Ethics in Journalism

Dolores Hans
MSMU class of 2025

(3/2024) For as long as I can remember, I’ve included some form of religion in most of my journals, speeches, creative writings, essays, etc. Because religion is so important in my life, it is a natural tendency to incorporate it in my writing. However, becoming a journalist for the Emmitsburg News-Journal has brought up concerns for me as a writer. I wondered if it was ethical to include religion in my articles. While I do believe that there is a truth to what is ethical and what isn’t, I also know humans to see ethics relatively or subjectively. Even if we know that there is a moral and ethical truth, we still tend to think it should be for everyone what it is for us.

When I asked if I could mention God or my faith in the articles I wrote, I was told that I could, and that statistically, most people reading the articles would also come from some sort of faith background. There are certain ethical questions one must ask themselves when writing, specifically when that writing is supposed to inform the readers. Is what I’m saying accurate and true? This question is not as easy to answer as you may think, because "true" for me may not be "true" for you. For example, I know a person who wrote a song about a situation centered around someone else who caused them a great heartache. While the lyrics do contain many truths about the situation in general, the only truth we hear is that of the writer’s. We don’t know the heart or intent of the person he was writing about. We only have one perspective.

As writers, we are called to gain as many perspectives and truths as we can about a story, event, person, etc. To speak a truth is a challenge because people may not be receptive to it. Edward R. Murrow, the man whose quote is on the front page on the Emmitsburg News-Journal, felt that he had to be courageous and truthful, which helped expose McCarthyism. There are some people in this world who would say their opinions with no regard for sensitivity or empathy, and others who are not courageous enough to speak the truth that needs to be heard, out of fear of hurting someone. These extremes will isolate us from each other and only make it harder for us to trust what we are being told. It is hard to find a balance, but if you remember the mission, good things can happen. Murrow was truthful and courageous—he spoke righteously without fear of causing discomfort. Notice that he didn't intend to hurt others with his words; he just had to be firm in his authority and know that the truth hurts sometimes. Murrow said, "To be persuasive we must be believable; to be believable we must be credible; credible we must be truthful".

Truth isn’t guaranteed. All we can do is put ourselves in the right positions and get the right information to be factual, unbiased, and inspiring.

Another ethical question a writer must ask themselves: Does their writing shows bias? When I write an article, I try to proofread it in someone else’s shoes. For example, way back in September, I wrote an article, much like a creative writing story, about a boy and his single mother. After drafting my article, I put myself in the shoes of a signal mother, and I read my article and tried to find spots in which there was a stereotype or any other way I could offend someone. I also based a lot of the story on real-life experiences from people and families I know who have struggled financially. My family struggled for a while growing up, and I remember the days our neighbor would mow the lawn, or various families from my parish donated a hot meal for me and my family. These are experiences that I knew would be okay to use in the article. Another thing to think about when giving information, or receiving it, is if there is an abuse of power. We rely on the newspapers and news channels to inform us of just about everything going on in the world. I don’t typically watch the news anymore, and I never really did when I was younger, but at least then I had to go through it to get to the good channels. In the last five or so years, I have noticed that I don’t know who to believe anymore. CNN? FOX? Not a clue. They all seem biased to me. These writers know that they have information we need, so they could twist the truths of it to sway our perspective of it to fit theirs, if they wanted to.

Think about your favorite writer. He or she could be a poet, a playwright, a song lyric writer, a novelist, etc. What about his or her style, message, personal qualities, etc. makes you like them? What are some qualities of his or her writing? Is he or she truthful, reliable, unbiased, entertaining, deep, personable, etc.? Does he or she abuse their power to sway your perspectives to fit theirs? Does he or she inspire you to enrich your soul with goodness?

All this to say, we should be careful who we listen to or read from. That being said, we shouldn’t expect perfection from writers either. Edward R. Murrow says, "It is not, I think, humanly possible for any reporter to be completely objective, for we are all to some degree prisoners of our education, travel, reading—the sum total of our experience."

I am grateful to write for such a beautiful and small, local paper. Being more certain of who I am writing to, and the ideals held in the area, has helped me feel connected to each reader, and has kept me in line. I can’t abuse my power, because let’s face it, I have none. All that matters is a potentially good read that might reach your hearts or make you think, and that’s all I could ask for. So, I say with depth and truth, thank you.