Function

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 441.

ETHICS OF PRINT MEDIA

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Print media is most likely what you come in contact with on a daily basis. It's how you get your information, and they include everything from newspapers and magazines to billboards and posters.

Journalism's top priority is to ensure that information provided is truthful and accurate, that professional ethics is understood and practiced. This is achieved by making ethical decisions that apply to the media.

Why is being ethical so important? Why does it even matter?

Many people who don't quite grasp the function of ethics in print media may ask these questions. But the answer is simple.

Ethics in print media is used to establish credibility and to distinguish between what is “right” and what is “wrong,” whatever the case may be.

According to the book, Media Ethics: Issues and Cases, “ethics takes us out of the world of ‘This is the way I do it' or ‘This is the way it's always been done' into the realm of ‘This is what I should do' or ‘This is the action that can be rationally justified.”

Being ethical allows you to combine your values with your responsibilities to decide what to do in questionable situations. For example, a journalist who sees it as his responsibility to produce a true and factual story for the public will place a high value on getting the truth and will not sacrifice doing something illegal to get it.