Deck 4: Ethical Considerations in Writing and Reporting

Question 1

The dilemma for today's news gatherers is that there are so many pressures on professionals to cross ethical lines, in part because the lines have become so blurred.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Because the news media are expensive big businesses, reporters and producers increasingly go with sensa?tional aspects of a story in order to draw readers and viewers and make a profit for their newspapers and broadcast outlets.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

The reason they do so is that surveys show people like all the sensationalism.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

With the audience divided into identifiable market-based niches, programmers find that catering to the lowest common denominator yields the largest share of audiences and the most advertiser dollars. Sensation invariably sells.

Question 5

Surveys show that the public remains satisfied with media coverage of news. The public's view of the accuracy of news stories reported by the media is at its highest level in more than two decades.

Question 6

Commercial interests have what impact on newsroom decision-making?

Question 7

Define the following and explain their importance to news gathering.

a. "Checkbook journalism."
b. "Journalistic incest."
c. "Herd" or "pack" journalism.

Question 8

What have been some of the major criticisms of journalism over the years?

Question 9

One aspect of reporting that has been above criticism is photography. "The camera doesn't lie," and there have been no instances of photo manipulation in news for any reason.

Question 10

If you become a news reporter, you will see many things that the public doesn't need to see, or wouldn't want to see. Your job is not to titillate the audience or appeal to their base instincts while pursing ratings points or circulation numbers. The job at times involves discretion about what not to show or say.

Question 11

While reporters should maintain the traditional "watchdog" role with news sources, reporters and sources should be respectful adversaries, rather than argumentative ones.

Question 12

What are some of the major tenets of the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics?

Question 13

What are some of the major standards of the Code of Broadcast News Ethics of the Radio-Television News Directors Association?

Question 14

What ethical standards are reflected in organizations of public relations professionals?

Question 15

Increasingly, news is becoming more featurized and user-oriented-more of what people appear to want, rather than what the newspaper editor or broadcast-news editor thinks they need.

Question 16

More specifically, how has "news" changed during the past 20-plus years?

Question 17

Fewer resources are being put into newsgathering because revenues are down sharply in the traditional media. Thus, newspaper reporters are again becoming generalists, local radio has almost no field reporters, and fewer local TV stations feature correspondents.

Question 18

Ideally, what should journalism be?

Question 19

Write a brief 100-word essay reacting to the Committee of Concerned Journalists consensus (pp. 69-70) about what journalists must offer and what citizens should expect.

Question 20

Journalists uniformly reject criticism by the public about the quality of their work, maintaining they're doing the best they can in response to changes in audience expectations and the present economic environment.

Question 21

Some journalists express concerns about the direction in which their profession is moving. What are some of their objections? Is it even possible for the individual reporter to change these conditions?

Question 22

Whatever your field of endeavor, if you get into this business of communication, come in with a high set of ethical standards and don't go against them.

Question 23

Plagiarism is a serious breach of professionalism, a violation of ethical codes, and a career-breaker.

Question 24

Simply defined, plagiarism is co-opting someone else's work as your own.

Question 25

Define the following terms:

a. Direct quote
b. Paraphrase
c. Summation

Question 26

Avoiding plagiarism begins with careful note-taking. Always include in your notes the full citation information about the source.

Question 27

You need not document something that is common knowledge, but if in doubt write a citation.

Question 28

Avoid problems. Don't pass off work as being your own when it isn't.