Catchy Title or Needless Deception: Ethical Case Analysis
Ethics has always been an important facet of everyday life. People are expected to behave in accordance with an acceptable set of ethical beliefs. A case study involving a television reporter and her argument with the promotions department of the company resulted in a predicament that is ideal for a case study on ethics, with the theme “ethics and the mass media.” The ethical argument is about the tug of war between choosing what would sell versus what is the truth. This fact, when presented clearly, can help save lives but when distorted can mislead the people, which in turn, could influence wrong decisions and misguided actions in the future.
Discussion
This ethical case involves several individuals and entities. There is Deana, described here as very intelligent and very industrious and prudent in terms of investigating her target news story and its merits. There is the promotions department of the news station Deana is working for, which at first shows inclination to make the news story very attractive to the audience to the point that the department resorts to a catchy and yet misleading title just to get the attention of the audience. There is the drug company that has made an important development in the world of pharmaceuticals that has put mankind one step closer to finding the cure for cancer. The ethical dilemma that Deana faced is choosing between risking her news assignment being shelved if her going against the promotion department’s title means getting the ire of the company to which she and her news would suffer the consequences and backlash. She let the promotions department mislead the audience with the title so long as she is able to deliver her news. The contents would eventually clarify the air about the drug and its potency (or what is still lacks to become the solution to the cancer problem). There are no exact time or date for the case study. The misleading title was justified by the promotions department as a way to pull audience. Deana showed her defiance by threatening to destroy the materials that would be used for this news story.
In the end, the case was resolved through a compromise. Deana agreed to have the news story to be aired as planned provided that the story sticks with what Deana believes as factual truths. This included changing the title to be more appropriate to the content. The promotions department, for their part, agreed to give Deana the full autonomy to shape the story as she deemed correct, at the same time, collaborating with Deana in the effort to write a more suitable title for the story. In the end, the story was considered as a success because of the response of the audience to the news story.
It was great that things turned out as they did. The turnout of events proved to be a win-win situation for everybody and for everyone involved. The public was not misled and Deana was not placed in a position wherein she will risk losing her credibility as a reporter. The promotions department was still able to make the most out of the story and make it appealing to the public to benefit the news station as well. The drug company was not placed in a position wherein they appear to lie or mislead the audience just to improve the sales of the drug. If Deana and the promotions department weren’t able to reach a compromise, there could have been several different outcomes to this event. Deana bluffed the news station that she will destroy the materials. Knowing that this is an indication of what the news company would become in the future and meaningful the hard work she put in this research, it is likely that she would quit and find similar work in other stations wherein she could use the same story. This means Deana would most likely continue a broadcast career with her credibility in tow. Her erstwhile employer, which is susceptible to misleading stories, would probably be embroiled in the future in a case of misleading news title. It is also possible that the promotions department would anticipate Deana’s disapproval of the title and would have other reporters work out a news story that would fit the title they want to sell to the audience. All in all, this leads to the idea that unethical practice breeds negative outcomes while adhering to ethical values may result to losses (i.e. Deana losing her job). This will also contribute towards reinforcing one’s credibility.
Conclusion
Looking at the case and how it turned out, it appears that the outcome is the ideal and best possible result in terms of gravitating towards the correct set of ethical principles in the part of everyone concerned. This reflects mass media’s power that results in the expected exercise of ethics (Wells, 1997, p. 385). Deana is correct to sticking to her guns knowing that this is the right thing to do. This reflects the imperative for ethical practice among media practitioners (Albarran, 2012, p. 283). Deana knows her responsibility as a reporter. She knows that the people rely strongly on news reports every time they make their decisions on several aspects of life, some of which, a matter of life and death like looking for a way to cure cancer. Deana should never compromise, not on this case and not in any future instances when her credibility. The truth and public safety is on the line. Fighting for what is right and what is ethical is expected among professionals, like Deana, whose most important characteristic is her credibility as a reliable and responsible reporter.
The promotions department should not be congratulated for its actions regarding opting for a catchy but misleading title. The ideal next step for them after Deana’s ultimatum is to collaborate with Deana in the effort to come up with a catchy yet correct title. This is also possible. Those who promote the correct ethical values, like Aristotle, would also lean towards the decision which gives the greatest awareness of many individuals. A catchy but misleading title provides the attention of the news station alone. However, providing the public with a fitting title to go with well researched and factual news is something that serves the best interest of a lot of people.

 
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