ACCOUNTABILITY AND JOURNALISTIC OBLIGATIONS TO SOCIAL GOOD
OMULA EMMMANUEL
BSU/SS/COM/PhD/16/7342
COURSE CODE: COM 902
COURSE TITLE: MEDIA RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Abstract
This paper examined the obligations of journalist to social good. It was revealed that to achieve social good journalists, can galvanize governments into action when need be; and that the media can ginger donors into assisting those in need. Findings revealed that to achieve social good the media must always tell the truth .Findings also show that, social good cannot always be achieved without investigative journalism. It was further revealed that journalism can achieve social good by exposing corruption. It was revealed that journalists and media organizations can achieve pubic good or social good when they are accountable or made to be accountable. It was concluded among others that, the media is the most privilege institution that can bring about social good and that media should operate within professional ethics and the law. Social responsibility theory was used to give theoretical support to this work.
Keywords: Social good, Obligation, Accountability
Introduction
Journalism is said to be a force for social good because it can alert public opinion and set agenda that can bring about positive change that is beneficial to society or humanity in general. The media or journalism can be used to achieve social good because of the power it wields. As a force for social good the media can be used to galvanize government into action when the need arises. `
Equally important is the fact that, the media as a force for social good can be used to ginger donors and philanthropists to come to the aid of individuals and societies in need of assistant. Not only can the media ginger donors into helping those in need, the media can also bring about positive change in society by exposing corruption as was the case of Salisu Buhari in Nigeria, Watergate Scandal in America etc.
Truth telling is another way journalism can achieve social good. This position is echoed in Ciboh (2011, P. 119) who opines that “reporting the truth is at the heart of journalistic enterprise and journalists are morally oblige to deliver the truth to the public”. Journalism can bring about social good when journalists or the media perform their monitorial role (Watchdog function) or surveillance function.
However, the media must be accountable for her to be able to pursue social good effectively. It is important to point out here that, in as much as the media is better placed or oblige to pursue social good the media is also faced with challenges like: commercialization of journalistic objectives, ownership influence, news commercialization and profit motive.
Conceptual Clarification
Social Good – A social good is something that benefits the largest number of people in the largest way. Also know as common good. Social good can be traced to ancient Greek philosophers and implies a positive impact on individuals or society in general. (https//:www.investopedia.com). the journalist is required to therefore work for the good of all.
Obligation: Obligation is something by which a person is bound or obliged to do certain things and which arises out of a sense of duty or results from custom, law, etc (www.dictionary.com).
This means that obligation is something that one is bound to do because custom, ethics or the law requires him or her to do it.
Accountability: Accountability can be defined as all the voluntary or involuntary process by which the media answer directly or indirectly to their society for the quality and/or consequences of publication. (https://www.ieac.uk).
Theoretical Framework
This work is anchored on the social responsibility theory of the press. The 1947 US commission on the freedom of the press did more than lay the foundation for social responsibility theory. The theory according to Ojobor in Ijwo and Omula (2014, P. 20) originated from the work of the American-initiated Hutchins commission headed by (Robert Maynard Hutchins) which was a commission on the freedom of the press.
The theory states that the media should serve the public and in order to do so, should be free from government interference. The social responsibility theory was set forth as the ideal way for media to conduct business. It has also set the standards for much of the currently accepted media ethics (Ijwo and Omula 2014).
The theory emerged as a result of the abuse of press freedom enjoyed as a result of the free press (libertarian theory). Under a free press there is supposed to be a flow of objective information that would allow citizens make informed political decisions and other decisions affecting their lives. The excesses and distortions in yellow journalism and sensationalism did not allow these objectives to be achieved. (Asemah, Nwammuo and Nkwam-Uwaoma 2017).
