Ethically Responsible and Irresponsible News Reporting

Running head: ETHICALLY RESPONSIBLE AND IRRESPONSIBLE NEWS

Ethically responsible and Irresponsible News reporting

Ethics and Communications

Com/460

March 7, 2016

Ethically responsible and Irresponsible News reporting

Journalists and publishers have an unspoken ethical responsibility when reporting the news or any topic of interest. The journalists, publishers, television newscasters, and anyone else reporting information to the public should be guided by an internal moral compass that steers them towards the truth. This is to say that their first and foremost commitment needs to be to the reporting the truth from reliable sources (Principles of journalism, 2015). Getting the story out there first should be secondary to the truth and not so much as a main concern but it often is for struggling or rookie journalists. “Scooping” the other reporter helps to get their name out there and become more prominently known while building their reputation. This can sometimes cloud their judgment and reporting skills and allow erroneous information to get by them and become part of their report.

Ethically responsible reporting

A journalist who acts responsibly is acting in the best interest of the general public. They will research their topic and verify that their sources are credible. The journalist will verify both confidential and publicly known sources to ensure their information is accurate and they are who they say are (Principles of journalism, 2015). There a lot of people in today’s social media driven society that draw personal satisfaction from reporting false information and pretending to me someone they are not by hiding behind their keyboard. The ethically responsible journalist will verify the sources and confirm or seek proof of all information even from a credible source.

Ethically irresponsible reporting

An ethically irresponsible journalist may accept information from anyone about anything and report it as fact. However, this is not the only way...