The Canons of American Journalism

By Professor J. Douglas Tarpley 
[Full Text]

This draft represents a work in progress, part of a larger project. The
ultimate goal of this project is to examine the codes of ethics/canons
expressed by several major journalistic organizations since the turn of
the century and ascertain how the standards have changed, if indeed
they have.  I suspect that the shifts of codes through the years
reflect what was happening in American society and culture at a
particular time.
  
Professional codes provide a sense of professional identity for
practitioners. Many scholars suggest that they signal the maturity of a
profession. Practitioners of these professions–as distinct from jobs or
occupations–organize into associations such as the American Medical
Association, American Bar Association, and Society of Professional Journalists.
Professionals belonging to such groups share special skills and
knowledge required for their specific services. Moreover, they
typically adopt–and occasionally revise and update–codes of behavior
regarding the provision of these services.
 
Specifically, journalism ethics addresses problems concerning the
behavior of reporters, editors, news directors, photographers,
designers. It touches the editorial as well as the business dimensions
of the news business. It is important to acknowledge the continuing
discussion about the lingering question of whether journalism is a
profession at all. Suffice it to say here that many journalists and
their codes of ethics see it that way. Sociologist Michael Schudsen
argued, for example, that it was this reach for professional status
that motivated many journalists after the turn of the century to
develop the codes and practices we see as representative today.
 
Within American society a basic function of journalism is to provide
information to citizens. The assumption is that citizens require
information in order to govern themselves intelligently. News
organizations have pledged to provide that information. Another
function is to contextualize that information for citizens with
in-depth reporting/analysis, commentary and editorial expression to
help them understand the meaning of the information. Journalists have
pledged to provide these perspectives to give people some sense of
“what the facts mean.” Tensions and potential problems arise in the
context of this commitment by journalists to provide information and
understanding of the meaning of that information. Journalism’s
professional codes of ethics represent–and have historically
represented–efforts to define, understand, and work through these
points of tension in a corporate, professional context.