Case of media ethics

Few institutions are more important to a democratic society than a free and independent media. Such freedom requires the public elected officials and civic organizations to support truth, fairness and balance in reporting and to insist that media outlets honour the principles that empower them.

- Nicholas Johnson.
The question about ethics is a matter of moral uprightness, about accepted rules of the right or wrong conduct in terms of social life and human engagement. Ethics is essential to social stability and the preservation of human decency.

Because journalists comment about every person's life, ethical or moral standards and conduct of journalists deserve attention. This is so because the most pious journalists operating from what they consider as the best motive could produce some morally unsatisfactory results.

Both the objectives of journalism and the public interest will be served if journalists learn to weigh and balance competing moral considerations in their work. How do you broadcast a story of an incest that may require balance between the public's freedom to be informed on an important subject and the sensitivity of the topic.

Thus, although the law is often concerned with moral problems, it is not the basic repository of our moral standards and values.

Therefore, a law abiding person is not necessarily morally virtuous, and if an act is legally acceptable, that fact alone does not make it morally acceptable. If a journalist is legally innocent of libel, it does not necessarily mean that he is morally innocent. Thus, where a journalist invents facts in a story, the dishonesty may not be illegal, but that does not make it morally or ethically acceptable.

As Stephen Klaidman and Tom Beauchamp have noted, "legal protections that permit irresponsible journalism do not imply that journalists have no moral responsibility". Legal innocence does not presuppose moral innocence and equally guilt under the law does not presuppose moral guilt.

Ethical journalism requires fairness, accuracy, competence, professionalism, reaching for the truth, completeness of the story, understanding, objectivity, avoiding bias, test of harm, retraction, rejoinders, public service, trust, escape from manipulation, influence, acceptance of criticism and accountability.

In our circumstance, studies have indicated that some of the ethical violations include social responsibility and public interest, custom, indecent exposure, propaganda, vilification, intrusion, abuse of confidentiality, mixture of news and opinions, fabricatio11'S, misleading photographs, unsubstantiated allegations, self-censorship, misleading headlines, denial of right of reply and trial by the media.

It is in coming to terms with all these to give meaning to Article 41 (d) of the 1992 Constitution that "the exercise and enjoyment of rights and freedoms is inseparable from the performance of duties and obligations and accordingly it shall be the duty of every citizen to respect the rights, freedoms and legitimate interest of others," that the Ghana Journalists Association has a code of ethics.

But moral or ethical standards are better respected when they are evolved and voluntarily adopted by members of a group or society. That is why the Ghana Journalists Association sees its Code of Ethics, as representing "an effort by journalists themselves to set high professional standards in order to ensure that Ghana enjoys not only a free but responsible media" in the hope that "this code of ethics will serve its purpose as a guide to journalists".

"As the fourth estate of the realm, the public expect the media to play their watchdog role. They should do so with a high sense of responsibility without infringing on the rights of individuals and society in general."

The preamble to the code maintains.

The code has 17 articles, Right to True Information, Social Responsibility, Professional Integrity, Plagiarism, Respect for Privacy and Human Dignity, Respect for National and Ethnic Values, Protection of Confidential Sources, Suppression of news, Corrections, Rejoinders, Separating Comments from facts, Obtaining news/photographs through fraud or undercover means, Respect for embargoes, treatment of victims of sexual assault, dealing with underaged or children, treatment of persons in grief or distress, sensational embellishments.

Beyond the GJA Code, the Society of Professional Journalist holds the faith that "public enlightenment is the forerunner of justice and the foundation of democracy. The duty of the journalist is to further those ends by seeking and providing a fair and comprehensive account of events and issues.

Conscientious journalists from all the media and specialists strive to serve the public with thoroughness and honesty. Professional integrity is the cornerstone of a journalist's credibility. Members of the society share a dedication of ethical behaviour and adopt this code to declare the Society's principles and standards of practice".

It requires journalists to seek the truth and report it, which means journalists should be honest, fair and courageous in gathering, reporting and interpreting information.

They are to minimise harm, since ethical journalists treat sources, subjects and colleagues as human beings desiring of respect.

Journalists are to act independently since they have to be free of obligation to any interest other than the public's right to know.

More important, journalists must be accountable to their readers, listeners, viewers and one another. This means, we must abide by the same high ethical standards to which we hold others. We also need to admit our mistakes and correct them promptly.

Credit: Yaw Boadu-Ayeboafoh (Daily Graphic)

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