Journalism scandals are high-profile incidents or acts, whether intentional or accidental, that run contrary to the generally accepted ethics and standards of journalism, or otherwise violate the 'ideal' mission of

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree of accuracy. The word, a noun, applies to the journ ...

: to report news events and issues accurately and fairly. As the investigative and reporting face of the media,

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

s are usually required to follow various journalistic standards. These may be written and codified, or customary expectations. Typical standards include references to

honesty Honesty or truthfulness is a facet of moral character that connotes positive and virtue, virtuous attributes such as integrity, truthfulness, straightforwardness (including straightforwardness of conduct: Good faith, earnestness), along with the ...

, avoiding journalistic bias, demonstrating responsibility, striking an appropriate balance between

privacy Privacy (, ) is the ability of an individual or group to seclude themselves or information about themselves, and thereby express themselves selectively. The domain of privacy partially overlaps with security, which can include the concepts of a ...

and

public interest In social science and economics, public interest is "the welfare or well-being of the general public" and society. While it has earlier philosophical roots and is considered to be at the core of democratic theories of government, often paired ...

, shunning financial or romantic

conflict of interest A conflict of interest (COI) is a situation in which a person or organization is involved in multiple wikt:interest#Noun, interests, financial or otherwise, and serving one interest could involve working against another. Typically, this relates t ...

, and choosing ethical means to obtain information. Penalties may vary, but have been known to include re-assignment to other jobs in the same company. Journalistic scandals are public

scandal A scandal can be broadly defined as the strong social reactions of outrage, anger, or surprise, when accusations or rumours circulate or appear for some reason, regarding a person or persons who are perceived to have transgressed in some way a ...

s arising from incidents where in the eyes of some party, these standards were significantly breached. In most journalistic scandals, deliberate or accidental acts take place that run contrary to the generally accepted ethics and standards of journalism, or otherwise violate the 'ideal' mission of

: to report news events and issues accurately and fairly.

Common characteristics

Journalistic scandals include:

plagiarism Plagiarism is the representation of another person's language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions as one's own original work.From the 1995 ''Random House Dictionary of the English Language, Random House Compact Unabridged Dictionary'': use or close ...

, fabrication, and omission of information; activities that violate the law, or violate ethical rules; the altering or staging of an event being documented; or making substantial reporting or researching errors with the results leading to

libel Defamation is a communication that injures a third party's reputation and causes a legally redressable injury. The precise legal definition of defamation varies from country to country. It is not necessarily restricted to making assertions ...

ous or defamatory statements. All journalistic scandals have the common factor that they call into question the integrity and truthfulness of

. These scandals shift public focus and scrutiny onto the media itself. Because credibility is journalism's main currency, many news agencies and

mass media Mass media include the diverse arrays of media that reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit information electronically via media such as films, radio, recorded music, or television. Digital media comprises b ...

outlets have strict codes of conduct and enforce them, and use several layers of editorial oversight to catch problems before stories are distributed. However, in some cases, investigations later found that long-established journalistic

checks and balances The separation of powers principle functionally differentiates several types of state power (usually law-making, adjudication, and execution) and requires these operations of government to be conceptually and institutionally distinguishabl ...

in the newsrooms failed. In some cases, senior editors fail to catch bias, libel, or fabrication inserted into a story by a reporter. In other cases, the checks and balances were omitted in the rush to get an important, 'breaking' news story to press (or on air). Furthermore, in many libel and defamation cases, the publication would have had full support of editorial oversight in case of yellow journalism.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Journalistic Scandal Deception Media bias

Common characteristics

See also

Notes