Re: Media Ethics Discussion -- COM101 Mass Communications

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Date Posted: 15:30:35 12/14/08 Sun
Author: Jamie Beckwith
Subject: Re: Media Ethics Discussion
In reply to: Deb Beardsley 's message, "Re: Media Ethics Discussion" on 01:14:29 12/12/08 Fri

In this case scenario, Mayor David Burr's personal life should not be made public with out his or his partner's consent to follow a story. This would be considered a case in which journalists are going against the ethics.

The newspaper is dealing with rumor or innuendo, meaning there may be no truth to the story at all and it can cause conflict in these people's lives. It would be wrong to expose the mayor's personal information in the media since so many people beleive it whether its true or false and can lead to false accusations. I don't think the reporter should have even called the mayor's house to ask him such a question as to whether Kim Wilson was his girlfriend. Since the mayor had stated clearly that she wasn't, the reporter should respect his word and not inlcude his personal life in the story.

Truthfullness in reporting means more than accuracy and telling the truth to get a story. It also means not misrepresenting the people or story to readers and viewers as well as not reporting disinformation. If the reporter included the mayor's personal life in the story and it was in fact untrue, it would make the profession of journalism seem useless.

If the reporter in this case made a story out of the mayor's personal life to gain more attention to themselves with out their consent, it would be considered unethical in the profession of journalism.

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