BUSINESS ETHICS MINI-PROJECT REPORT

INTRODUCTION:

The word “Media” creates a kind of attraction in the recent days. Over the
years the media and its business has grown manifold and in the due course the
ethical value with respect to media has faded with time. The more competitive the
media business got into, the more inventive media houses have become leaving
behind some essential values in their offering. Eventually, it has become more of a
headache to track the ethical dimensions and conflict of interest possibilities that
emerge. The attention to the ethical conduct of Media is yet to be brought to the
spotlight.
The word ‘Media’ comes from the plural of the Latin word ‘medium’. In the
normal sense it means television, radio and newspapers as the means of mass
communication. The ethical conduct followed in the television, radio and the
newspapers today are highly subject to question. The effect of the media is very
high, yet certain critical issues go unnoticed.
The present day Media has undergone a paradigm shift from centuries ago
when it began to where it has arrived now. The focus is on the ethical functioning
of the Media houses. These establishments are prepared to go up to any extent to
keep their business going. Perhaps, media has become inseparable from almost
anything and everything today. This dependency has led to the exploitation by the
media on their functioning. There are issues like genuineness, clarity, credibility
that which is considered to be on top of the list for those in Media.
TITLE:
“A Study on the issues with special reference to specific areas of Media Ethics”

OBJECTIVES:
1. To study various areas and contexts of Media Ethics
2. To study the problems encountered with Media Ethics
3. To discuss various live examples in Media Ethics

NEED FOR STUDY:

With no effective media regulator in place, and a civil society that is
remarkably active in other sectors but simply not that charged up about media
conduct, India's media businesses can continue to innovate, untrammeled by
ethical constraints. Unless the profession keeps up the pressure on its own it is
difficult to turn the spotlight to such issues. We can only hope that others will have
thinner skins.
For example, recent issues like serial blasts in India have taken media to a
high. The Media hypes the issue, blows it out of proportion, brings in unexpected
surprises at the start but so called hot news cools in no time. Every time the media
just focuses on bringing more and more news to the recipients but do not look into
the completion in even a small percentage of their offering. There are other issues
like misleading news, abuse of personalities, rumours, uncaptured truth and the list
is endless. This gives us an opportunity to probe into the details of ethical conduct
with respect to media.
JUSTIFICATION:
To begin with, we need to know what Media Ethics is. It is the subdivision
of applied ethics dealing with the specific ethical principles and standards of
media, including broadcast media, film, theatre, the arts, print media and the
internet. The field covers many varied and highly controversial topics, ranging
from war journalism to Benetton advertising.

AREAS OF MEDIA ETHICS:

- Ethics of Journalism:
The ethics of journalism is one the most well-defined branches of
media ethics, primarily because it is frequently taught in schools of
journalism. Journalistic ethics tends to dominate media ethics, sometimes
almost to the exclusion of other areas. It includes the following:
News can manipulate and be manipulated. Governments and
corporations may attempt to manipulate news media; governments, for
example, by censorship, and corporations by share ownership. The methods
of manipulation are subtle and many. Manipulation may be voluntary or
involuntary. Those being manipulated may not be aware of this.
Truth may conflict with many other values like public interest,
privacy, fantasy, taste which are explained below. Revelation of military
secrets and other sensitive government information may be contrary to the
public interest, even of it is true. The definition of public interest is hard.
Salacious details of the lives of public figures are a central content
element in many media. The publication is not necessarily justified simply
because the information is true. Privacy is also right, and one which conflicts
with free speech.
 Fantasy is an element of entertainment, which is a legitimate goal of
media content. Journalism may mix fantasy and truth, with resulting ethical
dilemmas.
Photo journalists who cover war and disasters confront situations
which may shock the sensitivities of their audiences. For example, human
remains are rarely screened. The ethical issue is how far one risk shocking
an audience’s sensitivities in order to correctly should and fully report the
truth.
Conflict with the law is another. Journalistic ethics may conflict with
the law over issues such as the protection of confidential news sources.
There is also the question of the extent to which it is ethically acceptable to
break the law in order to obtain news. For example, undercover reporters
may be engaging in deception, trespass and similar torts and crimes.

- Ethics of persuasion, advertising and public relations:

The ethics of persuasion, advertising and public relations is closely
related to marketing ethics. In media ethics, interest extends beyond
commercial protagonists to public figures, such as politicians and movie
stars, and non-profit organizations. When public figures and non-
commercial organizations engage in media-conveyed persuasion tactics, the
methods are usually derived from the business field.

