[ASU] Greetings from DC

[pt340808 at ohio.edu]

Folks,

well, well, well, i am alive and kicking! Hanging in here in the DC area and
doing some travels, writings, and some part-time jobs to keep bread on the
table. i am on the last two chapters of a 10-chapter book that takes a critical
look at democracies in Africa. The only problem is that events in the north of
Africa are so rapid that i keep revising the first chapter which encapsulates
all these countries. I am honestly enjoying it! I hope some of you may be able
to grace the launch of my work in the summer, a dateline i am working
assiduously toward.

you can follow the link to my take on ethics of the ink profession.

http://thenewsaboutthenews.blogspot.com/2011/02/checking-ethical-component-of-story.html

Prosper




Checking the Ethical Component of a Story
Wednesday, February 23, 2011

In an article discussing the new frontier in ethical journalism, Ghanaian
journalist Prosper Yao Tsikata lays out four rules for making sure a story is
morally ripe for publication.

The four criteria he describes are preponderance to evidence, the filtering
process, the crystallizing evolution and finally, disgorgement.

In order to satisfy Preponderance to Evidence, Tsikata urges journalists to
check and double check sources-- especially given the consideration that today,
there are vast sources like the internet that can't always be taken at face-value.

Tsikata says that one of the most important steps in this process, especially
when considering high-profile public figures, is "contacting the individual(s)
involved in the issues and checking with them or their inner circles." Had the
many journalists mistakenly reporting that Gabrielle Giffords had died checked
within her inner circle, it is likely that they wouldn't have made such a
serious mistake.

The second step is the Filtering Process. Here, journalists should flesh out
their story and pay attention to whether or not the facts they have acquired
follow logically from each other. They should fill in as many gaps in the logic
as they can by doing their own fact-checking: comparing dates and financial
figures, examining individuals involved, etc.

In the third step, which Tsikata calls the Crystallizing Evolution, journalists
should act as utilitarians, and make sure that the benefits of releasing the
story outweigh any personal issues surrounding the subject of the story. This
consideration should have been applied to the recent situation regarding Steve
Jobs' health- many journalists and shareholders took the stance that Jobs'
health status should be available to the public at large. To me, and seemingly
to Tsikata as well, Jobs' health is a personal issue and an ethical journalist
would consider it as such.

Finally, Tsikata calls for journalists to consider Disgorgement. For Tsikata,
the word means that once the beans are spilled and the full story is out,
journalists should take back any statements that have proved to be inaccurate.
Disgorgement is a bit of an unconventional term since it is usually applied to
unethical gains in economics, but Tsikata successfully applies it to journalism.

It is important to distinguish between the positive properties of transparency
in journalism and politics and the ethical dilemma that comes from trying to
apply this same transparency to the lives of individuals. Tsikata's guide is
helpful in this regard because it delineates ethical boundaries in journalism.

Photo credit: LucasBean.com via CreativeCommons.org