Analysis of Issues Involved in Media Ethics

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Abstract

The various and competitive nature of the media industry brings so many diverse people and ideas together that a need for standardization and normality must be applied. The media industry has faced a very big increase in recent times, which is very good, and here are some of the factors that caused this increase:

Globalization: This is when information goes viral and can be seen or heard from different places around the globe.
Commercialization: advertisements are a huge source of income for the media industry which is why in recent times, we see a lot of adverts in shows, news breaks, and other forms of entertainment.
Convergence: This is when types of media merge to come together to make a new one; for instance, newspapers and the internet converge to give us online newspapers which can be viewed by anyone with a data subscription or access to a smart device (Pachico).
This semester’s paper aims at identifying the major issues in media ethics from different perspectives in the Nigerian scene and also it involves identifying the key bodies involved in this regulation and some categorical issues they may come across.

Introduction

Firstly, what is media?

Media is one of the major means of communication, particularly mass communication. It is used to describe a means or channel of reaching multiple people; it includes traditional means like Television, radio, print (newspapers, magazines), and online media (Internet). The media includes news, educational content, art, and other various forms of information. Online or Digital media which is basically made up of a large portion of modern communications is made up of some encoded signals which are transmitted over different forms of physical and virtual media such as fiber optic cables and computer networks.

What are ethics?

Ethics are values or norms that serve as a guideline to help an individual’s behavioral pattern or to help the individual in carrying out different activities. These activities could be daily, weekly, or monthly. It is also a branch of philosophy that involves systemizing, defending, and recommending concepts or views of right and wrong conduct. Ethics instruct the right thing, the good, and the way of doing things purposefully. Ethics are controllers. Ethics cannot be said to be codes of conduct, ethics is not just a matter of subjective opinion (Smith, 2016).

Ethics in media, just like any other line of work, is very important as it is concerned with equipping a media practitioner (a trained individual, who professionally writes, edits, or transmits news and information to the public) with the ability to make rational decisions as well as sensible and correct moral decisions in daily media practices. Free will and freedom of choice are extremely important for sound moral decisions. A reference to this can be seen in the class exercise given to us by Professor Josef Bel-Molokwu “As the Editorial Board of a highly rated online converged media organization, you are confronted with this scenario: The minister in charge of regulating online media is involved in a case of stealing from public funds. He appeals to you to black out the news, in exchange for upgrading your operational license. How will you handle this matter?” For you not to accept the bribe is very ethical but at the same time not releasing news like this to the public will be unethical, because the masses need to know and if the media houses or journalists are hiding sensitive information from them, who can the people put their trust and faith into? The masses should feel at home with the journalists and not be afraid of the media houses.

Media practitioners are expected to observe a very high professional ethical standard so as to earn and retain the trust needed in the media industry. In schools like Pan-Atlantic University, Babcock, or Covenant for example the ethical things to do will involve obeying laws regarding punctuality, drugs policy, and exam conduct; while ethical practices in other industries let’s say the banking and finance industry will revolve around honesty and self-control due to the amount of money they see daily, the government; fairness and equality (Wardle, 2011).

Media ethics deals with ethical principles and standards of the media, which help to tackle the theoretical, cultural, and practical ethical issues in the media industry. Media ethics is such that there is a certain level of ethical standard that has to be attained to ensure that a media house is reliable and well respected in society. This standard is constantly displayed through criteria like veracity, objectivity, impartiality, balance, etc.

Ethical issues in the media are the defects or shortcomings facing media professionals in relation to ethics, ethical practices, and ethical standards. It ranges from the invasion of privacy to defamation to mention a few. Regulatory bodies, as discussed below, check some of these issues in Nigeria.

Different Media Ethics groups and platforms in Nigeria

The National Broadcasting Commission (journalism content) – is a body that regulates everything that involves broadcasting, i.e. assignments of frequencies, programming, etc.
The Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (media advertising content) – is a regulatory body that approves, and set rules and regulations for advertising practitioners to follow. There are sanctions for those that default. Their main aim is to register people to exercise advertising.
The National Association of Women Journalists – (NAWOJ) is a professional association that helps women practice journalism and increase access and leadership in the media industry for women.
The Broadcasting Organizations of Nigeria (journalism content) – administrator organizations in the broadcasting field.
The Nigerian Press Council – was set up to regulate journalism practice, and serves as a defense line between the Press and the public. According to their webpage “presscouncil.gov.ng, they maintain “the duty to enquire into complaints against the Press from the Public and also into Complaints from the Press about the conduct of persons or organizations towards the Press”.
The Nigerian Union of Journalists – is a professional association founded for the welfare of journalists. It is both a labor union and a professional union that is they promote levels of ethics and practice and it deals with welfare, wages, etc.
The Nigerian Guild of Editors – a professional association for editors
Correspondents Chapel –chapters of NUJ. Correspondents are reporters based in various places, while a chapter is a branch of a union. All the people, whose media houses are not based in Lagos, the headquarter, form the correspondent chapters, meaning that they are the chapter in their states.
The Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (media PR content) – is a body responsible for public relations practice. They possess the power to register members, regulate the practice/development of the PR Profession and monitor professional conduct.
The Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria (journalism content) – newspapers and magazines.

