Merrill
offers four
characteristics of a "good" news story -- good both by professional
and ethical criteria.
He suggests
that such stories follow a TUFF formula: They are
as
truthful, unbiased, full and fair as
possible.
* The
"T": Stories should be truthful.
The
truth contained in a report is always partial (remember the differences
among potential, selected and reported truths). But seeking the
truth and reporting it as thoroughly as possible is still an
essential mandate for the ethical journalist.
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* The
"U": Stories should be unbiased.
Ethical
journalists want to be impartial. Even though we are all subjective
human beings, we can refrain from deliberately putting biased
information into our stories.
(BTW
... "bias" is a noun. "Biased" is an adjective. Most of you are
using the noun when you mean the adjective.
Noun: The reporter showed his bias in covering the candidate.
Adjective: The reporter was biased; he wrote a biased story.)
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* The
first "F": Stories should be full.
This
is the same idea that the Elements of Journalism authors
emphasize this week. Even though you can never say everything
there is
to say about a topic, stories should be as complete as possible.
Ethical journalists put as
much relevant
information
into their
stories
as they can.
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* The
second "F": Stories should be fair.
This
characteristic is more subjective than the first three -- in fact,
it potentially conflicts with them. But ethical journalists should
seek to be "fair-minded" in covering the news. |
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That
issue of fairness is different from the other characteristics in several
ways. Among them:
* Fairness
relates to consequence-based ethics (teleology);
the others are more clearly in the realm of duty-based ethics
(deontology).
Not infrequently,
conflict occurs when journalists try to weigh the relative importance
of, as Merrill puts it, "truth or consequences."
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* Fairness
demands subjectivity on the part of the journalist, who must
weigh competing values and loyalties.
Sometimes
being fair means withholding part of the truth -- that is, providing
a version of truth that is incomplete or even biased.
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* Fairness
involves considerations of the journalist's responsibility to
various stakeholders.
The
production of a story that is true, unbiased and full has to
do more with a journalist's freedom to pursue the whole, unvarnished
truth.
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How
to resolve these contradictions? One way is to have "one foot
in each camp" -- sort of an Aristotelian approach, if you like,
or one that draws on Ross' ideas of multiple duties.
Being ethical
does not force you to choose between truthfulness and fairness. It's
not necessarily an either-or problem. You can be generally devoted
to finding and reporting the truth while still
recognizing that sometimes, your desire to be fair to someone involved
in a story will take precedence.
There are
many practical examples, such as:
* Protecting
confidential sources.
Fairness
is related to keeping promises, as well as to protecting those
who make themselves vulnerable
by entrusting you with sensitive information. |
* Providing
sources an opportunity to reply to information about
them. This can take various forms, from obtaining multiple sides
of a story
(which also furthers the goal of unbiased and full
truth) to offering separate space for responses, such as on an
opinions
or letters page.
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* Treating
sources with courtesy and compassion, particularly those who
are not used to dealing with the press.
This
includes sensitivity about people's need for privacy, especially
when they are stressed or grieving.
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| * Following
up important stories so that sources can show (and citizens can
learn) how situations have been improved or problems addressed. |
| * Correcting
errors promptly, completely and prominently. |
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