The Responsibility of the Media: Ethical Theories and Perspectives
The media is defined as the way of communication to the mass. Many ethical theories including deontology and virtue ethics apply to the responsibilities of the media. Additionally, the theories can explain different perspectives such as ethical egoism and relativism in relation to the media. In this paper, I will explain how these theories and perspectives are applicable in the media in their quest to promote truth and professional content.
The Power of the Media
Before I start, I would like to reiterate that media is the most powerful entity globally. They have the means and influence to make the guilty innocent and innocent guilty. Media controls the power of the masses, whether old, young, boy, girl or rich and poor (Jacquette, 2016). The media have both positive and negative impact on the society, and therefore it holds the button of truth that can prevent or lead to instability.
The Responsibility of Spreading Fair and Unbiased Information
The media has the main responsibility of spreading fair, unbiased and truthful information to the mass. It reports on many issues such as weather, politics, sports, economy, local traffic and sometimes international crimes. In this regard, Deontology is an ethical theory that examines if an action is right or wrong depending on the consequences it can cause (Jacquette, 2016). In application to the media, the theory holds that if one has to publish a story in the public media, it has to be ethically right. For instance, any publisher who edits an interview story to present a different idea from the original interview would be considered ethically wrong, according to Deontology theory (Akyazı, 2018). Although the media has the right to freedom like any other U.S citizens, they have the moral obligation of presenting ethically correct content.
Respecting Cultural Differences
Relativism is a perspective that holds the idea that the understanding of one's values and beliefs should be based in terms of his/her culture, society, or their values. In regard to this, the media has an obligation to publish what is ethically and morally correct to the specific audience (Akyazı, 2018). The media, therefore, have to know that what is ethically and morally correct differs geographically. The media similarly holds the keys to truthful information according to Relativism perspective since it publishes various stories touching on different social issues such as marriage, incest, polygamy, genocide and so on (Christians et al., 2015). The media has the responsibility of respecting morally incorrect aspects of a majority of societies when talking about slavery, murder, rape, and terrorism according to Relativism.
The Influence of Ethical Egoism
On the other side, Ethical egoism is a perspective that allows people to act according to their wish morally. It provides as for how people should behave and not how they behave. It is not based on facts but how the individual feels about the same. For this perspective, if something makes us feel good, then it is considered good, and if it is bad, we consider it bad (Hindman 2017). The media constantly tends to bring out this perspective. For instance, if the media reports about a murder case, most comments will consist of that act being wrong and calling for the prosecution of the case (Akyazı, 2018). When the media publishes a story providing opinions on a certain issue, it is attempting to influence the mass, and as such, they need to do it ethically and truthfully. According to this perspective, media tries to portray to us what is acceptable and not.
Focusing on Virtue Ethics
Virtue ethics theory emphasizes the character of media personnel and their good deeds, not what is right. The responsibility of the media is to do what is universally accepted and be responsible media (Akyazı, 2018). This theory is closely related to the code of ethics which provides guidelines for quality media products. In this regard, the media is expected to only publish truthful stories and avoid deliberate distortion of stories to gain popular readership. The morals of this theory call for the media to evaluate all side of the story before publishing, so that in case of mischief, evidence can be sourced. The media has to honor the code of ethics in order to minimize harm and provide reliable information that does not infiltrate the privacy of individuals, societies or entities (Christians et al., 2015). According to virtue ethics, what is good is emphasized at the expense of what is right, so the media has the sole mandate of achieving this by adhering to the moral code of ethics and publishing useful, truthful and accurate information.
Conclusion
Therefore, media disseminates information to the mass, always has and it always will. The published information goes beyond radio, journals, and any media channel. The theories and perspectives discussed in this work provide the vast insight of the responsibility of the media in providing accurate content. The media need to be truthful, unbiased and report factual content. The society similarly has the responsibility to evaluate the facts and discern them from opinions. Some of the information from the media therefore can have a positive or negative influence on the audience.
References
Akyazı, A. (2018). THE REFLECTION OF ETHICAL PRINCIPLES OF PRESS TO THE INTERNET MEDIA. Journal of Media Critiques [JMC], 3(12).
Christians, C. G., Fackler, M., Richardson, K., Kreshel, P., " Woods, R. H. (2015). Media ethics: Cases and moral reasoning. Routledge.
Hindman, M. (2017). 9 Journalism Ethics and Digital Audience Data. Remaking the News: Essays on the Future of Journalism Scholarship in the Digital Age, 177.
Jacquette, D. (2016). Journalistic ethics: Moral responsibility in the media. Routledge.
