Do Information Media Have Social Responsibility? If Yes, in What Ways? If No, Why Not?

I believe that the information media has social responsibility in several ways. Society relies on media to learn about what is happening in the world. It is important for people to understand what news affects them personally and what news is relevant to their career, family, and future so that they will be better informed and able to make decisions. It is common for people to make life changing decisions based on news, such as financial decisions, changes in the economy, and local events. I also feel that the media has the responsibility to present to us information and new from around the world as it has shown recently that some countries might pose a threat to the United States and the Western World. With being armed with information the American public can then tell our leaders what they expect in terms of protecting our country. This places a heavy responsibility on the media. It is an American tradition in journalism to report facts first, validate sources, and apply ethical standards. Journalists have the first amendment right to report all information; however, what is legal is not always ethical. An example of this would be a juveniles name or name of a rape victim. The journalist can legally make names public, but it is not ethical in some situations. The media is left to implement these ethical standards on their own giving them social responsibility. While these are not the only ways that the information media has a social responsibility they are the ones that I feel are the most important.