Socratic Role Playing
I believe the publication because journalism is founded on various principles, including; independence, impartiality and fairness, truth as well as accuracy, accountability, and humanity. I am aware as a reporter that I may not always promise, but laying the facts right has been and continues to be the fundamental principle of any journalist. If the hacked emails were presently accurately, with all the relevant facts, then the issue of ethics does not take precedence. Likewise, as a reporter, I believe in independence. As such, I cannot act formally or even informally on behalf of special interests, regardless off whether such groups are political, cultural, or corporate. Therefore, if, as a reporter of the New York Times, I have no political affiliations, financial agreements as well as personal information that imply a conflict of interest with the Russians and Wikileaks, then I would not consider the reporting to be unethical.
Lastly, I recognize that there are many stories with two or more sides. Even though there is no requirement to give all sides of the stories, there has to be a balance as well as add context. I know that it is often impossible to ensure objectivity, and it might not even be desirable. However, impartial reporting is necessary to build trust as well as confidence. Simply put, readers would consider partial reporting as unethical.
Deep throat in the Washington Post provides the basis for highlighting the pros and cons of anonymous sources. The advantages of unknown sources include; lowering possibilities of manipulations by people in power, and credibility, as well as transparency, do not become issues for readers, improve the role of watchdogs, and create clues that can lead to other stories (Pjesivac & Rui, 2014). On the other hand, the cons of anonymous sources include; hurting credibility, does not provide transparency to readers, could be used as a tool for manipulating the media, and enables people to write or speak without being responsible for quotes (Osifelo, 2017). Ends justify means because when truths from anonymous sources eventually manifest, then the unknown is vindicated. This conception holds, especially because anonymous sources revealed that President Nixon’s involvement in the Watergate scandal. Was Ethical issues that can arise include reporting anonymously for financial gains or coerce people to believe in some way of thinking that might be unpopular.
References
Osifelo, E. T. (2017). The challenges of anonymous source stories: A case study of Solomon Islands daily newspapers. Pacific Journalism Review: Te Koakoa, 23(2), 51-65. https://doi.org/10.24135/pjr.v23i2.48
Pjesivac, I., & Rui, R. (2014). Anonymous sources hurt the credibility of news stories across cultures: A comparative experiment in America and China. The International Communication Gazette, 76(8), 641-660.