- Ethics of entertainment media:

The issues in the ethics of entertainment media include product
placement, stereotypes, taste and taboos. The depiction of violence and sex,
and the presence of strong language. Ethical guidelines and legislation in
this area are common and many media like films, computer games are
 subject to ratings systems and supervision by agencies. An extensive guide
to international systems of enforcement can be found under motion picture
rating system.
An increasingly common marketing tactic is the placement of
products in entertainment media. The producers of such media may be paid
high sums to display branded products. The practice is controversial and
largely unregulated.
Both advertising and entertainment media make heavy use of
stereotypes. Stereotypes may negatively affect people’s perceptions of
themselves or promote socially undesirable behavior. The stereotypical
portrayals of men, affluence and ethnic groups are major areas of debate.
Art is about the questioning of our values. Normative ethics is often
about the enforcement and protection of our values. In media ethics, these
two sides come into conflict. In the name of art, media may deliberately
attempt to break with existing norms and shock the audience. The extent to
which this is acceptable is always a hotbed of ethical controversy.

- Media and democracy:

In democratic countries, a special relationship exists between media
and government. Although the freedom of the media may be constitutionally
enshrined and have precise legal definition and enforcement, the exercise of
that freedom by individual journalists is a matter of personal choice and
ethics. Modern democratic government subsists in representation of millions
by hundreds. For the representatives to be accountable and for the process of
government to be transparent, effective communication paths must exist to
their constituents. Today these paths consist primarily of the mass media, to
the extent that if press freedom disappeared, so would most political
 accountability. In this area, media ethics merges with issues of civil rights
and politics. Subversion of media independence by financial interests is one.
Government monitoring of media for intelligence gathering against its own
people are another.

CONTEXT OF MEDIA ETHICS:

- Media ethics and the law:
Like ethics the law seeks to balance competing aims. In most
countries there are laws preventing the media from doing or saying certain
things when this would unduly breach another person’s rights. For instance,
slander and libel are forms of defamation, a tort. Slander occurs when a
person’s good name is unfairly slurred. Libel is concerned with attacks on
reputation through writing. A major area of conflict is between the public
figures. There are restrictions in most countries on the publication of
obscene material, particularly where it depicts nudity, desecration of
religious objects or symbols (blasphemy), human remains or violent oe
sexual crime.

MEDIA ETHICS AND MEDIA ECONOMICS:

Media ethics also deals with the relationship of media and media economics
where things such a – deregulation of media, concentration of media ownership,
FCC regulations in the U.S., media trade unions an labor issues, and other such
worldwide regulating bodies, citizen media (low power FM, community radio) –
have ethical implications.
INTERCULTURAL DIMENSIONS OF MEDIA ETHICS:
If values differ interculturally, the issues arise of the extent to which
behavior should be modified in the light of specific cultures. Two examples of
controversy from the field of media ethics are Google’s self-censorship in China
and the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy in Denmark, and
subsequently worldwide.

META-ISSUES IN MEDIA ETHICS:

One theoretical question for media ethics is the extent to which media ethics
is just another topical subdivision of applied ethics, differing only in terms of case
applications and raising no theoretical issues peculiar to itself. The oldest
subdivisions of applied ethics are medical ethics and business ethics.
- Similarities between media ethics and other fields of applied ethics:
Privacy and honesty are issues extensively covered in medical ethical
literature, as is the principle of harm-avoidance. The trade-offs between
economic goals and social values have been covered extensively in business
ethics.
- Differences between media ethics and other fields of applied ethics:
The issues of freedom of speech and aesthetic values (taste) are primarily
at home in media ethics. However, a number of further issues distinguish media
ethics as a field in its own right.
A theoretical issue peculiar to media is the identity of observer and
observed. The press is one of the primary guardians in a democratic society of
many of the freedoms, rights and duties discussed by other fields of applied
ethics. In media ethics the ethical obligations of the guardians themselves
comes more strongly into the foreground.
 A further self-referentiality or circular characteristic in media ethics is the
questioning of its own values. Meta-issues can become identical with the
subject matter of media of media ethics. This is strongly seen when artistic
elements are considered. Benetton advertisements and Turner prize candidates
are both examples of ethically questionable media uses which question.
Another characteristic of media ethics is the disparate nature of its goals.
Ethical dilemmas emerge when goals conflict. The goals of media usage
diverge sharply. Expressed in a consequentialist manner, media usage may be
subject to pressures to maximize: economic profits, entertainment value,
information provision, the upholding of democratic freedoms, the development
of art and culture, fame and vanity.