Some professional issues facing the media

1. Plagiarism

This is the stealing and publishing of another author’s ideas, languages, or expressions and portraying them as one’s own work. Plagiarism is one of the major ethical issues facing the media industry nowadays, and this is mainly due to media practitioners approaching their jobs with a negligent or careless attitude. Plagiarism is a big issue as it shows that the media practitioner is very incompetent, and while they might get away with it for some time, the moment they are caught, there are huge consequences that will follow, like loss of credibility, damage to reputation and career, and jail time (in some areas) (Bock, 2017).

2. Defamation

Libel and slander; Defamation is damaging an individual’s reputation in the form of libel (written defamation) or slander (oral defamation). Libel is a published false statement that is damaging to a person’s reputation; while Slander is making a false spoken statement damaging to a person’s reputation. Libel is often expressed in media publications through printed words and images, while slander can be through tunes on radio/Television.

3. Licencing

These are documents that allow a body to operate legally, it is normal for media houses or outlets to have papers, licenses, and other formal and some other official documents that legitimize their operations. There is a lot of importance attached to these documents as they verify a body and its operations as a whole as well as verifying activities that can be carried out. Some of these documents are not gotten with the right process or are forged and this can lead to scandals and incompetence of the media practitioners

Some social issues facing the media

1. Death threats

In times of desperation, death threats are used and intended to terrify victims and bully them so they can manipulate the victim’s actions and behavior in order to manipulate their behavior.

2. Femininity in Media

Generally, when women want to actively get involved in the media industry they usually get called all sorts of names like weak, incapable, overly emotional, and a whole lot more. This happens because the men believe they are superior to women, they believe women should just be mere housewives even if she has more degrees or qualifications than their male counterparts. Women should be given equal roles that men get because anything a man can do a woman can also do because they are both humans and they both possess the capacity to carry out those actions (Wardle, 2011).

3. Sexual Content in Publications

Media houses nowadays sexualize a lot of things because they know it is one of the easiest ways of getting an audience’s attention. Take for instance a perfume brand advertising a bottle of perfume going through the lengths of showing a woman in skimpy attire with a lot of cleavage showing then proceeding to use the perfume which would not show till the end of the commercial when they know they’ve gotten your attention properly.

Some cultural issues facing the media

1. Nepotism

This is a practice by people in high positions. They use the power and authority to favor those close to them, it could be friends or family or friends of the family. In this case, rewards are not based on merits; rather, the rewards are based on family and friendship. Those deserving of posts do not get what they deserve or have earned.

2. Tribalism

This is a strong feeling of hate towards other members of other tribes for example an Igbo man who would rather not do business than do it with a northerner (Hausa). This is bad in the media industry because people in power favor their tribe or as they call them their “brothers and sisters”. The people in power would rather put their own who are not qualified enough for the position than put someone from another tribe which they see as lesser beings.

Summary & Conclusion

To be frank as a nation and as an industry we are moving in the wrong direction and we should be able to practice what we preach. We have so many regulatory bodies but still, we do not have the proper ethical behavior and at this rate, we will achieve nothing and there will be fewer ones with a clear conscience and mind. The only solutions are to lead by example and punish the perpetrators who are caught and make them scapegoats for society and industry.

Bibliography

Bock, M. (2017, February 09). Journalism Ethics and Social Media. Retrieved December 10, 2018, from https://mediaethicsinitiative.org/2016/12/19/journalism-ethics-and-social-media/
Inflibnetacin. (2018). Inflibnetacin. Retrieved January 21, 2019, from http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/9427/6/06_chapter 3.pdf
Wardle, C. (2011, September 21). Journalism ethics in a social media world. Retrieved December 29, 2018, from https://clairewardle.com/2011/09/21/journalism-ethics-in-a-social-media-world/
Pachico, E. (n.d.). IJNet. Retrieved January 20, 2019, from https://ijnet.org/en/blog/top-3-ethical-challenges-journalists-will-face-2017
Smith, S. (2016, December 30). IMediaEthics’ Top 10 Media Ethics Issues of 2016. Retrieved December 20, 2018, from https://www.imediaethics.org/imediaethics-top-10-media-ethics-issues-2016/
(https://www.techopedia.com/definition/1098/media, 2016)

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