A note to journalism ‘colleagues’
Nevanji Munyaradzi Chiondegwa
The Oxford Advanced Learners’ Dictionary defines “ethics” as “a system of moral principles or rules of behavior”.
Media ethics can therefore be defined as the rules of conduct guiding journalists and news organizations when they do their work.
Ethics exist to preserve the image of the profession and its collective credibility.
Journalistic ethics emerged as a response to the crises of confidence in journalism
A profession without a code of ethics will lack mechanism for self-regulation and self-preservation.
The main aim of media ethics is to protect the integrity of the media therefore media ethics are a watchdog for the press.
Media ethics seek to prevent journalists from engaging in unprofessional and unethical behavior. Such unethical conduct includes deliberate falsehoods and the invasion of other people’s privacy.
They are two sides of one coin; the need to reconcile freedom of the press with responsibility to society.
A free press, which is not responsible, abuses its freedom. A press, which is not free, is denied the opportunity to be responsible and to be accountable to its readers and audience.
Unethical practices manifest in under-reporting, selective reporting, distortion of facts, sensationalism and the blackout of some social groups or people that reflect the society in which the media operates in.
As stated, unethical conduct include deliberate falsehoods and invasion of people’s privacy and nothing definesthe two better than what Simba Chikanza the political activist who masquarades as a journalist at ZimEye did over the weekend when he tried to blackmail First Lady Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa into granting him an interview.
Blackmail is defined as the action, treated as a criminal offence, of demanding payment or another benefit from someone in return for not revealing compromising or damaging information about them.
Now the First Lady is a security person by virtue of not just being the First Lady, but her proximity to the President makes her a high security person.
Threatening to reveal the insides of her house as Chikanza did, is akin to exposing the security of the President and thus becoming a threat to the whole State.
Journalism is not a crime but in the course of carrying out the journalistic duties, one may end up committing a crime. One’s actions in pursuing a story must not lead one to lose focus of the moral and ethical and also of what is not criminal.
Blackmail is criminal and threatening law enforcement agencies, as one Blessed Mhlanga is very fond of doing, is illegal and while “free press” is what we all clamour for, there is a limit to freedoms one can exercise.
The government can only restrict information released when practicing prior restraint.
The government can only restrict information that could present an immediate threat to security or the public.
The government can only restrict information that could present an immediate threat to security or the public.
Freedom of the press can be limited in cases where anti-government propaganda, corresponding to terrorists, encouraging the harm of other people is being undertaken. The government can place limitation on these free speech where public safety is concerned. This is according to the USA laws.
So perhaps it is time our own media understand that free press is only free in conformity with other laws of the land.
They are daily, inveigled by statements like fundamental freedoms by the US Embasy in Zimbabwe which issues out statements and tweets in their favour but forgets to qualify it for them.
The US Embassy does not tell local journalists of why Julian Assange is rotting in prison right now. It does not tell them that breaking the law despite one practicing a job that is not a crime becomes criminal.
One cannot break the laws of the land merely because they are a journalist.
There is no unlimited access for journalists except that which is also granted to the public. In other words, if one is in an area where shooting or filming is prohibted, one cant hide behind the; ‘I am a journalist’ card. It does not work. The law is the law. Established rules and regulations or laws of the land take precedence over so-called law.
One must always be ethical otherwise, they lose relevance. Attention seeking stunts should be avoided by media practitioners for they are unethical.
One must not get themselves arrested merely to look like they are avoiding sycophancy or to appear like they are being persecuted.
Let`s avoid rent-seeking behaviour and remain true and morally upright media practitioners!
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