Gina Edwards

Dr. Debatin
Media Ethics- Reading Journal
May 6th, 2009
My first experiences with blogs were in middle school, when a website called “Xanga”

was wildly popular. Students would avidly update details about experiences from their mundane

lives and pray for comments the next time they logged on. I was completely unaware that as I

carelessly typed up my day’s events I was partaking in a revolution of online media that would

reshape the way that journalists performed in their careers—and how we as a society would one

day define journalism. The internet and blogs brought with them massive changes to the media

world, altering laws and ethical codes, and fostering a wave of citizen journalism that was

previously hidden or stifled.

Blogs are now a part of every tech-savvy newsroom and fervent media consumer’s online

bookmarks. Hundreds of thousands of blogs are created each day, as their respective authors vie

for a piece of the infinite internet pie. For journalists, blogs pose both new opportunities and

problematic ethical concerns, which merit a deeper analysis within the scope of news in today’s

society.

The article “Shifting Roles, Enduring Values: The Credible Journalist in a Digital Age,”

attempts to tackle some of these timely and important issues in the news today. It addresses the

“challenges to institutional roles in a digital media environment,” and then discusses three

journalistic values of authenticity, accountability and autonomy within the context of blogging

(Hayes, Singer, and Ceppos 262).

Authors Arthur S. Hayes, Jane B. Singer and Jerry Ceppos begin the article with a

discussion about the values sought by news consumers in the age of traditional media. They
assert that truth and credibility were typically associated with journalists of that time period.

However, as the digital age continues to grow and flourish, and the news producers and

consumers become interchangeable beings, “each individual must determine what he or she

values in a news source and how to assess whether a particular source has fulfilled those desires”

(Hayes, Singer, and Ceppos 263). While traditional journalism values may still resonate with

some news consumers, today there is more subjectivity when determining those same

“necessary” values.

Relating the phenomenon of online media to other major changes in journalism’s history,

the article references cable television news, which challenged traditional boundaries of what

“news” was. It described how programs like The Daily Show with Jon Stewart are challenged for

allegedly disseminating “fake news” that is nothing more than a “lust for escapism” (Hayes,

Singer, and Ceppos 264). Today’s blogs face the same scrutiny and skepticism that cable

television programming also endures. However, unlike television, blogs break down the

gatekeeper barrier to which journalists so tightly cleave, making its invention even more

controversial.

Now the ability to produce and communicate “news” of any type: credible or faulty, fact

or opinion, biased or objective lies in the hands of anyone with a laptop and Wi-fi, or even an

iPhone. There are no limits, boundaries, or space restrictions. The only place where bloggers run

into trouble is getting their information noticed. Typically, bloggers “set out to influence,

although many seek to inform as well, and they compete for attention not only with cable

networks but also with everything from the entertainment content of satellite radio and popular

user-generated content such as YouTube videos and Flickr photos” (Hayes, Singer, and Ceppos

264). Because blogs are not the only means of news reporting that the digital age has welcomed,

bloggers must compete with citizen journalists from other forms of media to have their message
recognized and noticed by their intended audience. Currently bloggers also face the challenge of

trying to be counted amongst the ranks of so-called “professional journalists,” who shirk the

notion that someone without a college degree or experience in a newsroom can claim such a title.

In addition, much like freelance journalists, bloggers lack the backing of a prominent

“brand” to ensure the validity and credibility of their stories. Much like with products, people

develop “brand loyalties” and come to trust articles that bear the stamp of CNN or MSNBC. Yet,

this type of loyalty is starting to fade into the past—because the widespread use of aggregators

like Yahoo! News that collect and distribute news from various outlets, often disregard the

credibility of the source. Furthermore, public distrust of the media is growing steadily, and

reliance upon these institutional backings is no longer a completely viable option.

Bloggers are also establishing accountability for their content through means unavailable to

traditional journalists. Because space and sourcing are not restricted, bloggers can provide

various links and go further in depth about a topic, whereas a broadcast journalist may be limited

to a 30-second sound bite to tell a story that warrants much more detail. Those using online

media seek transparency through alternative means and have found that “linking creates

credibility” (Hayes, Singer, and Ceppos 272). Additionally, bloggers that are open and up front

about any biases create an immediate sense of honesty and consequently “have greater autonomy

to speak from the heart than journalists” (Hayes, Singer, and Ceppos 272). Finally, since

bloggers typically have their name, photo, and background information listed, readers have a

sense of relationship with them and are able to put more trust in what they have to say.

The issue of autonomy is the final consideration addressed by the authors. They

emphasize that journalists no longer hold the sole key that determines what is credible and what

is not. Today the autonomy of journalists is not challenged by the government, an entity that was

always considered as the opposition, but the people themselves, to which journalists place their
primary loyalty (Hayes, Singer, and Ceppos 274). Bloggers now serve as fact-checkers, keeping

tabs on those who were always considered to be the watchdogs of society.

Martin Kuhn attempts to address many of the ethical values sought and discussed in the

scholarly realm as well as the blogosphere in his article. He first evaluates what media ethicists

such as Rebecca Blood and Jonathan Dube have conjectured about bloggers’ most important

values, suggesting a couple versions of potential ethics codes that they could use. These codes

assume that “the primary value among bloggers is credibility in a journalistic sense” (Kuhn 20).

