Personal Code of Ethics

The typical answer for the question, "What is journalism?" includes statements about one's duty to seek and report truth, to be unbiased and honest, and to be a watchdog over the government. These are all important parts of journalism which I will address in a bit, but journalism to me is simple. It's all about storytelling! I started looking into the broadcast journalism major here at BYU because I love people, writing, and telling stories. It's been a perfect fit. Whether it is an investigative or a feature piece, there is always a story to be told. I love taking lots of details and cramming those that are most important into a minute and fifteen seconds. I love getting to the bottom of an issue and being able to express the essence of what's happening to a larger audience. It is fun to become a mini-expert on a lot of different things. I also really like to make things sound conversational by writing … and rewriting … and rewriting so that it ends up sounding like something you would tell your friends.

I have always had a passion for finding truth. From a young age I have had an appreciation for the importance of honesty and integrity instilled in me. Honesty in journalism is no different. In a class I had last Fall semester, Ruth Todd explained the importance of seeing the end from the beginning. What she meant is that you have to know where you ultimately want to end up, and keep that in mind as you go through life. You have to determine what is really important to you, and never let the heat of the "breaking news moment" affect your making decisions you know to be right. If you know you want to leave the world (or the profession) with no regrets, it is crucial to be honest in everything you do. Your sources will thank you, and your good name will remain untarnished.

Along with knowing the end from the beginning goes my definition of journalistic excellence. Having excellence in journalism means that a story was not just thrown together with little effort. When I think of having excellence in journalism, I think of having integrity. Integrity is an important concept to me. In math, the word “integer” means any whole number. Not a fraction. Not a decimal. We can take that meaning of integer and infer that to have integrity means to be “whole.” If a person has journalistic integrity, they know that there can be no shortcuts made. You cannot have integrity in some aspects of the job, and be dishonest in others. A journalist with excellence, therefore, is someone who knows their standard of ethics and sticks to it!

Journalism gains relevance when the stories are told with a purpose. Stories providing information which help people understand the world around them are sometimes more relevant than just spouting out facts of gloom and doom. If you must report on destruction, report it with a story behind it. Show how it effects every-day people. Show what is going to happen in the future. Audiences will be more inclined to watch relevant stories than a string of sensational stories. Another important part of storytelling is realizing that there is a fine line between reporters who try to be both journalist and celebrity. There has been a recent trend with reporters like Katie Couric and Anderson Cooper where journalists gain celebrity status. The danger lies in how they deal with the fame. If they use it to influence and persuade people, it may cause them to loose credibility as an unbiased reporter. Credibility is crucial as a journalist, and gaining celebrity status in exchange for credibility is not worth it.

The more a journalist is familiar with the intended audience, the more the messages can be tailored to that audience. The audience will then find those stories more relevant and important, and the communicator is more effective. I really liked the quote discussed in class that says, "Part of a journalist's responsibility, in other words, is not just providing information, but providing it in such a way that people will be inclined to listen" (The Elements of Journalism, 149).

Journalists have many purposes. I believe the two most important purposes are to inform and to be a watchdog. I talked above about how strongly I feel about the storytelling part of journalism. Journalists also have a responsibility to watch over the government and other institutions. Journalism has been called the fourth estate – a virtual fourth branch of government. I think this is an applicable title because just as the other three branches of government watch over each other, the media has the responsibility to watch over all three and keep them in check. If there is dishonesty or scandall that the general population needs to know about, it is our duty as members of the press to expose those wrongdoings. This watchdog role is important because it monitors power, it offers voice to the voiceless, it helps prosecution and finds crimes that may not otherwise have been discovered, and it helps prompt reform. In my career I hope to be able to bring light to difficult issues and to expose wrongdoings – but I will be careful in which stories I choose to cover. I will only cover those stories which are important for the general public to know about because I think otherwise, watchdog journalism can be simply a means to ruin a good name. I think the difference is the way one goes about finding these stories. If a journalist goes around looking for the bad things people do, they will inevitably find it. I do not think this is a good enough criteria to do an investigative piece. However, if the information is important and relevant to the public I think it should be exposed.

Another important aspect of good journalism is verification. It is essential that a journalist checks the facts, and then reveals where he got his information. In order to maintain credibility and honesty with an audience, it is best to reveal as much as you can about sources and methods used to get the story. Clarity in this sense can help the audience see why you did what you did and will lead them to trust you more as a journalist. As I mentioned earlier, credibility is essential in journalism! If the people do not believe you, there is very little purpose in your reporting. I think I have learned some valuable things in this class, including ways to go about dealing with a source who wishes to remain anonymous. I feel pretty confident in my ability to get people on the record, unless the story is a major piece about corruption in the government or another institution. I actually used some of these skills in my reporting this semester. I spoke with one woman who did not want to be on camera and I was able to convince her that she had a wonderful story to share, and that the public should hear what she has to say. This and other skills I have learned will help me in my profession as I strive to make verification a big part of my excellence in journalism.

There are many other important parts of good journalism, but I now want to simply focus on two things I will have as part of my personal code of ethics when I am in the field as a reporter. I want to be sensitive when dealing with tough stories, and I want to be completely honest in getting and reporting my stories.

First, I want to be sensitive about the things I cover. I realize that covering trauma and disasters is inevitable. The discussion we had last week in class was really helpful in preparing me to decide what to cover and what to omit from a story. I will only shoot video of things which I am sure will not offend the audience – and I will try to be sensitive to those who are suffering and/or mourning the loss of a loved one. If possible, I will interview them and ask open-ended questions about the life of the one they lost. I will not, however, be blunt and ask, “How do you feel?” or other insensitive questions. There are sensitive ways to go about things, and I will do my best to be understanding and not disrupt the greiving process or make it worse.

Second, I will be as honest as I can about where I get my information, why I decided to cover the stories I cover, and how it will affect my audience. I talked about verification, and I think that is a large part of journalistic honesty. I think the more honest I am, the more credible I will be. Jon Ebinger told us in his lecture that we should always be honest now, because the truth will come out sooner or later. I don’t ever want to have regrets in journalistm. I certainly don’t think it is worth it to be dishonest to get a story, because it will end up biting you later.

The things I have learned in this class will be very helpful as I make decisions as a journalist. I think the principles I’ve learned will especially help me in being more honest and sensitive as a journalist.