Person Code of Conduct

Everett Shell
Comms 239
Professor Cressman
April 13, 2010

Personal Code of Conduct


My own personal view of the code of conduct in journalism is simple, being we all have a duty and responsibility as journalists to report only the truth in our stories, as well as to be the people’s voice. Being a reporter comes down to having a voice in society that whatever story we may produce, it will help the people in a way to feel they too have an influence or say that can decide what is ethical in terms of making self-governing decisions. I have come to realize over the course of the semester that a journalist’s personal code of conduct and ethics are the foundation of what makes a good reporter. Ethics is one of the most important factors of being a journalist, getting all sides of a story and not being biased or skewing a story just to obtain a bigger audience. When it comes down to it, news reporting is not about us and our glory as journalist, but what is most significant, is in the honor of reporting reliable accurate news to the people.

Journalist should use the media in their best interest when reporting, remembering the audience first before their own opinions. This semester I interned with ABC 4 News in Salt Lake City, and found that it is important in the newsroom that they all work together as a team in order to have the best news reporting, and therefore, a more successful news station. When a reporter was out in the field and they couldn’t get the footage they needed, then it was my job to search in the video archives for some great b-roll to go along with the reporters’ story. Verification is another important factor of journalism. Always double-check your data and facts to make sure they are correct and accurate before reporting. Often, there will be occasion when some information may change within the next couple of days of an occurrence, so it’s a journalist’s duty to go back and update the story as needed.
I also realized during this semester that I’m not going into journalism to get rich, it’s more about making a difference in the society that I live in by reporting the truth. Journalist should keep an independence from those they cover by maintaining accuracy, verification, and serving the public’s interest, as well as the desire to inform the people. Parts of the trade in journalism includes, adhering to the principles of truthfulness, which is of the up most importance to journalist if they truly want success. Another may be an allegiance to the citizens and community, that as a journalist, you will give them the news they need as pertaining to their community. In many cases of reporting, it may involve playing a watchdog role and providing a forum for public debate, but this can often tend to become more opinion based. It's not wrong to have opinions in reporting, but we must keep in consideration not to be bias towards the other party, but to back up all opinions with facts that support the statement you are considering. The objective for journalism should be less of your opinions, and more of the people’s opinion.

Our goal as a journalist is to report accurate reliable news for the people and not to always state our opinions towards the subject. I have noticed some journalist start out with a story in mind, so that when they ask their sources questions, they will ask in a way that can verify or favor the initial story they would like to report. It seems like it is more towards the journalist’s interest and not for that which favors the people’s unbiased needs. Journalists tend to report from ideologues based off a set of aims or ideas to obtain one's goal. In reporting you often have a vision of what you want to report first, and a lot of those come from our own experiences. We should remain neutral not favoring any one stance or opinion but reporting only the facts as they are. Therefore we should not write from our own perspective but report truth from an unbiased standard. Before starting a story, we should first be well rounded in our story by researching out all its facets, issues, and possible stances. Any great story should always be researched, and time invested in collecting data and information before writing or reporting it.

We all see the world in our own perspective according to culture, religion, traditions, and political stand points. It is just in our nature to have an opinion on most things, which can control our reporting in the way we present a story. For example, if a reporter isn't as familiar with a certain group of people, the reporter may report the story only through personal experience or what he or she have seen or read in the media, which is not always the best way to report news. I know that we all have opinions, but it is important to not let our opinions effect our reporting. News should be more based on facts, evidence, and human sources we interview to make a great story, and therefore should not be skewed in a particular way that would make it appear biased. Journalist’s main focus on objectivity is reliance upon truth. It is more of a practical truth understood that journalists have opinions, of course they do, they are human, but since journalists have assumed a duty to report the news to the people, it is critical that each journalists should follow the guidelines of fairness, balance, and accuracy in every story. In other words, journalists should not be influenced by personal feelings, interpretations, or prejudice in their presentation of the news, but more so by that which is based on facts.
Watchdog journalism is a form of investigative reporting that consists of finding the truth in a confidential story by searching beneath the surface and finding out what is really going on, particularly in political or economical issues that our government may be withholding from its people. I tend to interpret watchdog journalism as a balance in the media by uncovering the truth behind crooked and greedy people. There are always records and evidence of truth within the government, but it is up to the journalist to find it. If something doesn't seem right, then start investigating and find out what is really going on; this can lead to a breaking news story that will put the government or whomever in check. It is important to realize that investigative reporting is not opinionated journalism because with unbiased facts and data, it is not the journalist’s opinion anymore. We may have assumptions towards someone or an organization, but without facts it's not a story. I also liked what we talked about in class over the credibility of a reporter who becomes a celebrity like Anderson Cooper, or Barbara Walters. Should they still be considered reliable reporters? I think they should, because they know the rules and ethics of journalism. They are telling the truth, but they add more emotion into their stories, which is not always the best approach to reporting. It can cause lack of credibility; people don’t trust their emotion-driven intentions. When Anderson Cooper went out to Haiti and helped move a little boy, who was bleeding due to people throwing bricks off a rooftop, I saw Cooper more as a hero, and not as the traditional journalist. Who knows, that may be where journalism ends up? What the clip resulted in was that it caught my attention, and I wanted to know more about this story in Haiti and why the people were fighting each other.

My own personal code of conduct that I plan to live by as a journalist is to be steadfast in getting all the facts and information that I need to have a great story by researching each story before going out and interviewing people, and always remembering to keep my morals and standards as a follower of the LDS faith. I can make a difference in this world, as well as be a voice to the people in reporting reliable and credible news stories by making ethical judgments in all of journalism. It is not my opinions that matter; it’s the facts that matter in news. I really enjoy journalism, and I think it is truly inspired by the gospel as it is grounded in serving others from an ethical point of view, and doing what is right for the greater good of society.