Ethics in the Media

A Suspect "Confession"
Summary: In mid-August, John Karr was arrested at the request of U.S officials.  The arrest was made after a journalism professor, Michael Tracey, told authorities information that he got from e-mails that John Karr had sent him because he was interested in Tracey's argument that John and Patsy Ramsey were not fairly charged with the crime of their daughter's death. After DNA testing, John Karr was cleared, but not freed because of other charges. Michael Tracy then received heat for not being very ethical.

Response: I think that you do break a confidence with a source if you think it can solve a murder or protect children half a world away. That is because, I think that you are being ethical if you are trying to protect people even if that means you have to break confidence with a source.

The Media's Foul Ball
Summary: In 2003, the Chicago Cube were 5 outs away from winning a trip to the World Series. The Cubs had not been to the World Series since 1945. However, on a foul ball, a fan tried to catch the ball instead of allowing the player to get the Cubs one out closer to the World Series. When the Florida Marlins made a comeback and knocked the Cubs out of the playoffs, a lot of people were blaming the fan in the stands for the loss. The fans identity was unknown until the Chicago Sun-Times released his name and where he worked and lived. The Chicago Sun-Times was also put under a lot of heat because many people believed that it was un-ethical for them to release the fan's name and where he lived/worked.

Response: I think that the fan, under all costs, should not be identified by the media. I think that because there are a lot of people who probably hate his guts. Not only that, but there were probably huge bets placed on the baseball game. That means that bettors who lost might want revenge on the fan. Also, the fan's identity was something that everybody did not need to know.

Publishing Drunk Drivers' Photos
Summary: Don White, an editor/publisher for a newspaper in Anderson County, Kentucky created a new policy for the newspaper that was very controversial. Starting in January 1988, any drivers convicted of drinking while driving would get there picture published in the newspaper. Don White believed that this policy would help to limit the amount of drunk drivers on the road, because the drivers would not want to get embarrassed by their picture in the newspaper for drinking while driving. However, many outsiders believed that this policy was unethical and would embarrass people more than get them to stop. One time, police reported that a teenager who got arrested for DUI tried to commit suicide after he learned that his picture would be published in the newspaper.

Response: I do not think that this is an appropriate policy for a newspaper. That is because I think that it is too extreme to publish a photo of a person arrested in the newspaper. The people who were published in the newspapers were probably really effected by it, and I think that the policy embarrassed people more than limit the amount of drunk people driving.