Digital Video and New Media Journalism Ethics

DCMA Graduate Project Spring 2020 digital video and new media journalism ethics By Natalie Wade Faculty Advisor: B. Rich Table of Contents Abstract 2 Introduction 3 Code of Ethics Overview 4 Video Journalism 6 Why Changes Need to Be Made 8 Power 8 Fake News 9 Citizen Journalism 10 Ethical Dilemmas in Video-Based and Digital Journalism 13 New Media and Video Journalism Ethics Survey 15 Method 15 Survey Questions (not including demographic questions) 15 Hypothesis 16 Sampling 17 Questionnaire 18 Demographics 19 Suggested Improvements 26 Conclusion 27 Code of Ethics 28 Citations 29 1 Abstract In this literary and research analysis, I will examine the journalist code of ethics using the deontological ethical framework, to identify the elements missing for it to be relevant to a more contemporary, digitally influenced version of journalism. After reviewing the current code and practical applications of ethics, I will discuss video journalism specifically using the three challenges that arise with new media as outlined in Charles Ess’ Digital Media Ethics. I will also conduct a survey that will assess current journalists' understanding and perception of ethics when it comes to video-based journalism and new media. I then will approach the ways we can work towards updating that current code of ethics to ensure that it includes specific answers to common ethical dilemmas for multimedia journalists who work with video content. For this aspect of the paper, I have developed a quantitative approach that would include surveying current journalists to identify ethical grey areas and then develop a mock-up of a media-literate code of ethics for journalists (and documentary filmmakers if it applies). The term digital media means content created, edited, or accessed in a digital form. Digital media includes video, audio, or several other digital platforms. In this paper, I will use the term digital media when referencing something that encompasses video media as well as other forms. This paper will center journalism from a western lens and discuss journalism within the United States. 2 Introduction The term ‘Ethics’ has a wide scope. Theories extend to a number of situations, institutions, and communities and we utilize and analyze them in order to interpret “right” from “wrong.” Journalism ethics is different from many other spheres of ethics because those who practice it are expected to uphold a rigid code of ethics developed to protect sources; function as a political check on the government; and remain unbiased, even in complex ethical situations. There exist strict guidelines that major media outlets are expected to adhere to. Although arguments arise over the interpretation of some points laid out in this code, most of the decisions regarding ethical conundrums do not fall on the individual journalist without this code as guidance. Today, however, journalism does not solely manifest between the pages of a newspaper and it hasn’t for a very long time. Contemporary journalism’s definition has expanded into a multifaceted distribution of content, combining media formats. With this expansion — which has been predominantly propelled by the development of the internet and the digital video camera — media journalism has upended the development of news through this new means of production and delivery, changed how it is consumed, and refashioned the existing expectations. Outlets have adapted, attempting to keep up with rapid technological advancements, and looking for new ways to make their stories marketable to internet-savvy consumers who are accustomed to a high quality of production. The ease of image-capture and post-production has led to more professional journalists and citizen journalists sharing video content, while traditional media outlets experiment with ways to incorporate video into their digital publishing. 3 However, the traditional principles of journalism ethics were not developed for the current day capabilities of digital videos. New ethical issues have developed with the advent of advanced video technology, and it is important for journalists to be able to identify ways media outlets could potentially abuse their power using said technology. To uphold the journalist codes standards, a hyper-specific code of ethics for video must exist, specifically addressing video manipulation, copyright issues, and the unclear distinction between news and opinion or commentary pieces. Code of Ethics Overview The journalism code of ethics was born as a counterbalance to protect sources, to validate journalists’ claims as a cornerstone of democracy, and provide a way to establish the news as a trustworthy political check on the government. According to media ethicist Stephen Ward: “Journalism, at its best, is one of the arts of democracy. Journalists provide the news and analysis by which a society communicates with itself, allowing it some measure of self-government. The public absorbs a daily barrage of news images that over time help to define its sense of place in society and within a global community.” (Ward Ethics for the New Mainstream) Through journalism, a society can pin-point or uncover issues within its political state and then debate ways to reform its institutions and face the future. There are many who believe “journalism should be the lifeblood of a deliberative democracy.” (Ward Ethics for the New Mainstream) Since the journalism code of ethics is a practical application that takes moral consideration of the public and private lives of others, it can be considered a form of applied ethics because it “. deal[s] with the articulation and application of principles to problems. In 4 applied ethics, we are actors who do ethics, arguing for certain principles and values and their application in controversial cases.” (Ward The New Media Ethics) One of the most widespread journalistic codes was developed by The Society of Professional Journalists. Its preamble states that "public enlightenment is the forerunner of justice and the foundation of democracy. The duty of the journalist is to further those ends by seeking truth and providing a fair and comprehensive account of events and issues." (SPJ) Although there are minor differences between the ethical codes of specific publications, most share the same basic principles: accuracy, objectivity, truthfulness, impartiality, fairness, and public accountability. This framework is reflective of a Kantian, deontological, duty-based approach to ethics, but an overlap with many other ethical frameworks exist. From a deontological perspective, the approaches to the ‘ideal’— honest, objective, and transparent — in journalism are examined. Sergey G. Korkonosenko, the author of the journal Deontology of Journalism as a Field of Moral Choice for a Professional, examines the concept of journalism deontology, ethics, and morality. The author argues that a deontological approach may be more of an ideal than a reality and that deontology, in this case, becomes something more utilitarian-pragmatic: “The normative treatment of deontology operates with a concept of the duty. In our version the key concept is the due. The difference, on fluent impression, can seem insignificant, but we think it to be a basic one. In the first case, the emphasis is done on obligations of the press, in the second case – on the necessary and true behaviour, without which the life will lose its natural order and vector of development. If so, deontology becomes an area where the ideal is being formed on the basis of laws one has got to know.” (Korkonosenko 1724) The ‘due’ in journalism is a necessity to be understood and accepted by people and included by them in their personal moral outlook as well as their own strategy of behavior. 5 Video Journalism One of the issues regarding video journalism and newsroom convergence is that of a larger workload on individual journalists. Konstantinos Saltzis, author of Inside the Changing Newsroom: Journalists' Responses to Media Convergence says that “in television news, new production equipment has brought the promise of single-person newsgathering based on the idea of multi-skilled crewing.” (Saltzis) This expectation could take a toll on their ethical decision making as multiskilling becomes an expectation. This is because “multiskilling in newsrooms is aimed at cost reduction efficiency improvements, but at the same time raises significant concerns about declining quality in news output . .” (Saltzis) However, a lack of reform in the expectations and ethical standards remains one of the larger issues in video journalism. According to Ess, “much of the ethical reflection on digital media . arose alongside technologies themselves.”(Ess 1) Although this is true to some extent within the realm of video journalism, these new ethical questions have yet to be translated into a code of ethics relating to the one developed for print journalism. This is an ethical dilemma that also reflects the three challenges digital media tends to present, according to Ess, author of Digital Media Ethics: 1. “They raise for us ethical problems already familiar from our use of more traditional media.” Motion and sound set the video apart, from other mediums. While ethical guidelines, such as “minimize harm,” or “seek truth and report it,” still apply to contemporary 6 journalism, when you add in these other elements it becomes harder to live up to some of the standards of the code while remaining transparent, which creates more opportunities for ethical

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