JOURNALISM, which is the production and distribution of reports and commentaries on recent events, is governed by a professional code of ethics.
Such ethical principles refer to truthfulness, accuracy, objectivity, impartiality and public accountability.
They also include the limitation of harm in withholding certain facts or names, which when exposed, would injure a person’s or persons’ reputation.
How journalism abides by these noble principles depends on the degree of press freedom, which is usually read as freedom of speech.
Different countries impose varying levels of restrictions on free speech which affect the freedom of the press. In most countries, freedom of the press is not absolute but restricted by legislation in the interests of national security, public order, morality, defamation and international relations.
Thus, press freedom is a fallacy as it needs to function within political, cultural, religious and racial caveats.
As a result, journalistic truth has to be malleable to the national political agenda.
Therefore, a “responsible” press within this context is one that seeks to advance the country’s agenda by not only disseminating information, but also acts as the voice of the people by exposing malfeasance and corruption in government.
Responsible journalism is a critical profession, for it informs the people of the true state of the nation while an irresponsible one manipulates news to favour vested interests, especially of the ruling cohort.
The degree of observance of journalistic ethos varies between these two polarities.
Journalism has in fact progressed tremendously from its humble woodcut print beginnings to currently include a host of audio-visual digital expressions. It has become part of the media industry that purveys not only news and opinions on current topics and incidents but has increasingly also become a conduit for commerce through product advertisements and promotions. It also provides financial news and analysis as well as serious articles on the arts, history and economics.
However, as a corporate enterprise that is regulated by the government it has to manoeuvre through the dictates of the authorities, the needs of its clientele (readership) and its own interests. And at the same time put up a façade of being free and independent.
Its position as the purveyor of news and product advertisements and promotions is being challenged by social media, made possible by the development of the computer, Internet and smartphone technology.
Social media is now the main platform for news transmission circumventing the traditional print and digital media. While the traditional media offers sanitised and authenticated news, social media gives it in the raw that is unauthenticated and a mixture of the gospel and apocryphal.
Unlike the traditional official media whose management takes responsibility for its news broadcast, social media is not beholden to any authority and free to roam the gamut of human experience without any ethical or moral obligations. Social media is free for all and one can post almost anything on a variety of platforms as well as do live streaming of incidents. One can surf on almost anything worldwide. And the authorities are hard-pressed to regulate social media, short of shutting it down.
It bypasses the official restrictions as textual news and videos are transmitted in real time without having to submit to editorial muster as in the case of the traditional print media (newspapers).
As a reaction to digital social media, major newspapers have also published online and can be easily accessed. But journalistic integrity and code of conduct still rests with the official print media.
As a result of technological development, journalism is changing in its format and dissemination of news; it was once limited to paid readership, now it is an open sky.
Traditional journalism is now challenged by crass social media news uploads that ignore the sanity of journalistic conduct.
It is stark and obtuse and accost the sensibilities of journalistic finesse of language and thought progressions. Nevertheless, it is a powerful medium of first-hand news (especially the visuals) instead of being retold in newsprint or television that has been edited and sanitised.
This current world of increasingly visual journalism has adversely affected the art of journalistic writing that requires a good command of the language and a wide spectrum of knowledge.
It is progressively moving towards the pictorialising of news overlaid with basic commentaries. As such, graphic representation would be the mode of news dissemination in future replacing the art of creative and literary writing to communicate news.
The writer is lecturer at Centre for Policy Research and international Studies, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang