of your integrity, honesty, courage, and how you behave whilst bearing your character[7]. We do not control. We only elucidate, explicate, clarify and provide meanings to change what was perceived as a disorder, a vacuum, of senselessness and irrelevance noting that power in itself, as exercised by others, can be “treacherous, delusive and unclear.[8]” We do not intend to abuse this greatness to the point of being self-delusional as among the architects for better society.

Figure 1. Continuum of influence. It is the reporter's aim to motivate readers, viewers and listeners to be committed on resolving specific issues and to bring about their sense of leadership (Bacon, 2012). 

Rebellion    Resistance      Skepticism                Apathy       Compliance      Commitment     Leadership

 

Unsuccessful outcomes                                                                Successful outcomes

 

      We only wanted to relate.  Thus, we exorcise our wisdom to fully perform our responsibilities as reporters, as informants of events, and researchers of those that had happened and those yet unfolding history. We logically persuade, legitimize the good, criticize those that violate our civil rights and liberties.  We socialize, appeal to relations, consult and create alliances or networks[9]. Thus, we needed to value too temperance through prudence, modesty, self-regulation, humility, transcendence, to hope, to be optimistic, and at the same time, to be grateful for those who have helped us pursue our ardent tasks with certain humor and sense of purpose  or faith[10].

            We perform our roles as editors and writers on the basis of rights, obligations, responsibilities and it’s anent accountability. We appeal to core values because we wanted to model the best journalistic behaviour and practices… and most of all because we intend to inspire, motivate, transform, and find common grounds out of our diversity.

         So, what are the ethical principles that we need to adhere to perfect our roles? Walter Williams wrote this Creed for Journalists in 1906 which remained significant nowadays. Let me share this too.

Journalist’s Creed[11]

1.      I believe in the profession of Journalism.

2.     I believe that the public journal is a public trust; that all connected with it are, to the full measure of responsibility, trustees for the public; that all acceptance of lesser service than the public service is a betrayal of this trust.

-     Very vital to see the public as a community of people where journalists are part and this include the online community, virtual they may be.

-     That reporter’s independence is not about the demonstration of hostility to its readers or viewers but it’s a recognition of its primary duty to deliver information to the people.

3.     I believe that clear thinking, clear statement, accuracy and fairness are fundamental to good journalism.

-     Reportage is about exercising the values of honesty, factuality, impartiality and logic to remove the cloud of confusion that grappled on everyone. Get diverse sources to an issue to vivify it. Understand its context.

4.     I believe that a journalist should write only what he holds in his heart to be true. I believe that suppression of the news, for any consideration other than the welfare of society, is indefensible.

-     The right of the people to be informed... to be responsibly informed.

5.     I believe that no one should write as a journalist what he would not say as a gentleman; that bribery by one’s own pocket book is as much to be avoided as bribery by the pocketbook of another; that individual responsibility may not be escaped by pleading another’s instructions or another’s dividends.

-     Avoid envelopmental journalism; attack-collect-defend-collect attitude (ACDC); receiving gifts from sources in exchange for something that has implication to your profession; and the like.

6.     I believe that advertising, news and editorial columns should alike serve the best interests of readers; that a single standard of helpful truth and cleanness should prevail for all; that supreme test of good journalism is the measure of its public service.

-     Practice the independence of marketing department of a news organization while recognizing the interdependence between the editorial and the marketing departments. There are implications and misinterpretation when the editorial also does the marketing side.

7.     I believe that the journalism which succeeds the best-and best deserves success-fears God and honors man; is stoutly independent; unmoved by pride of opinion or greed of power; constructive, tolerant but never careless, self-controlled, patient, always respectful of its readers but always unafraid, is quickly indignant at injustice; is unswayed by the appeal of the privilege or the clamor of the mob; seeks to give every man a chance, and as far as law, an honest wage and recognition of human brotherhood can make it so, an equal chance; is profoundly patriotic while sincerely promoting international good will and cementing world-comradeship, is a journalism of humanity, of and for today’s world.

