Media Ethics

Introduction

EARLIER MEDIA was known as voice of common people, it was known as the medium where common people can place their problems through; it was the medium where one can grab the knowledge about the world Media built some ethics which were appreciated but with the development and re!uirement of its growth it is losing its glor" As the time changed ever"thing became part of marketing, ever"thing was turned into commodities #ow ever"thing runs on advertisement, even free media talks the language of advertisers the" are sold out, the" promote ever"thing in return of some mone" Media is big business, its big corporate world

Ethics

Ethics also known as moral philosophy is a branch of philosoph" that addresses !uestions about moralit" that is, concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, $ustice, etc

Applied ethics is a discipline of philosoph" that attempts to appl" ethical theor" to real%life situations &he discipline has man" speciali'ed fields, such as Engineering Ethics, business ethics, and Media ethics

Media ethics is the subdivision of applied ethics dealing with the specific ethical principles and standards of media, including broadcast media, film, theatre, the arts, print media and the internet &he field covers man" varied and highl" controversial topics, ranging from war $ournalism to advertising Media ethics assist media workers in determining what is right, and how to choose the best from several alternatives Media ethics constitutes a normative science

of conduct and must therefore be applied voluntaril" Ethics should set guidelines, rules, norms, codes and principles that will lead $ournalists and all other media workers to make moral decisions &he" should not be forced to do so because ethics is applied voluntaril"

&here are teleological ethics and deontological ethics &eleological ethics is the acceptabilit" of an action is measured in terms of its conse!uences % onl" after conse!uences have been noted is the rightness or wrongness determined (hile deontological ethics is when the rightness or wrongness of an action is dependent on the action itself and not on the results or conse!uences it produces

&he media ethics are so broad but this site will mainl" focus on normative media ethics #ormative ethics is concerned with what people and institutions ought to do and how the" should conduct themselves Media workers are part of societ" and therefore, function within the parameters set b" the e)pectations prevalent in a societ" at a particular time Apart from societ", the government of the countr" also informs e)pectations of what the media ought to do *onse!uentl", a nation+s media, more than an" other kind of institution is shaped b" the prevailing political power

As with other ethical codes, there is a perennial concern that the standards of $ournalism are being ignored ,ne of the most controversial issues in modern reporting is media bias, especiall" on political issues, but also with regard to cultural and other issues -ensationalism is also a common complaint Minor factual errors are also e)tremel" common, as almost an"one who is familiar with the sub$ect of a particular report will !uickl" reali'e &here are also some wider concerns, as the media continue to change, for e)ample that the brevit" of news reports and use of sound bites has reduced fidelit" to the truth, and ma" contribute to a

lack of needed conte)t for public understanding .rom outside the profession, the rise of news management contributes to the real possibilit" that news media ma" be deliberatel" manipulated -elective reporting /spiking, double standards0 are ver" commonl" alleged against newspapers, and b" their nature are forms of bias not eas" to establish, or guard against &his section does not address specifics of such matters, but issues of practical compliance, as well as differences between professional $ournalists on principles

Ethics of advertising In order to ensure that their marketing practices are ethical, businesses engaging in behavioral targeting should first review research on consumers+ attitudes and beliefs about the issue and then develop advertising policies that demonstrate their commitment to protecting the privac" of their customers

Ethics of entertainment media

&he depiction of violence and se), and the presence of strong language Ethical guidelines and legislation in this area are common and man" media /e g film, computer games0 are sub$ect to ratings s"stems and supervision b" agencies An e)tensive guide to international s"stems of enforcement can be found under motion picture rating s"stem

1roduct placement An increasingl" common marketing tactic is the placement of products in entertainment media &he producers of such media ma" be paid high sums to displa" branded products &he practice is controversial and largel" unregulated Detailed article2 product placement

-tereot"pes 3oth advertising and entertainment media make heav" use of stereot"pes -tereot"pes ma" negativel" affect people4s perceptions of themselves or

promote sociall" undesirable behaviour &he stereot"pical portra"als of men, affluence and ethnic groups are e)amples of ma$or areas of debate

&aste and taboos Entertainment media often !uestions of our values for artistic and entertainment purposes #ormative ethics is often about moral values, and what kinds should be enforced and protected In media ethics, these two sides come into conflict In the name of art, media ma" deliberatel" attempt to break with e)isting norms and shock the audience &hat poses ethical problems when the norms abandoned are closel" associated with certain relevant moral values or obligations &he e)tent to which this is acceptable is alwa"s a hotbed of ethical controvers" Media ethics and media economics

