As only most recently highlighted by Chuck Roberts' slimy "
...some people say..." smear on Ned Lamont, mainstream media journalism has become just a reeking ethical cesspool over the past 15 years. It's just sickening how many have come to belive what they are getting from their media outlet is Shine-ola. While it's gratifying to see Arianna Huffington call CNN on it, that's just not enough. Not even close if the press is going to live up to it's first Amendment responsibilities.
So who does one complain to when a reporter purposefully distorts, slants and harms others for political and personal gain? Is the only option out there to boo the offender off the journalistic stage? And what about Ann Coulter? I don't think she's likely to take a hint.
Doctors have Medical Societies and Medical Boards that routinely hand out serious discipliary action to the bad-boys of medicine. Attorneys have their State Bars. Journalism of all types, however is an essentially unregulated profession in the U.S. because of First Amendment protections. This is exactly how it should be- But it cuts both ways.
So where is the Journalism Code of Ethics? surely,
Language, A Key Mechanism of Control does not count.
A Google search using "press code of ethics" reveals that they do exist.
The following bodies publish ethical codes:
-The Associated Press
-American Society of Newspaper Editors
-National Press Photographers Association
and a page or two down the list...
-Society of Professional Journalists
Let's not forget the Norwegian, Spanish and Bosnian press' ethics codes...
A look at these documents shows that they are very good. For instance, I like the admonition not to be manipulated by staged photo-ops and the like.
Now, I'm not a part of the press in any fashion beyond very amateur blogs and diaries. I have no idea what impact, if any, these published ethics codes actually have in the real world of journalism.
If I could name even one journalist, photographer or editor that belonged to the bodies that drafted these codes.... Or of any news organization besides The Associated Press that holds their reporters to a code, I would be thrilled. But the obscurity provides security for rogues of the profession. It's just an observation that many large media outlets these days seem to actively discourage ethics in journalism. If this trend is not halted immediately, we may be staring at the destruction of our constitutional system, all, as loudly trumpeted by the consolidated press, in the name of preserving The American Way.
It's way past time for journalists of all stripes: print, broadcast and Internet... Investigator, anchor, editor/editoralist, blogger and activist need to all come together in a body to create a common set of principles that would set the basic standard of conduct, regardless of political orientation or topic. Of course there would be discipline specific issues as well- The dilemmas of an investigative journalist are very different from the problems of an incubator advocacy site like Daily Kos.
It could only be a completely voluntary endeavor. Efforts must ensure that the creation of the principles are not subverted by powerful interests. Of course any such body would be politicized to some degree. That's politics, right? Even given the realities of this world, could the result be any worse than what we have now? I don't think so, and I think that women and men of goodwill are ready to start to oversee these kind of endevors again.
The truth, in the end, is not a partisan issue; it's the truth, and all responsible journalists, Right, Left or Center, seek it. Journalists need to be rewarded for being responsible, or it's the irresponsible and greedy talking heads who, like the lightest things in a river, float to the top. (apologies to Franklin)
Self-policing of the code by the body that writes it would be backed up by the standard way prevarications have always been uncovered in the press. Those who honor the methods of truth will use the code logo as a brand- like The Good Housekeeping Seal (but hopefully not like The Comics Code), and those who don't pledge to the code can explain just why not to the public they serve. There can be pressure for executives in the press industry to hire journalists who overtly adhere to the code.
I'm not usually a moralist, but I am a die-hard Constitutionist. The implications for maintaining the status quo are staggering. As unlikely seeming as this proposition is, it's way past past time for reform.