Online Ethics

The ethical issues in online journalism are many. I feel the dilemma is between the new generation and previous generation of journalists and journalism. The scary part is that new journalists might become used to the laissez-fair attitude of online journalism.

One problem I do have is reporters may still be acting as though they are above the fray, but many reporters are starting to have blogs. Up until now, journalists have worked hard to not have their opinions strewn throughout their work. Now, if any readers have any suspicions of a story being slanted or biased, they simply have to locate the reporters blog and possible confirm suspicions.

The Society of Professional Journalist’s Code of Ethics says to act independently. It says to remain free of associates and activities that may compromise integrity or damage credibility. I feel as though personal blogs do just that.

There is a Wall Street Journal article I found online titled “Should Newspapers Sponsor Blogs Written by Reporters?” The story is about Matt Marshall, a reporter for San Jose Mercury News who also writes SiliconBeat, a personal blog sponsored by the Mercury News and co-written by technology reporter, Michael Bazeley.

“Unlike their work for the paper, the reporters’ blog posts generally aren't reviewed by an editor,” the article states. “Other posts on SiliconBeat have included rumors and the use of anonymous sources that typically wouldn't make it into the Mercury News, and the two sometimes inject opinions into their posts.”

Although this seems troubling, I’m torn about this situation. Journalists are also human beings with basic rights and I always seem to be grappling with that issue. I believe whole-heartedly in the first amendment, which would guarantee the right for a journalist to own a blog and actively use a blog. Just because we are journalists, are we not allowed to have blogs? If we are, do they need to be edited or screened or written under some sort of alias? If that’s the case, I don’t see the point. Why be blogging about something like a personal opinion if you can’t really give a personal opinion? I feel as though it should be all or nothing. However, I do realize that prior generations of journalists have worked hard to be unbiased and keep their stories un-slanted. Perhaps they refrained from posting signs in their yard endorsing a certain candidate. Perhaps they kept themselves from wearing certain T-shirts or putting certain bumper stickers on their car. Those were the rules then, so why are they not followed now?

Christia Gibbons has been a newspaper reporter and editor for more than 25 years. She has a blog as a freelancer, but it's not about news. She is also a news writing instructor at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism.

Gibbons says in an e-mail she believes blogging is great for columnists, but is concerned with general assignment and beat reporters keeping a blog.

“It's one thing if the blog is kind of a notebook of odds and ends on the beat that are interesting but aren't big enough to write an entire story on,” she says, “and it's quite another when the reporter offers an opinion on something they are covering.”

Gibbons says our credibility and neutrality as journalists are already taking big hits by an untrusting readership. She then asks why we would want to do something that could feed into such a thing.

“As journalists, we shouldn't be trying to be like everyone else and blog, we should stick to the basics of accuracy, fairness and balance,” she says. “If we don't, who will? And if we don't, how will people know what information to trust?”

That is a good point, the point that got me thinking about this entire issue, which I believe to be an issue of online ethics.

A good test case could come of this. What if a journalist is offered with the idea to write a blog by his or her editor? What if the journalist is uncertain by the problem it could present, or about the opinions he or she could display online? Should the journalist take it?

What if the reporter knows he or she could keep a blog and it not be found by their editors? Should he or she go through with it or is it just best to know what’s right? It’s hard to answer these questions nowadays with the issue of blogging and so many people being on the fence about it.

As the internet changes, the world of journalism will change, too. Time will tell what many will eventually think of reporters keeping and publicizing their own blogs.