However, both codes seem to narrow the scope of bloggers to a limited sector that focus on news

dissemination. Therefore, Kuhn asserts that the only way to develop a usable ethics code is to

conduct a dialogue with bloggers to ascertain which values are actually considered most

important.

Each blogger has an agenda when producing material. Some may be motivated by money

from advertisers while others are merely attempting to promote a particular cause that they

support. Because these similar motivations exist, the blogosphere is permeated by a cacophony

of voices attempting to be heard. With this widespread need, the values of accountability and

transparency come into play. Thus, Kuhn states that “truth remains a critical value to be upheld

in the blogosphere” (Kuhn 22).

He addresses the issue of dualism in the blogosphere and how this relates to credibility

and trust. Often times, bloggers may assume an alternative identity online without ever revealing

themselves. This issue has been discussed and analyzed since the internet was invented, and

continues to be a controversial topic in the realm of blogging. Anonymous bloggers have little

accountability for the content on their sites, and this withholding of basic information inhibits the

possibility of establishing trust between them and their readers. Because “bloggers are able to
choose how much of their identity to reveal,” it becomes a worry to the reader who is unaware of

where the foundations of particular claims are based (Kuhn 24).

The author conducted a study to discover which values bloggers consider most important.

He asked questions that related to various philosophers’ work including John Rawls and W.D.

Ross. The question relating to John Rawls asked who the stakeholders in a blog were.

Overwhelmingly the reported response was that the blogger and his or her respective readers

were the primary stakeholders while consumers, politicians, advertisers and the like were ranked

very low on the list. Furthermore, upon analyzing the responses to questions regarding blogging

duties, “‘factual truth’ (avoidance of deception) was mentioned most often, whereas ‘etiquette,’

‘free expression,’ ‘minimizing harm,’ and ‘transparency’ were all mentioned second most

frequently (Kuhn 31). Bloggers who took the survey also added such values as posting on a

regular basis, promoting interactivity, and serving the greater good (Kuhn 31).

The author attempts to create his own blogging code of ethics at the end of the article. It

includes the propositions that a blogger should promote interactivity, promote free expression,

strive for factual truth, be as transparent as possible and promote the “human” element in

blogging (Kuhn 33-34). However, despite the conclusion that certain values are recognized by

many in the blogosphere, there continues to be discourse upon the necessity blogging codes of

ethics, and this idea is further expanded upon in the next article.

David D. Perlmutter and Mary Schoen address this controversial topic in “’If I Break a

Rule, What do I do, Fire Myself?’ Ethics Codes of Independent Blogs.” They begin by

discussing how blogs have garnered a greater rank in the media world. Bloggers have even been

involved in political campaign communications strategies, and “they are performing many

functions that mimic professional newsrooms” (Perlmutter & Schoen 38). For this reason, many

argue that bloggers should have to operate under a system of ethics since they have involvement
in such prominent news events. They assert that the dangers of plagiarism, identity

misrepresentation, “editing history” and secret affiliations require bloggers to take on a more

stringent set of values. These kinds of discussions are typical of the ongoing blog ethics debate.

Perlmutter and Schoen conducted a study of 30 prominent political blogs to discover if

such codes of ethics exist. They found that for most of the blogs researched, “no codes of ethics

were found, stated or unstated,” yet they maintain that this does not mean the blogs are unethical,

but that ethics “is not a foregrounded issue” (Perlmutter & Schoen 42). They anecdotally include

contributions from bloggers who “see their own values as being antithetical to the ‘professional

press’ with all its perceived vices,” and thus feel outside of the scope of ethical codes. Others

assert that since blogging is so diverse and messy, any universal code would likely be too

specific, and that these “entrepreneurs of content” will likely hesitate to submit to ethical

guidelines (Perlmutter & Schoen 45). Overall, the authors conclude that this topic will not come

to a close and the debate will continue.

Ideas from all of the aforementioned articles can be applied to the case discussed in my

final article, “Cases and Commentaries, Wal-Mart Public Relations in the Blogosphere.” David

A. Craig tells the story of a Wal-Mart P-R attempt gone horribly wrong.

Laura and Jim, two bloggers from the blog “Wal-Marting across America” wrote of their

travels from Las Vegas to Georgia in an RV. They stopped at various Wal-Marts and blogged

about heartwarming tales that they encountered in the stores, from medical miracles to

environmental progress. The blog made note that it was funded by a group called Working

Families for Wal-Mart, but it did not mention the fact that the organization was directly funded

by the public relations firm for Wal-Mart, Edelman. This firm funded Laura and Jim’s trip to Las

Vegas, their RV, gas, blog setup and Laura’s freelancing payment. Additionally, Jim Thresher,

the photographer for the blog, was also a staff photographer for The Washington Post.
 When the scandal broke, it reflected especially poorly on Edelman, who was a vocal

advocate of transparency and even helped to write the Word of Mouth Marketing Association’s

code of ethics (Craig 216). CEO Richard Edelman issued a public apology in which he addressed

the need for further training in order to rectify the transparency failure with future clients; he

added that his workforce underwent mandatory training that week. Thresher also had to pay back

any money that he received from Edelman and take down his pictures from the blog for violating

The Post’s policy on freelancing on behalf of special interests (Craig 217).

