Always Discuss Ethics

Su Jing

NPPA’s Digital Manipulation Code of Ethics states: “As journalists we believe the guiding principle of our profession is accuracy; therefore, we believe it is wrong to alter the content of a photograph in any way that deceives the public.”
For journalism practitioners this code of ethics is obviously right, because we all have the idea in mind that our primary obligation is to seek truth and report it as fully as possible. We should not manipulate or create news. But why in practice journalists and media always get out of line? The explanation from the news director at the Las Vegas television station is interesting. The editor explained for the editing mistake of adding sound of gunshots and slot machines in a file tape that this mistake happened because his station had gone too long without a discussion about editing standards. I think it is not an awkward excuse, on the contrary, it indicates the importance of regular discussion of ethics in media companies and journalism schools.
Reality is not perfect. We may always find conflict between the requirement of high quality sound or pictures and the journalism ethics. We need to satisfy our audience’s critical eyes and ears, which may distract us from the line of ethics, especially when we haven’t heard and talked journalism ethics for a long time. Tension in work and requirements of professional may erode the levee of ethics gradually. It is necessary to always discuss what we should not do in order to remind us the ethics, to regularly maintain the levee in our mind.