Of al the ethical obligation listed, I think it is most
important to seek truth and report it. If a journalist fails in this area, we
are left with mistrust in the media. A real example I can think of is Stephen
Glass. Over a three-year stretch at “The
New Republic,” Glass fabricated many of his stories and made up sources. Glass was a talented writer—in fiction.
The story that finally got him caught was a story about a
made-up company named “Jukt Micronics” hiring a 15-year-old hacker as a security
consultant. The entire story and sources
were fabricated. This not only makes Glass look bad, but also “The New
Republic.”
When the public hears stories like this, they start to
question the authenticity of news stories as a whole. As the “watchdogs” for
the public, we have an obligation to always tell the truth.
This includes verifying our work before we publish it. That
is a problem in today’s media. Everyone wants to be the first to put a story
out and sometimes facts get misrepresented. Sadly, some news outlets release information first
and correct the information later.
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