Sensationalism Held Higher Than Ethics

In this stunning timeline from USC's Online Journalism Review, we can get a good look at just how unethical mainstream journalism outlets can be.

In short: A woman had declared that Bill Clinton was the father of her son, Danny Williams. She claimed that their resemblance was uncanny and had been getting a DNA test to see if they were really a match.

The Rupert Murdoch conglomerate picked up the story and ran with it, which can be seen as suspicious since the story was not fully developed and Murdoch is known for having politically right views. Does every person who claims a celebrity is the parent of their child get a soapbox and major media attention? No. And if they do so without any evidence, that is unethical.

The Drudge Report picked up the tale and posted their own article claiming that they had seen video of the mother confessing what she had been claiming. Does that constitute as proof? Again, no.

If some of these journalists at these tabloids and mainstream publications came in with purest intentions, they certainly would come out with a whole different view of journalism. I'm sure that some people in these publications did not want to write about rumors and wild claims but were forced to comply to the higher ups. And that's the problem with corporate news - the politically-fueled millionaires and billionaires that have their hands in journalism will want to skew it to fit their own agenda.

In journalism school we learn about the Society of Professional Journalists' Code of Ethics. The very first pillar of journalism ethics is "Seek Truth and Report It." These stories, while they might have been true at the end (they were not), were just rumors. You can't know the truth of it until the tests come back, so you should not report on it until you know the facts.

The second pillar, "Minimize Harm," would also go against the reporting of these damning rumors. These publications created buzz around an event that made Clinton look unjustifiably bad. Sure, people in the media spotlight have to have tough skin but there's no need to help spread false rumors about them. It's unethical.

If you make these mistakes, at least follow the last pillar and "Be Accountable." Admit to your mistakes, and  maybe think about the actual impact of your stories before reporting on whatever new rumor has your political opposite in the hot seat.