Media Ethics

Before moving to Connecticut for the MACOMM program, I worked in the Emergency Department of a hospital up in Boston.  When I started this program, I thought that I might go back after graduating and work in the communications department; if not for my hospital network, then at least a health care organization.   While I am not sure if this is still my final goal, there are several ethical scenarios that I encountered - daily.  One of the most common scenarios, at least for health care, is HIPAA.  Often people would call to check on a family member, however, no matter how gravely ill the patient is, without consent, no information could be provided.  There were also times when we had high-profile cases or when people had been transferred to us after a major accent, where the media would call to try and obtain information for their piece.  Often a skilled reported would try and ask the right questions to get any sort of information out of you. Even so much as letting them know that we were treating a patient could be considered a privacy breech.

Working in the administration office of the ER, there were times when I would gain knowledge about certain topics and I had to decide to share the information or not.  My mother also worked at the same hospital so whether it be about a change in policy, a merger, changing to profit status, or even something as simple as people being let go, I had do filter what information I spoke about.  Some of the information I knew would affect her, but I had an obligation to the people who shared information with me in confidence. No matter what company you work for, there comes a time when you will receive information and have to determine when it is best to pass along to other stakeholders. 

Journalists are constantly facing the ethical conflict and having to decide which and how much information they choose to share.  One example from recent history that comes to mind of an ethical choice was whether or not to release the pictures of Osama Bin Landen’s dead body.  They choose not to, but when Muammar Gaddafi died, several news stations showed videos of this.  If I had any control as to if these were released or not, I am not sure what I would have done.  Who benefits from releasing such graphics footage?  What do these pictures add to the news story you are telling? Most people watch the news while eating breakfast or dinner and I personally feel that such gruesome pictures are not necessary.  However, I can also understand how the several people who were affected by Bin Laden’s terrorism, would want visual evidence.  Seeing is believing. 

While most of what I dealt with in the Emergency Departments seems like it may be trivial, I believe that it gave me a solid foundation of ethics.  However, I found that the guideline questions for discussing a case in the Media Ethics books to be very useful.   As our other class reading from Plansance says, “ethics is about asking the right questions rather than reaching the ‘right’ answers”.  A question that I have starting this class is, what are the best ways to determine what is best for the common good?  Journalists, for example, are supposed to be unbiased, but I feel that it is nearly impossible for them not to form an opinion.  Therefore, every article has to be read with a grain of salt.    A PR company on the other hand, is going to choose to release the information that paints its product or company in the best light.  Where ethics can be such a gray area, how does one make the decision?  
Even though I feel like I could make an ethical decision, in reading some of these cases, I realize that I am guilty when they say that most of us make ethical choices prematurely.  When I first read the examples, the answer seems so simple and obvious.  But upon further investigation you realize that even with “the small stuff”, how you choice to respond to the dilemma has several consequences and affects numerous people.
It’s not always as easy as it seems.