The press under libertarian theory (free press) according to Asemah et al (2017) engaged in invasion of privacy, defamation of character and other negative activities that fell short of idealistic libertarian goals. The negative vices that characterized free press led to a public out cry, which brought about the 1947 Hutchin’s Commission, whose findings culminated in the social responsibility theory. Peterson, Siebert and Schramm (1956) in Asemah et al (2017, P. 48) expanded the theory thus;
Freedom carries concomitant obligations and the press which enjoys a privilege position under a government (democratic government) is obliged to be responsible to society for carrying certain essential tasks of mass communication in contemporary society. To the extent that the press recognizes its responsibilities and make them the basis of operational policies.
Given this view one can say that, the thrust of social responsibility theory is a free but responsible press; the philosophy of social responsibility theory is an extension of the libertarian philosophy in that the media recognize their responsibility to resolve conflict through discussion and to promote pubic opinion, consumer action, and private right and important social interest. (Ravi, 2012) the major premise of this theory is that freedom is accompanied by obligations. The press has an obligation to be responsible to the public. If is not so then some agency of the public should enforce it. (Ravi, 2012). He maintained that public opinion and consumer action can guarantee that the press behaves. The theory continued Ravi, led to the establishment of press council, drawing up of code of ethics and anti monopoly laws in many countries.
The foregoing suggests that the theory introduced ethics into the profession and also charge relevant agencies of government to call the press to order when it goes off track. And that the media has an obligation to serve the public.
The tenets (principles) of this theory according to McQauil in Ravi (2012, P. 307) are:
i. Media should accept and fulfill certain obligations to society.
ii. These obligations are mainly to be met by setting high or professional standards of in formativeness, truth, accuracy, objectivity and balance.
iii. In accepting and applying these obligations, media should be self regulating within the framework of law and established institutions.
iiii. The media should avoid offensive content triggering crime, violence, or civil disorder or harm to minority groups.
v. The media as a whole should be pluralist and reflect the diversity of their society giving access to various point of view and rights of reply.
vi. Society and the public have a right to expect high standard of performance, and intervention can be justified to secure the or a public good.
vii. Journalists and media professionals should be accountable to society as well as to employers and the market.
The theory therefore advocates for accountability objectivity accuracy and balance. The theory charges the media to reflect various and opposing views, and that media organizations should operate in accordance with ethics of the profession and the law. Where the media fails in this responsibility it can be called to order by public agencies.
The theory is relevant to this work in that it charges the media to be accountable, responsible and reflect divergent views. Above all the theory charges the media to use high standard of performance so as to achieve public good or social good.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Journalism as a force for Social Good
The need for journalism as a force for social good cannot be over emphasized because of the role journalists’ play to achieve this social good. Jacquette (2007, P. 269) holds that “News reporters lay a vital role in alerting public opinion and bringing about meaningful response leading to positive change”.
This implies that the journalist is duty bound to work toward bringing about positive change this position holds true in that Jacquette (2007, P. 270) opines that:
People were outrage d that more was not being done and that the federal government seemed either indifferent to the plight of its citizens in the affected area or unable to help. Largely due to the powerful impact of video and news reports from the scene, the government,… began airlifting persons and bringing in supplies, restoring order… fighting host of diseases and health problems that resulted from the storm”.
In the light of the above one can say that journalism as a force for social good must consistently bring to the open inadequacies of government. Better still journalists should constantly harmer on that aspect or thing that when corrected can lead to the good or benefit of all. For instance, if not for the constant reports on hurricane Katrina the government wouldn’t have acted when it acted and succor wouldn’t have come when it was most needed.
What this means is that journalism as a force for social good can galvanize governments, people and organization to act in the interest of all.
Another important role of journalism as a force for social good is that it can motivate donors to give assistance to people and countries that are in need. This position is echoed in Jacquette (2007, P. 270 – 271) posits that:
When we see what have befallen other people less for fortunate than ourselves, then we may find ourselves moved by compassion to offer what ever assistance we can. Citizens of all countries who give generously to persons in need must have accurate news information so that they can decide whether to donate.
