Media ethics: to print a name

Question 4 Journalism is a profession that is necessary to the society as it report the happening around a social setting, the nation and the global events. Reporting such news is important as individuals get to know what is going on around the world. Some news may be tragic and in this case there is a need of considering numerous ethical items before releasing the news. The journalists are, therefore, supposed to follow a given ethical guidelines as outlined in the professional ethics guidelines (Society of Professional Journalists). The article presumes that a journalist must report accurate news. The accuracy will avoid future controversies in the case of an investigation to prove is carried out by a special body of investigation. The journalists are similarly supposed to have a fair bulletin of the news. Hence, there should not be accused of being partisan or unbalanced. The bulletin released need to be thoroughly investigated. Lastly, reporters must practice integrity in their profession.
In this report, there is an incident that resulted to a homicide as a woman is suspected to have pushed her husband through a storey building window. The companion is thus arraigned with a second-degree slaying. The extended family have not yet been noticed as their whereabouts is not known. The law enforcers are looking for their parents to inform them. The information in this case needs to be accurately reported to the necessary relatives. The police are holding the names of the victim and the suspect as for the respect of their families. Even though the police knows their names, they cannot give them to the general public before informing their parents. The action is ethical because the public may twist the information and cause a shock to the family of the victims.
Question 5
The stakeholders in this case is the journalist and the victim’s family. There are dual groups of correspondents in this incident. One of the categories releases the news of the tragedy but hides their identities. The next category releases the news together accompanied by their identities. The law enforcers in this case are the probing entity. Therefore, they are the ones who need to give the evidence of the couple’s names. Their option to withhold their names is applause as that is the only way they can inform the family in a respectful way. Journalist who asks the public their opinion on the tragedy are, therefore, acting unethically. The public may lack knowledge the real names of the victims. If the report from the police contravenes their report, then there could be a crisis in the whole situation as people will not know who is giving the right information.
The correspondents also cited about the place where the skirmish befell. The place in this case was important as the information could be received by the residents and could give them a chance to give the opinion of what could lead to the homicide. The channel was, therefore, correct to broadcast the location of the happenings. The names of those involved could only be reported after the police have given their names to the public.
Works Cited
Society of Professional Journalists. ” Society of Professional Journalists.” n. d. SPJ Code of Ethics. web. 09 December 2014.