Do you feel that Today's Journalists have forgotten the "Ethics" of Journalism?

I seriously think that today's journalists have forgotten what it used to mean to bring the news to the people. Like you said, it's all a media circus created to win ratings. The stories that draw the most people are going to be the ones that are shown. It's a pity that the most popular stories these days seem to all have something to do with horrid, gruesome pictures and video, or else celebrities gone wild, like Britney Spears. It's sending a horrible message out to everyone--if you want attention, all you have to do is kill someone or strip to your skivvies and play in the ocean.

Hi,there! I do agree with you to some degree for this topic. Nowadays some of the jounalists don't pay much attention to the truth itself but try to exaggerate the thing in order to attract more people's attention. Sometimes they even make some fake news so that it can be popular with people.I do think it's absolutely wrong that media doesn't reflect the truth.Sometimes even if they see the violent scenes,they'd better try to keep the bloody things away from the kids. It's not good at all for them. Thanks for the discussion and have a nice day!

As a masscom student yes.. no ethics at all

yup,especially nowadays...
:-)

i quite agree with you,most of the journalists in africa for instance do not give indepth analysis of real situations anymore what they do is to give informations on the surface of a situation and thn add up to it to make it sound more interesting, they want to sell their organisations

I will defend the journalists on this one, and I will say that some have forgotten about ethics, but bare in mind that many journalists only want the truth, they will do anything and everything to get that truth. I know a few journalists and I have wanted to get into journalism, and I can say firsthand that most all journalists like to cross the line only because they are desperate for more information.

Like many professions, journalists have to take orders from their bosses. Like it or not, many media outlets are businesses (except for publicly owned ones) and they are there to make money. Period. They publish or broadcast what makes them revenue. They make money by selling advertisements, which the audience is subjected to in order to gain access to the content at a substantially diminished price. The larger the audience, the more money they can charge for the ads, and the more money they make.

Journalists have little to do with what gets reported. They're told what the subject will be, they write about it, then it is edited. In newspapers, if the reporter feels that what they have written has been changed too much, they don't have much of a say of what is done with the content. It is not theirs, it belongs to the publisher. In the industry, you can "yank your byline" which means to take your name off your work. The newspaper generally still publishes the story, but instead of having the reporter's name it says it was written by "employees of ______" or something to that effect.

The fact that they are reporting on such things says something about you, and the society you live in. These things grab attention. If there has been an collision on the side of the road, do you turn your head to look? Why do people gather around to watch when a fight breaks out?

Saying that you are "forcefully subjected" to this kind of content is fueling the problem. You are not forced. You do not have to watch. If you watch, you help the news company to make money, and they will continue to show such stories, and continue to try and shock you. You have to go out and actively seek information, it is easy to remain ignorant, if that's what you want.

Yes I feel today Journalism has forgotten all the ethics. They just make anything a news. They are trying to make a news out of anything and everything. They should change for the good of the society.

I think ethics left journalism long ago, and I find it totally unacceptable. I hate the way the press hounds celebrities, demanding their rights because people have a right to know every faux pas someone makes. One of my favorite disgusting examples was when Bill Cosby's son was murdered. Bill was trying to leave his house, probably to make funeral arrangements, and the press had all their microphones in his face demanding to know, "How do you feel about your son's murder?" I was appalled. Here was a man who's child had just been murdered, and they weren't giving him any time to grieve. Besides, why was the question even necessary? Anyone with any imagination can figure out how he must have been feeling about the tragedy. Duh!

I sure do, especially when it comes to families who have been through a tragedy whether it's somebody famous or just someone on the local news. They'll do anything for a sensational headline or photo or video. Then it's shown over and over again and nobody even thinks what that's like for the families.
Annie