-     Value interreligious teachings without necessarily being dogmatic to one’s faith; endeavour to practice the profession using the standards and ethics of journalism but careful not to become bloodthirsty or power-grabber; uphold what is just; be objective or impartial and to be never prejudicial in dealing with critical matters. We practice our profession with gender sensitivity, we value equanimity and equality and we remain passionate on nationalism but at the same time cognizant of growing interculturalism [or be sensitive to international community to understand the interrelation of countries in a global community (for humanistic causes).]

By observing our ethical roles, we gain recognition too from our readers and viewers because we engage them for relevant solutions to societal or campus problems; facilitate in envisioning a desirable future; appeal to the core values; and, inspire them to be committed to causes.

But even as we exercise these ethical rules, we also recognize that media workers are also met with cases that caused dilemma. Aside from poverty, for instance, how we correlate our ethical practices with other professional ethical rules. Here are some cases that we need to carefully observe too:

1. Raped or abused child and woman – deal the issue with certain level of confidentiality. Whilst we wanted to be factual and truthful, we need to use fictitious names for the victims to respect their person.
2. Fiduciary relation with/between clients and lawyers – choose only issues if it has implication to public trust and security.
3. Medical profession (Hippocratic Oath) – there is ethical dilemma on pro-choice versus pro-life; freedom versus control (that may harm the patient); truth telling versus non-disclosure (family do not want full disclosure of the patient’s issue)[12]. This includes psychiatrists dealing with patients with mental illness[13].
4. Legal cases—documents are already available online but secure a copy with the consent of the web admin or from officers of the court.
5. Reporting the plight of indigenous peoples- deal with their policy that there ought to be free prior and informed consent from the tribe. You need to consult traditional leaders.
6. Offensive images. No gory photos.
7. Covering war. There are massive misinformation and disinformation. Deal more with the statistics of civilians and combatants affected, killed, and the wounded to expose the horror of violence to human lives. Interview all parties of the conflict situation.

Other experts proposed this guide in dealing with ethical dilemma in reportage:

Figure 2. CIMA checklist for ethical dilemmas (CIMA, 2013).

I propose too that you shouldn't write anything if you cannot provide alternatives or solution to problems or you are just scaling up the conflict. Maybe, you can just make a straight news out of it.

Conclusion

At end, let me say that journalism is a serious profession, though not excellently paid. But it embodies commitment and thus, also entails regulation of behavior. We do not only ask what? When? Who? Where? How? Why? We need to know the socio-cultural, historical, and political context of every situation.

We need to be objective by listening to diverse parties of the stories, especially when we deal with conflict issues.

If ethics is about behaviors  then we need to practice our profession in ways that could strengthen our integrity, credibility, and our relation with our readers, listeners and viewers.

Let us bear at heart that exercising the freedom and right to information requires standard of behaviors that we should professionally practice.

Thus, don’t forget: Express, inform, influence but also behave.

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[1] Committee to Protect Journalists. 73 Journalists Killed in the Philippines since 1992/Motive Confirmed.New York, New York, 2013, p. 1, Retrieved: http://cpj.org/killed/asia/philippines/ 3 October 2013.

[2] Bacon, Terry, The Elements of Influence: The Arts of Getting Others to Follow Your Lead, US: American Management Association, 2012, pp. 1-271.

[3] Ibid.

[4] Ibid.

[5] Ibid.

[6] Ibid.

[7] Ibid.

[8] Ibid.

[9] Ibid.

[10] Ibid.

[11] Walter Williams, The Journalist Creed, US: Missouri School of Journalism, 1906, p. 1.

[12] Bandman, E. & Bandman, B. Nursing Ethics through the Life Span. (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2002, p. 1.

[13] Ibid.

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References

Bandman, E. & Bandman, B. Nursing Ethics through the Life Span. (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2002, p. 1.

Bacon, Terry, The Elements of Influence: The Arts of Getting Others to Follow Your Lead, 

US: American Management Association, 2012, pp. 1-271.

Committee to Protect Journalists. 73 Journalists Killed in the Philippines since 1992/Motive Confirmed.New York, New York, 2013, p. 1, Retrieved: http://cpj.org/killed/asia/philippines/ 3 October 2013.

Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA). Ethical dilemmas: What would you do? US: Cimagobla.com, 2013, p. 1.

Walter Williams, The Journalist Creed, US:Missouri School of Journalism, 1906, p. 1.