These articles reveal some very crucial data regarding the state of blogging ethics. There

seems to be a discrepancy between what professional journalists would like to label bloggers,

and what role bloggers actually play. While many bloggers may hold similar values and espouse

the same types of ethical virtues, many do not. Therefore, this debate is a heated one, and one

that will likely continue as the blogosphere continues to expand its members and its influence.

As with any unprecedented forum, there is confusion, anger, and an ever present feeling that it

will just “ruin everything.” Change is something both feared and embraced, and is a notion that

both journalists and bloggers must come to accept. Because the world of journalism is in this

transitional state of disarray, many want definite answers and legitimate standards to work from,

but they are simply not available yet.

Blogging has become such a typical and expected part of journalism today, so it seems

only natural that a debate over bloggers’ ethical practices should follow. The articles made

valiant attempts at discerning what types of values bloggers revere, how ethical codes play into

the blogosphere, and how these cases play out in today’s society. Although I applaud the effort

of the authors trying to elucidate this topic, it requires more categorization before it can be

specifically researched and evaluated. The authors of my chosen articles tried to make
assumptions about the blogosphere as a whole based on studies accessible to only a small subset

of people. Therefore, their conclusions are not generally applicable across a broad scope.

I wonder, can all types of blogs truly be judged and evaluated on the same level? Facts

and opinions are intertwined in a blog, whether it is a political promotion for Barack Obama or

the retelling of a middle school student’s adventures in junior high. Therefore, to set a standard

or code so overreaching and assuming belittles what blogs were intended for. I think that before

research and dissertations can occur, the different types of blogs that exist must be categorized

and labeled. That way, blogs that are mere opinion and do not seek to impart any kind of

legitimate fact can be set apart from those whose main purpose is to inform. Right now, they all

seem to be mixed together and collectively referred to as “the blogosphere.” Thus, those

criticizing and discussing blogs must be more specific.

Another topic that was conspicuously absent from the discussion was that of journalists

who also have blogs. This raises another interesting and noteworthy topic. Are journalists-

bloggers subject to the same standards of ethics online as in the newsroom? Or does the lack of

ethical standards in blogs allow complete anarchy? How much does this type of freedom affect

the traditional sense of objective journalism?

All of the articles approached the topic of blogging ethics with different perspectives that

can apply to analyzing cases in today’s society. Taking the Wal-Mart case as an example, we can

see that the ethical ramifications transcended photojournalism, public relations, and blogging.

Therefore, as we discuss cases in today’s society, these articles can provide a potential structure

for understanding how bloggers perceive and act upon their roles within journalism. Cases with

bloggers are increasingly becoming topics for discussion and will surely continue to be criticized

in the future. As of the moment, bloggers are under no overarching ethical code that they must
adhere to. Thus, their dilemmas may be even more problematic to sort out since there is no

standard to follow.

Blogging is a phenomenon that I am still attempting to fully understand. Although I

recognize the intended premise, I am still fairly skeptical about what it truly has to offer the

journalism world. For now at least, it serves as fodder for continued debate about ethics in a

journalism world that has been turned upside down by the internet. The blogosphere, with its

opportunities and problems will continue supplementing the news process, with or without an

ethics code, and journalists must be able to accept this fact while working to form an even more

comprehensive and cohesive system.

Works Cited

Craig, David A. "The Case: Wal-Mart Public Relations in the Blogosphere." Journal of Mass

Media Ethics 22.2/3 (June 2007): 215-218. Communication & Mass Media Complete.

EBSCO. Alden Library, Athens, Ohio. 6 May 2009

<http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ufh&AN=25264855&site=ehos

t-live>

Hayes, Arthur S., Jane B. Singer, and Jerry Ceppos. "Shifting Roles, Enduring Values: The

Credible Journalist in a Digital Age." Journal of Mass Media Ethics 22.4 (Dec. 2007):

262-279. Communication & Mass Media Complete. EBSCO. Alden Library, Athens,
 Ohio. 6 May 2009 <http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?

direct=true&db=ufh&AN=27441549&site=ehost-live>.

Kuhn, Martin. "Interactivity and Prioritizing the Human: A Code of Blogging Ethics." Journal of

Mass Media Ethics 22.1 (Mar. 2007): 18-36. Communication & Mass Media Complete.

EBSCO. Alden Library, Athens, Ohio. 6 May 2009

<http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ufh&AN=25138379&site=ehos

t-live>.

Perlmutter, David D., and Mary Schoen.. "If I Break a Rule, What Do I Do, Fire Myself?" Ethics

Codes of Independent Blogs. Journal of Mass Media Ethics 22.1 (Mar. 2007): 37-48.

Communication & Mass Media Complete. EBSCO. Alden Library, Athens, Ohio. 6 May

2009 <http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?

direct=true&db=ufh&AN=25138376&site=ehost-live>.