NEW PROBLEMS AND ISSUES IN MEDIA ETHICS:

Over the past decade, incidents have occurred and new technologies have
appeared which together have raised questions about the ethical values of
journalists.
- Issues of Plagiarism and Corporate Concerns
Recently, several journalists have had to answer charges of plagiarism
or of fabricating stories-the most famous is Mike Barnacle, a veteran
columnist for "The Boston Globe." Barnacle was eventually fired by his
newspaper, but he later reappeared at another urban newspaper. Stephen
Glass, a young editor/writer at "The New Republic," was discovered to have
essentially made up more than 20 of his stories. Another young "New
Republic" writer, Ruth Shalit, after two charges of plagiarism, has left the
journalism profession to work in advertising. Substituting the media for
pigheaded bureaucrats, corrupt politicians, and heartless gangsters are also a
part of these. With the growing consolidation of already large media
 corporations, pressure on journalists for biased coverage might be
increasing.

- Media ethics and the new technologies

With the 1980s and 90s came new developments in the manner in
which information is presented to the public. Photographic methods
improved, enabling newspapers and magazines to show to their readers
images that reflected an "improved" vision of reality. But as is true of many
new techniques and inventions, the advancements in photography raised
ethical questions. New computer processes permit editors to alter the
content of photographic images. Colors can be controlled, and objects or
people can be removed from or added to pictures.

Furthermore, if the changes are made carefully, they are virtually

undetectable. To confuse the issue, negatives can be manufactured from an
altered image to create "proof" that the photograph represents reality. The
ethical issue is obvious: how far can photo editors take the alteration process
while still purporting to present to readers a genuine image?

While the editors decried tampering with news photographs, however,

most of them saw no ethical difficulty in adjusting the backgrounds of cover
photographs to fit headlines and so on. Some also saw nothing wrong with
deleting stray objects from pictures. It was also found that non-news
magazines freely adjust elements of photographs for the best possible
presentation.

Old-media journalists measure their mettle in scoops and Pulitzers;

new-media reporters and editors have another gauge of success or failure:
 hits. By counting the hits or, more accurately, page views, on their Web
sites, online magazines can track not only how many people are reading
them but also for how long people are reading any given article" (1999).
Marin notes that some observers of journalistic ethics worry that the
"instantaneous reader surveys will bend online magazines to the mercenary
will of their business sides.

The explosion of cable television stations for every taste is another

phenomenon of the 1990s. There are now several competing 24-hour news
networks. Both CNN and the Fox News Channel flash "news" to the viewer
at every moment of the day. Some of it seems to be questionable news from
dubious sources. Newspapers often cite competition from television. CNN
and Fox both have weekly programs about media ethics questions.
- MEDIA ETHICS AND CODES OF CONDUCT

Protection of a free press is but a facet of protection of everyone's free

expression. Each person best develops as an individual and citizen if he or
she is free to obtain whatever information may contribute to that growth.
Governmental control of the media, or even self-imposed regulations to
which all reporters must comply, limits the flow of such information.

Second argument against ethical codes for the news profession

emerges from the difference between what they label "moral philosophy"
and mere "moralizing." A genuine moral philosophy evolves within the
reporter as that person gains experience. On the other hand, codes merely
advise as to the industry's view of what is appropriate behavior.
 On the difference between “legal” and “ethical”: “One result of this
disillusionment is an attitude that what one can get away with is just fine.
The case of Jayson Blair comes to mind. An assumption seems to be more
pervasive that if something is legal, one need not worry about whether it is
ethical. Regarding journalism, bigoted, demeaning language comes to mind
as legal but not ethical. And the transparent and too-frequent practice of
trying to divert attention from one’s own shortcomings by destructive
criticism of someone else is not illegal, but it is not ethical.”