In the light of the above it can be said that it is the obligation of the journalist to tell the truth in public interest. Journalism according to Jacquette(2007) has a responsibility to the general public to publish truths, the relevant facts about the world it discovers. This position is consented to by Ciboh (2011, P. 119) who opines that, “journalism is a profession that values the truth; reporting the truth is at the heart of journalistic enterprise and journalistic are morallyobliged to deliver the truth to the public. The basis for journalism practice is pursuit of truth.
The literatures reviewed so far show that, truth telling, galvanizing government into action and motivating donors to help those in need are obligations that journalists need to fulfill in the pursue of social good, so as to yield positive change for the good of all. Jacquette (2007, P. 27) holds that, “journalism in particular reveals new truths when it exposes corruption, acting as an independent watchdog of the public interest, or when it reports on a important historical or scientific and national and international events or when it amounts to an editorial campaign in support of a worthwhile cause”.
This means that journalism can also pursue social good by exposing corrupt practices, or by bringing to public knowledge scientific discoveries. We tend to think of journalism as a force for social good when we consider the reportage of major world event (jacquette 2007). For instance the water gate scandal, Monica Lewinsky issue all in America and the Salisu Buhari forgery issue and tenure elongation issue all in Nigeria were cases that the media has exposed in the interest of all. In the afore mentioned cases the media played her watchdog role effectively and was able to achieve social good in the countries that were involved, Little wonder Jacquette (2007) opines that anyone who truly wants to help change the world should consider journalism as a way by which people with the right talent and training can make a positive difference”.
The journalist must therefore continue to hold in high esteem the virtue of quality news reporting. This is so because profit maximization and patronage is to a large extent dependent on quality news reporting which is intended to bring about positive change for the good of all. Toachieve this the journalist must adhere strictly to the ethics of the profession. It must be noted that, good journalism has never been about the technology but about the questions reporters ask and their methods of seeking and then communicating the answers” (Jacquette 2007, P. 273). The journalist can achieve positive change by asking the right question, by adhering to the ethics of the profession, by disseminating the information in the most professional way. This is so because Jacquette (2007, P. 273) observes that, an advanced technology can obviously help in this endeavour, but it is not always necessary and it is not always advantageous.
The Monitorial Role of the Media
Another way the media can pursue social good is by performing its monitoring role. Christian, Glasser, McQuail, Nordenstreng and White (2009, P. 238) opine that, Harold Lasswell gave the media monitorial role a theoretical basis, describing a basic function of all communication as surveillance… the process of observing an extended environment for relevant information about events; conditions, trends and threat. Lasswell according to Christian et al (2009) opine that ” surveillance suggest not only looking out but doing so in a planned and systematic way, guided by criteria of relevance and reliability”.
Through her monitorial role the media can advocate for a cause or criticize an action. The media therefore serves as a link between the government or policy maker and the public. Through her monitorial role the media can make government accountable. Christian et al (2009, P. 142) note that, monitorial activity also extends into the practice of investigative reporting that requires the identification of some problem and an active search for evidence rather than simply collecting and disseminating what is readily available.
This means that investigative journalism is relevant to the monitorial role of the media. For the journalist to pursue the good of all he/she needs to engage in investigative journalism to expose secret plots that can impede the good of all. Ganiyu (2004, P. 133 – 134) quoted David Spark as saying “investigative reporting is seeking to gather facts which someone wants suppressed”. The need for investigative journalism in the pursue of social good cannot be over emphasized, because those “elements” in the society that pose as obstacle to the good of all, always operate in secrete. There is therefore need for investigative journalism to correct this.
Surveillance is justified by the motive of public enlightenment. This is especially true when the media monitor on behalf of an uniformed public or of a victimized group and against the misuse of power or the negligence of elected authorities (Christian et al 2009).
