Posted by
Gabrielle Cusumano on Wednesday, August 27, 2008 10:10:38 PM
"The mass media have become an essential component of national power, as important to a nation’s viability as natural resources, population, economic strength, military might, and political will. As a fundamental part of national power, the mass media have often changed the course of world politics for good and for evil, from the blood-stained Bolshevik revolution and genocidal Nazi Germany to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the spread of democracy around the world. Like every other technology developed by man, the mass media can either enrich or enslave the human spirit. " Lee Edwards
Excerpt of An Article Entitled HISTORY AND CULTURE: Mediapolitik
By Lee Edwards
Ten Commandments
So what can be done to inculcate a greater sense of ethics in journalism in America and around the world? The British historian (and former journalist) Paul Johnson has proposed 10 commandments—rules of moral conduct—for all who exercise media power and influence.
1. Have the desire to discover and tell the truth, making it clear that the truth is not always simple.
2. "Think through the consequences of what you tell," asking what will legitimately inform and what will corrupt.
3. Realize that truth telling is not enough and can be dangerous without informed judgment. Journalists should always be deepening and broadening their knowledge of the world and its peoples so that they can make informed judgments about what to report and what not to report.
4. Do not be content to tell the public what it wants to know but what it ought to know.
5. Distinguish between the reasoned "public opinion" that ensures liberal democracy and the transitory, volatile phenomenon that is "popular opinion." In a republic, as James Madison wrote in Federalist 50, it ought to be the reason, not the passions, of the public that sits in judgment.
6. Be prepared to make a moral stand and stick to it in the face of pressures and criticism.
7. Display courage, which is required of all in journalism—from the lowest reporter, who must morally evaluate his orders, to the richest tycoon, who should risk his fortune to make his media outlets better and more responsible.
8. Be willing to admit error, publicly. The unforced admission of error demonstrates that a news organization has a sense of honor and a conscience.
9. Strive to be habitually fair. Fairness is one of the deepest human yearnings, and lack of it is the most common complaint the public flings at the media.
10.Respect and treasure the intrinsic power of words, which can enlighten and uplift—or kill.