Departments



Articles

Less

Editorial: Sign Thefts - Fear of the Opposition?
October 14th, 2004

Editorial: Police Arrested a Person
October 7th, 2004

Editorial: Korean Cloud on the Horizon
September 14th, 2004

Editorial: Moratorium Battle Heats Up
August 30th, 2004

Editorial: Orders From the Top
August 12th, 2004

Editorial: On the Value of Art
July 14th, 2004

Editorial: Of Voles and Men
June 24th, 2004

Editorial: Clam Poaching, are We Number One?
June 4th, 2004

Editorial: Leadership Overcomes Flawed Process in Missile Range Decision
May 10th, 2004

Editorial: Bomb Range Inn
April 25th, 2004

Editorial: Is the President Above the Law?
April 8th, 2004

Editorial: The "Good Old Days"
March 15th, 2004

Editorial: Access to Public Records
March 1st, 2004

Editorial: Sunset Park: A Reality?
February 23rd, 2004

Editorial: The "Tree Ordinance"
February 9th, 2004

More

The Responsiblities of a Journalist

The Responsiblities of a Journalist

Editorial

Journalism is a new profession when compared to Medicine, Law and even Mortuary Science. Unlike doctors and many other professionals, journalists are protected from government control by the Constitution of the United States, First Amendment.


For thousands of years doctor have taken the Hippocratic Oath, and lawyers have a Cannon of Ethics. Doctors and lawyers and many other professionals subscribe to self-policing. And government forces add teeth to such housecleaning. But journalists, except for laws against libel, depend on professional ethics to limit their behavior.


Cedar Key High School offers a course in Journalism. The textbook used by the students devotes thirty-one pages to "Meeting Ethical and Legal Responsibilities." The textbook presents the Society of Professional Journalists` Code of Ethics, which is covered in four sections, namely, Seek the Truth and Publish It, Minimize Harm, Act Independently, and Be Accountable.


The last section may be the one most often overlooked. To be accountable journalist should:


* Clarify and explain news coverage and invite dialogue with the public over journalistic conduct.


* Encourage the public to voice grievances against the news media.


* Admit mistakes and correct them promptly.


* Expose unethical practices of journalists and the news media.


* Abide by the same high standards to which they hold others.


We invite our readers to use the Speak Out or Letters to the Editor to remind us if Cedar Key News fails to observe those ethical standards.

Click for printer friendly version

Email this article to a friend

 

 

© 2013
Cedar Key News

cedarkeynews@gmail.com