The monitorial role according to Christian et al (2009) involves any or all of the following practices:
i. Providing the public with warnings of risks, threats, and dangers that might have consequences for it, ranging from weather reports to travel disruptions and foreign war and disorder.
ii. Providing a guide to public opinion and attitudes and beliefs of key groups and figures on major issues.
iii. Offering an agenda that signals current problem and issues.
iiii. Providing analysis and interpretation of events and opinion in a balanced and judicious manner.
v. Acting as a fourth estate in political matters by mediating between government and citizens and providing a means of holding government accountable at the bar of public opinion.
vi. Adopting an active watchdog stance by “barking” when some major social actor is perceived to be acting against the public interest, especially in an underhanded or disguised way.
vii. Initiating and pursuing self chosen inquiries, when the information obtained suggests major deviance from the moral or social order; this may involve keeping track of gossip, rumours, and unofficial or personal information.
Media Accountability
The press in its monitorial role is primarily responsible to its own audiences, clients and sources for the way it carries out this role. The flow of information is largely self regulating, with professionals motivated to serve their audience.
The foregoing connotes that in the pursue of social good the journalist must be accountable to its audience. Besides been accountable the journalist also needs to be self regulating. Ravi (2012) quoted McQuail as saying some of the tenets of social responsibility theory is that:
i. Media should accept and fulfill certain obligation to society.
ii. These obligations are mainly to be met by setting high or professional standards of in formativeness, truth accuracy, objectivity and balance.
iii. In accepting and applying these obligations, media should be self regulating within the framework of law and established institutions.
The foregoing connotes that in the pursue of social good journalists must not relegate professional ethics to the oblivion. Equally important is the fact that journalist need to be fair objective and balance in their reportage. This means that journalist should not slant or tilt his report to favour one party or group.
The media needs to be accountable because a wise man once said, power corrupts and that absolute power corrupts absolutely. The media is a powerful tool that can make or mar society, as such journalist need to be accountable so as to pursue the good of all.
The issue of media accountability brings us to the idea of media accountability system (MAS). Media accountability system is any kind of means used to ensure that media are socially responsible, a way of inducing media and journalists to respect the ethical rules set by the professional. (www.elearning-event.dit,iue>html). All media accountability system aim at improving news media, but they are extremely diverse;
i. Individuals (e.g. Ombudsmen or in-house readers’ representative).
ii. Groups of people (e.g. content evaluation commissions)
iii. Regular meetings (e.g. local press councils)
iiii. Single documents (e.g. codes of ethics)
v. Small media (e.g. journalism review)
vi. A particular operation (an ethical audit)
These are some of the means through which we can ensure that the media is accountable in the course of pursuing social good. In general there are four main types of accountability mechanism. These as cited in (https//:www.lesac.uk>media) are:
One is provided by the media market, which balances the demands and evaluations of the audience (and advertisers) with what the media provides. In an open and competitive media market, the media should be rewarded for good conduct and content and punished (commercially) for their sins.
A second type is derived from the pressure from public opinion and pressure group that may be felt by way of a political system and by new media policy. Thirdly there is the sphere of law and regulation where the media are formally required to meet certain (limited) standards and may be punished for failing to do so after due process of inquiry and defense
Fourthly there is the sphere of industry or professional self-regulation. In this context accountability is usually voluntary but carried out according to set procedures. It does not lead to any material penalty.
The foregoing has pointed out the four basic accountability mechanisms. While the first three may be accompanied by sanctions and penalty that may compel journalists or media organizations to act in an accountable way the last has no accompanying sanction or penalty.
Challenges to the Role of the Media in Pursue of Social good
In the pursuit of social good there are things that tend to pose challenges to the media. Some of these challenges according to Christian et al (2009, P. 223) are:
1.Commercial pressures and incentives are lowering standards of journalism all around and especially drawing resources and attention away from unprofitable types of news, a category that typically includes a strong component of political background as well as international news. Such journalism does not usually attract large audiences but is widely seen as essential to political life.