&he economic policies and practices of media companies and disciples including $ournalism and the news industr", film production, entertainment programs, print, broadcast, mobile communications, Internet, advertising and public relations Deregulation of media, media ownership and concentration, market share, intellectual propert" rights, competitive economic strategies, compan" economics, 5media ta)6 and other issues are considered parts of the field Media economics has social, cultural, and economic implications Media Economics provides a critical introduction to the economics of the media and content industries /including broadcasting, print media, film, recorded music and interactive media0 It e)amines the revenue and cost structures of these industries and the economics of the ke" processes of production, distribution and consumption 1articularl" attention is paid to the changing patterns of activit" in these areas;

&he impact that new technologies and consumer behaviors are having upon the media and content industries;

&he wa" these changes are impacting and influencing the development of media business models

Media ethics also deals with the relationship of media and media economics where things such as deregulation of media, concentration of media ownership, media trade unions and labor issues, and other such worldwide regulating bodies, citi'en media /low power .M, communit" radio0 have ethical implications Intercultural dimensions of media ethics If values differ intercultural, the issue arises of the e)tent to which behaviour should be modified in the light of the values of specific cultures

7oogle4s self%censorship in *hina 1rophet Muhammad cartoons controvers" in Denmark, and

&he 8"llands% 1osten subse!uentl" worldwide

Similarities between media ethics and other fields of applied ethics In the conte)t of a code that is adopted b" a profession or b" a governmental or !uasi% governmental organ to regulate that profession, an ethical code ma" be st"led as a code of professional responsibilit", which ma" dispense with difficult issues of what behavior is 5ethical6 -ome codes of ethics are often social issues -ome set out general principles about an organi'ation+s beliefs on matters such as !ualit", emplo"ees or the environment ,thers set out the procedures to be used in specific ethical situations 9 such as conflicts of interest or the acceptance of gifts, and delineate the procedures to determine whether a violation of the code of ethics occurred and, if so, what remedies should be imposed 1rivac" and honest" are issues e)tensivel" covered in medical ethical literature, as is the principle of harm%avoidance

&he trade%offs between economic goals and social values have been covered e)tensivel" in business ethics Differences between media ethics and other fields of applied ethics: A theoretical issue peculiar to media ethics is the identit" of observer and observed &he press is one of the primar" guardians in a democratic societ" of man" of the freedoms, rights and duties discussed b" other fields of applied ethics In media ethics the ethical obligations of the guardians themselves comes more strongl" into the foreground (ho guards the guardians: &his !uestion also arises in the field of legal ethics In the conte)t of business ethics, the t"pical interest groups are contract partners and competitors/the moralit" of contractual relationships, fair and unfair competition, $ust prices, bribing and misleading in contract negotiations0;producers and consumers /marketing ethics, advertising ethics, product liabilit", public relations0; emplo"ers and emplo"ees /respective rights and duties of labors partners, conflicts of interest, propert" claims, lo"alt", privac", !ualit" control0;share%holders and management/respective rights and duties, shareholder activism or opportunism, social responsibilit" of ownership, mergers and ac!uisitions0 Another characteristic of media ethics is the disparate nature of its goals Ethical dilemmas emerge when goals conflict &he goals of media usage diverge sharpl" E)pressed in a conse!uentialit" manner, media usage ma" be sub$ect to pressures to ma)imi'e2 economic profits, entertainment value, information provision, the upholding of democratic freedoms, the development of art and culture, fame and vanit"

Code of Ethics one of international News channel

2. Endeavour to get to the truth and declare it in our dispatches, programmes and news bulletins une uivocally in a manner which leaves no doubt about its validity and accuracy. !. "reat our audiences with due respect and address every issue or story with due attention to present a clear, factual and accurate picture while giving full consideration to the feelings of victims of crime, war, persecution and disaster, their relatives and our viewers, and to individual privacies and public decorum. #. $elcome fair and honest media competition without allowing it to affect adversely our standards of performance and thereby having a %scoop& would not become an end in itself. '. (resent the diverse points of view and opinions without bias and partiality. ). *ecognise diversity in human societies with all their races, cultures and beliefs and their values and intrinsic individualities so as to present unbiased and faithful reflection of them. +. Ac,nowledge a mista,e when it occurs, promptly correct it and ensure it does not recur. -. .bserve transparency in dealing with the news and its sources while adhering to the internationally established practices concerning the rights of these sources. /. 0istinguish between news material, opinion and analysis to avoid the snares of speculation and propaganda. 11. 2tand by colleagues in the profession and give them support when re uired, particularly in the light of the acts of aggression and harassment to which journalists are subjected at times. 3ooperate with Arab and international journalistic unions and associations to defend freedom of the press.