Ethics and journalists

When thinking about ethics or ethical standards, we sometimes over look these standards that good journalists and reporters follow every day when pursuing or writing a story.  The reason I think we forget about these ethical standards is because we often let our  own beliefs andpolitical biases cloud our opinions about journalists and reporters, especially if we do not like how astory is covered or the subject matter of a story.

Journalists and reporters do follow ethical standards and most subscribe to the “Society of Professional Journalists: Code of Ethics“.  The Society of Professional Journalists, which was founded in 1909, to ensure that information flows freely, future jounalists are educated, and First Amendment rights are protected.         

As stated earlier, most journalists and reporters follow the ”Society of Professional Journalists: Code of Ethics” and below are some of these ethical standards that journalists and reporters follow in the Society of Professional Journalists:  

“Test the accuracy of information from all sources and exercise care to avoid inadvertent error. Deliberate distortion is never permissible.”

“Diligently seek out subjects of news stories to give them the opportunity to respond to allegations of wrongdoing.”

“Avoid undercover or other surreptitious methods of gathering information except whentraditional open methods will not yield information vital to the public. Use of such methods should be explained as part of the story.”

“Never plagiarize.”

“Show compassion for those who may be affected adversely by news coverage. Use specialsensitivity when dealing with children and inexperienced sources or subjects.”

“Be wary of sources offering information for favors or money; avoid bidding for news.”

Overall, as one can see most good journalists and reporters have codes of ethics they follow to ensure their readers that they are credible and professional when they pursue or write a story.

Technology: helping the spread of news (part 4)

In our previous three blog entries, we discussed how technological advancements like theprinting press, steam engine, telegraph, radio, and television (see beow) have helped spread information and the news to the public-at-large.   In our final entry, we will continue the discussion on how technology has helped shape the spread of information and the news.

Source: http://www.wired.com

Like the television set, the Internet (see picture below) was another revolutionary advancement intechnology, in terms of, spreading information and news because the Internet is able to connectpeople from different countries with each other.  For instance, I can talk to my cousin Vivian inTaiwan by e-mail or through the social networking site MySpace by using the Internet.   

 

Source: http://www.google.com   

Another, aspect of the Internet that helps spread information and news is the fact that manynewspapers like the ”New York Times” and the “Washington Post” have websites that carry theirnews stories online and often send breaking news alerts to people who subscribe to their e-mail alerts.  Smaller papers like the “Army Flier” in Enterprise, Alabama, which serves the Fort Ruckercommunity also uses the Internet to spread news and information to the soldiers who live on the base.  My father, Robert Morse, interestingly enough, got his picture (see below) in this newspaper and its Facebook page when he attended Warrant Officer training in September.      

Overall, as one can see, technological advancements like the printing press, steam engine, telegraph, radio, television, and the Internet has helped spread news and information more easily and effectively to the masses.

Technology: helping the spread of news (part 3)

In our previous two blog entries, we discussed how technological advancements like the printing press, steam engine, telegraph, and radio (see below) have helped spread information and thenews to the public-at-large.  In this entry, we will continue the discussion on how technology has helped shape the spread of information and the news.

Source: Wikipedia

While, the telegraph and radio were helpful in spreading information and news to the public-at-large,  the television set (see below) provided a whole new means of providing information and newsbecause it was the first time the public-at-large was able to see live images of a person or persons telling the news.  According to Mitchell Stephens, author of “The History of News“, television broadcasting began on July 1, 1941 and the Federal Communications Commission allows eighteen television stations to begin broadcasting their signals.  NBC (National Broadcasting Company) andCBS (Columbia Broadcasting System) (who orginially started out as radio stations) were the first broadcast in New York City with CBS broadcasting newscast in two fifteen minute intervals to a small audience.

Source: http://www.wired.com

Mitchell Stephens also mentions that by 1949, there are over 100 television stations in theUnited States and that the first newscasts were done by Douglass Edwards (“CBS TV News”)andJohn Cammeron (NBC’s “Camel News”).   

Overall, as one can see, technological advancements like the printing press, steam engine,telegraph, radio, and the television of news and information.  In the next blog posting, more advancements in technology will be discussed to help people further understand how technology has helped in acquiring news and information more easily and effectively.

Technology: helping the spread of news (part 2)

In our last blog entry, we discussed how technological advancements like the printing press andsteam engine (see below) have helped spread information and the news to the public-at-large.   In this entry, we will continue to discuss how technology has helped shape the spread of information and the news.

Source: http://www.westsussex.gov.uk/apps/eLearning/medium_image.jsp?imageid=1311

Like the printing press and the steam engine, the invention of the single wire telegraph (see picture below) by Samuel Morse (who also invented Morse Code) in the 1830’s was another technological achievement that helped spread information and news around to the public.  According to Mitchell Stephens, author of “The History of News“, Morse showed off his invention to a group of people congregating at a railroad station in Washington D.C. by announcing the presidential and vice-presidential nominee ticket for the Whig Party in 1844.    

Source: Wikipedia

Another technological achievement that happened around this period, according to Mitchell Stephens, was the creation of the first transatlantic cable  by Cyrus W. Field (see picture below) in 1858, which established a faster means of communication for talking with people in Europe from theUnited States, as opposed to, the old fashion way of sending handwritten letters from the United States to their destinations in Europe by ships. 

Source: PBS

Perhaps, one of the most important technological advancements to help spread information andnews around easier and more effectively was the invention of the radio in the 1890’s.  Mitchell Stephens mentions in his book, “The History of News”, that Guglielmo Marconi patented his “wireless telegraphy” or radio in England in 1895.  Further, improvements on this new technology,  would lead to the creation of radio stations.   The first radio station in the United States was KDKA in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and it first broadcasted the results of the 1920 presidential election between Hardingand Cox on November 2, 1920.   The radio would become a popular medium(see picture below of girl listening to radio)  to find information and the news. By 1927, according to Mitchell Stephens, there would 733 radio stations operating in the United States.

