Journalism Ethics
When reading journalism ethics, i mostly relied on the handout Greta gave us in the class, and the journalism ethics code found online. What i found did not surprise me. Journalists are supposed to be fair, let the audience decide their positions, and handle themselves appropriately. The journalism ethics are everything i thought they would be. What i found interesting, however, is the direct correlation between the less those ethics are followed, and the higher ratings. Shows that stay in line with journalism ethics, like 20/20, 60 minutes, and news hour with Jim Lehrer, are consistently lower in the ratings then shows that push the border, such as any show on Fox News and the Daily Show. I think it shows where we are as a country when fair, honest, well researched news shows are being bypassed for blowhard ignorants who equate sheer volume of speech with intelligence. Anyway, enough ranting. The bottom line is that while the journalistic code of ethics is everything i thought it would be, it is disheartening to see it being followed less and less.