INDIAN ISSUES IN MEDIA AND ETHICS

- Issues of corruption and even links with criminals are good reading material,
politicians normally get away with activities like bigamy or meeting with
women of disrepute. It is only in recent years, the Press, goaded by the ever
inquisitive TV channels has dared to look at the seamy side of people in
public gaze. The TV channels and the dotcoms have blazed a new trail and
set refreshing standards in investigative journalism.
- While many portals have closed down due to lack of profitability,
Tehelka.com has shown how to hit the headlines with its brand of reporting
using methods, which by earlier standards, would not find favour. By
meticulous probing, the portal uncovered the corrupt deeds of top cricketers
of the nation who were raking in huge slush funds from betting syndicates.
The use of secret cameras to record illegal deals and the exposure brought
down the reputation of even those who played as captain for the country.
Though it brought down the celebrities from their pedestals and in the
process, dismayed millions of cricket lovers, it showed the extent of rot in
the sport.
- Tehelka exposed the level of corruption in the defence establishment, talking
to politicians, army officers and some fixers of arms deals, it shocked the
public. The visuals of party leaders, and senior army officers eager to take
bribes from a fictitious company, whose antecedents were not even, verified
created a storm in Parliament. The accusing fingers were pointed right at the
PMO level, creating a major crisis for the government and the Prime
Minister. An inquiry commission was set up to probe the charges levelled by
the dotcom, which was asked to submit all the evidence it had to the retired
judge heading the commission.
- The code of journalistic ethics in view of the emergence of the electronic
media. The censure of the two prominent Gujarati newspapers and warning
to Tarun Mitra, Saamna and Vishwamitra, for "transgressing" the norms
relating to reporting on communal matters came when the Council recently
adjudicated on 24 cases relating to media coverage of the riots.
- Focussing on media coverage of Gujarat riots, Press Council of India has
censured Gujarat Samachar and Sandesh in eight cases and has also
underlined the need for revisingAccording to a press release issued by the
Council, it also adopted a report of its Special Committee appointed to
examine the role of the media during and after Gujarat riots. Commenting
upon the role played by the electronic media, the Council
felt the telecast of pictures raises ethical issues that required to be
deliberated upon.
- The council also noted that a number of times, the print media has
maintained that it cannot be hauled for code violations as they have to
compete with the electronic media which has already telecast the news.
- The Council said the media must be cautious, restrained and responsible
while reporting internal conflicts and disturbances, but truth should not be a
casualty.
- Over the last several months, Telugu TV channels have been resorting to a
new revenue generation strategy: carrying advertisements for precious
stones with magic remedial powers (Divya Diamonds) and rudrakshas that
can fetch a seat for your son in medical school or a visa to the US! The ads
are generally of several minutes in duration and appear like talk shows with
the presenters talking directly to the audience, often endorsing the magical
powers of the stuff from curing disease to all manner of other wish
fulfilment.
- It is believed that the advertisers pay Rs 80,000 and above for 10 seconds for
these long commercials on some of the stronger channels like TV9
and ETV2. The channels air several insertions a day. TV9’s tag line proudly
proclaims that it is ‘for a better society’ and Eenadu has always resisted even
horoscope columns in its many publications. The easy revenue provided by
the products of this kind seems to have broken through to these channels.
CONCLUSIONS:

When it comes to matters concerning private lives of public figures, the

Indian media is noticeably coy. Free media is an essential source of the
information that is at the heart of a free society. This critical role endows the media
with its own power, which, when used irresponsibly, can threaten a free society.
Tabloidization of the news media, both here and abroad, proves that "the market"
cannot insure media quality. For media to function well in a democracy, they must
be free of both political and economic muzzling. In this controversial volume, a set
of accountability systems - democratic, efficient, and harmless are needed to insure
true freedom and quality of media.

Rethinking existing "media accountability systems" and creation of new

ones by observes that existing systems which are rooted to four basic approaches:
training: education of citizens in media use incorporating ethics courses in
journalistic education; evaluation: criticism (positive and negative) not only from
politicians, consumerists, and intellectuals, but from media professionals
themselves; monitoring: by independent, academic experts over extended periods
of time; and feedback: giving ear to the various segments of media users and their
needs and tastes, rather than sales and ratings.
Media Ethics will be of particular interest to academics in the fields of
communication and journalism, as well as to the general reader with an interest in
public issues and a civic concern for society.
Media everywhere has a vital role to provide the public with knowledge and
understanding. But as they practice their craft in a world that is both
technologically and geographically changing, systematic standards must guide
their work. Only in that way will journalists serve their society in an ethically
responsible and constructive fashion.
 The solution has been to rely on market forces, competition, responsibility,
and a highly evolved set of self-controls. To provide a process by which individual
mistakes and excesses are corrected without jeopardizing the ultimate objective of
a free media - to provide a healthy check on centers of power in order to maintain a
free and enlightened society.