Source: Wikipedia      

Overall, as one can see, technological advancements like the telegraph and the radio have helped in the spread of news and information.  In the next blog posting, more advancements in technologywill be discussed to help people further understand how technology has helped in acquiring news andinformation more easily and effectively.

Technology: helping the spread of news (part 1)

Advancements in technology over the years have helped in the  spread of news.  From Pi Sheng (see picture below) being the first person to use moveable type in 1041 C.E. in China (some 400 years before Johann Gutenburg introduced the printing press to Europe in 1450 C.E.) to the use of blogging by reporters, atheletes, entertainers, and students today (2000′s), technology has opened the door for people acquiring news and information more quickly and effectively.

Though, Pi Sheng was credited with inventing the moveable type, according to Mitchell Stephens (author of “The History of News“), “the invention is not a big success.  Chinese has too many different characters to make such a system practicable. ”  While, Pi Sheng could not utilize his invention for the Chinese people, Johann Gutenberg was able to utilize his invention, the printing press to help his fellow Europeans (mostly, elites and religious monks) print things faster.  The printing of the ”Bible“ (see below), in particular, benefited from Gutenberg’s printing press because people had better access to it because more copies were available to them to acquire.

 Later, the printing press was used to print pamphlets, letters, almanacs, Latin grammer books, and eventually newspapers in Europe.   In fact, Mitchell Stephens mentions in his own book that Christopher Columbus‘ own letters (see reproduction below) on his discovery  of America in 1492 (technically, a rediscovery, since Vikings originally discovered America in 986 C.E.) found distribution, thanks in large part to the printing press, before Columbus returned a year later from his travels in Barcelona, Spain.

Like Columbus’ letter, Martin Luther‘s “95 Theses” (1517 C.E.) also found wide distribution because of the printing press.  Stephens states that “word of these Theses spreads through Europe in a month”.

Newspapers also found popularity through the use of the printing press, though the process of producing them was slow at the time.   That all changed with the introduction of the steam engine in 1814.  The steam engine, according to Stephens, was “first used to print a newspaper, the ”Times of London”.  Before its use, the “Times” prints 250 sheets an hour, with the steam press (see example below), 1,100.”

  
Overall, as one can see, technological advancements have helped in the spread of news and information.  In the next blog posting, more advancements in technology will be discussed to help people further understand how technology has helped in acquiring news and information more easily and effectively.

*I originally wrote this post for a class at George Mason University. 

The first database and cuneiform

The first database, in recorded history, or what we think of as a database, according to Mitchell Stevens, author of  “The History of News,” was written on clay tablets (as seen below) in cuneiform (symbolic script) around 2500 B.C. in Mesopotamia (present day Syria).  Recorded on these tablets were state documents, property ownership listings, agricultural data, school manuscripts, and literary accomplishments.
                                                                           
At first glance, one would wonder why these clay tablets were so important in the history of news and journalism.  After all, these clay tablets only contain legal and political records. Why should anyone care about these clay tablets since they were written so long ago?  The truth is a lot of people will not care about them, but students of journalism and history should care about them because legal and political records were not the only things recorded on these tablets, but in fact, political corruption, according to Stevens, was mentioned in clay tablets (similar to the first database that was written in 2500 B.C.) were written during the 14th or 15th century B.C.  

Yes, that is right, folks, political corruption was mentioned thousands of years ago and it was thanks to someone recording the details of the accusations against the political official on these tablets that we have this story.  According to Stevens, the political official who was caught up in corruption and scandal was the mayor of a small town in Mesopotamia called Nuzu.  The mayor was named Kushiharbe and the crimes he was accused of engaging in, centered around, thievery and extortion.   One of the testimonials at Kushiharbe’s trial that Stevens provides in his book that came from the clay tablets against him was from a man named Ninuari who stated that, “Kushiharbe robbed me from my own storehouse.  Two shekels of gold, one ox, and two rams I paid to Kushiharbe; then he restored to me (what he had stolen).”  

Stevens also mentions that Kushiharbe got hit with another accusation on top of the accusations already against him; he was accused of having a relations with a married woman named Humerelli.  Testimony accusing Kushiharbe of sleeping with the married woman and testimony defending him were also found in the clay tablets.  Stevens notes that the person who recorded the testimonies accusing and defending Kushiharbe did it to provide an objective view of the case.

The fact that a poltical corruption case, which happened thousands of years ago, was recorded on clay tablets in cuneiform is pretty telling, especially since political corruption, is sadly commonplace in American politics (remember Governor Rod Blagojevich?).  In the end, some people might not ever care about the first database or others like it, but people should remember that without record keeping, first being used on clay tablets, it would be difficult to obtain information for research or reporting.

*I originally wrote this post for a class at George Mason University.  

Introduction

Hi, I'm new to Blogger and I just wanted to introduce myself.  My name is Michael Morse and I’m a student at George Mason University who is earning a degree in Information Technology/Computer Science. I enjoy reading, watching movies, swimming, camping, and golfing. 

I was born on October 17, 1983 at Alexandria Hospital in Alexandria, Virginia. I also suffer from a neurological disease called dystonia, which is very similar to Parkinson’s disease, only not as severe. I have a sister named Kara and I have a dog named Sasha and a cat named Boop. 

I also volunteer at the library and help teach ESL at Grace United Methodist Church. I am a big fan of anime, old school cartoons (i.e. black and white), old-time radio,  rock music, Sherlock Holmes, football, history, politics, horror films, and science fiction. I am also a big fan of Batman films and comics, especially  "The Dark Night" and "The Killing Joke".