HOW ETHICS INFLUENCE REPORTING ON HEALTH ISSUES

Ileana Oroza

January, 2010

THE ELEMENTS OF JOURNALISM

Journalism's first obligation is to the truth.   Its first loyalty is to citizens.   Its essence is a discipline of verification.   Its practitioners must maintain an independence from those they cover.   It must serve as an independent monitor of power.   It must provide a forum for public criticism and compromise.   It must strive to make the significant interesting and relevant.   It must keep the news comprehensive and proportional.   Its practitioners must be allowed to exercise their personal conscience. (Citizens, too, have rights and responsibilities when it comes to the news.)

Tom Rosenstiel, Bill Kovach

9. JOURNALISTS MUST BE ALLOWED TO EXERCISE THEIR PERSONAL CONSCIENCE

Every journalist should have a moral compass, a sense of ethics

NECESSARY CRITERIA IN A SYSTEM OF ETHICS Shared values, derived from

Family Peer groups Role models Societal institutions

Wisdom Standards based on reason and experience Balance between the rights of the individual and the needs of society Moderation

Justice Fairness

Freedom of choice Ability to exercise powers of reason without coercion

Accountability

ETHICS IN JOURNALISM

Main thrust of codes of ethics is to ensure an organization’s Credibility Fairness

ETHICAL BEHAVIOR IN JOURNALISM

Is related to the day-to-day work: The quality/purity of reporting Vigilance for inadvertent bias Independence The purity of the published image

WHAT TO KEEP IN MIND IN COVERING HIV/AIDS Sensitivity of story

Myths Transmission of HIV/AIDS Causes of AIDS

False hope Quackery Jumping to conclusions from new information

Stereotypes and generalizations Reporting on individuals, not anonymous groups

“Fringe groups” and the “Us vs. Them” syndrome Improper use of language

Victimization

WHAT TO KEEP IN MIND Vulnerability of many subjects

Illness Stigma/discrimination Fear of ostracism or worse

Often tied to gender issues Sexual preference Impact on women

PRIVACY

PRIVACY AND THE LAW

Privacy refers to speech that does not damage a person’s reputation, but subjects a person to shame, embarrassment and/or humiliation

Laws aim to protect the dignity of the individual

PRIVACY TORTS (in U.S.) Disclosure: Publication of an intimate or private matter

such as one’s private sexual affairs or the health of an individual and/or his family, which is not already known to the public, and the disclosure of which is offensive to a reasonable person

Appropriation: Use of a person’s name or likeness or other highly personal material, without permission

Intrusion: Invasion of an individual’s private space or physical solitude in order to gather information

False Light: Publication of half truths or distortions of the truth that give an incorrect impression about a person

PRIVACY AND THE LAW It may be legal

In the U.S., Courts tend to side with the media on privacy issues Public’s right to know

BUT IS IT ETHICAL?

IT’S LEGAL, BUT IS IT ETHICAL?

Many newspapers have a policy of not publishing names of rape victims. Some journalists believe this is not a good policy.

What do you think?

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER What purpose does the revelation serve? What harm will it do? In the case of a public person, how does it

relate to the performance of his/her duties? How relevant is it to the story?

APPROACHING HIV/AIDS STORIES Sensitivity Develop trust based on knowledge and respect Be aware of who it is you are interviewing

A regular villager The minister of health

No surprises Make sure you have permission to disclose identities Make sure the subject understands what that permission involves

That might include the subject’s family

“Cures" and treatments demand particular scrutiny and should be reported critically

APPROACHING HIV/AIDS STORIES Don’t give up too quickly on finding named

sources and examples Look for alternatives

If you need to grant anonymity, make sure there are sufficient named sources in your story so that the story has authority

WHAT READERS COMPLAIN ABOUT

Anecdotal ledes that take one side Labels or shorthand description (ie: Crime-

ridden neighborhood) Heavy reliance on one group of sources Limited representation of certain groups Lack of balance Headlines that over-simplify

SOURCES Louis Alvin Day, Ethics in Media

Communications: Cases and Controversies C. Christians, K. Rotzoll, M. Fackler, K

McKee, R. Woods, Jr.: Media Ethics: Cases and Moral Reasoning

Renata Simone: “HIV/AIDS Reporting Basics” Kaiser Family Foundation: “Reporting Manual

on HIV/AIDS”