In Nigeria for instance, the advent of news commercialization is a serious challenge to the media in the pursuit of social good. This is so in that Asemah and Omula, (2013, P. 72) opine that, “with the advent of news commercialization money is gradually taking over the role of gate keeping, editing and news determinants”. This means that is money that determines what is news. This also shows that the principles of objectivity, fairness and balance which are important to the pursue of social good are being downplayed.
2.In general the media are more devoted to promoting individual consumerism and increasingly neglect larger social concern (Christian et al 2009, P. 223).
3.A some what dated argument is still heard that television in particular is both a visual medium that conveys little hard information and a domestic and privatizing medium that encourages positivity and individual isolation rather than public participation (Putnam 2000 in Christian et al 2009).
4.Christian et al (2009) note that failing of media in relation to democracy are caused by ever increasing scale of media operations, their global ownership and control, higher degree of concentration and cross ownership, and the pressure resulting from the commercialization of journalistic objectives. This means that media ownership and commercialization of journalistic objectives is a cog in the wheel of progress. It poses a challenge to the obligation of journalist in the pursuit of social good. This position is consented to by Christian et al (2009, P. 226) who posit that “each trend reduces the likelihood that any media organization will meet its potential obligations to society, which are in any case increasingly denied or disregarded as irrelevant and unprofitable”.
Commercialization of journalistic objectives has dire consequences as it denies the society a lot. Rather than concentrate on achieving social good attention would be focused on profit. In the words of Christian et al (2009, P. 226) “the consequences are highly selective information and systematically biased opinion. The media’s concentration opens them to greater penetration by sources with economic or political power”
One way out of this is that the media or journalist must know that the profession thrives on conscience. Equally important is the fact that, the journalist must be safe regulating and he/she must try as much as possible to adhere to the ethics of the profession. Again accountability mechanism should be employed to monitor media contents from time to time.
Conclusion
The media is the most privilege institution that can bring about the good of all (social good) this is so because journalism is said to be a force for social good in that through its report it can achieve positive change beneficial to the society. To achieve social good the media must adhere strictly to objectivity, fairness and balance, the media must be accountable and operate within professional ethics.
References:
Alternative mechanisms of media accountability and regulation (Nd) Retrieved on 17th April 2018 from https://www.le.ac.uk>media>page-12.
Asemah, E. S. and Omula, E. (2013). Understanding the influence of news commercialization on objective Journalism practice. In KSU Journal of Mass Communication. (2) (69 – 82).
Asemah, E. S. Nwammuo, A. N. and Nkwam-Uwaema (2017). Theoeries and models of communication. Jos: University Press.
Christian, C. G. Glasser, T. L. McQuail, D. Nordenstreng and White, R. A. (2009). Normative Theories of the Media: Journalism in democratic societies. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.
Ciboh, R. (2011). Nigerian Journalistic, Ethics and the challenge of truth. In Benue Journal of Communication and Development (1)(1) (115 – 123).
Ganiyu, M. (2004). The reporter’s companion: A complete guide to news reporting and writing.Ibadan: Emgee Books.
Ijwo, A. O. and Omula, E. (2014). More than theories of mass communication. Makurdi: Selfers publishers.
Jacquette, D. (2017). Journalism Ethics: Moral Responsibility in the media. New York: Pearson.
Media accountability System DIT (Nd) Retrieved on 17th April 2018 from www.elearning-event.dit.ie>html>unit2.
Obligation/Define Obligation at Dictioanry.com (Nd). Retrieved on 17th April 2018 from www.dictionary.com.
Ravi, B. K. (2012). Media and Social Responsibility: A critical perspective with special reference to television. In Journal of Academic Research International. (2) (1) (306 – 325).
Social Good (Nd) Retrieved on 17th April 2018 from https//:www.investopedia.com.
Comments
Post a Comment