2nd Media Monitor Post
For Ethics Class, Comm 110
A news must provide complete and concise information despite the fast paced work that journalists must face. In the article “Girl, 6, drowns; sister missing” of Michelle Zoleta, it was as if the information stated there were hearsay, given that there were no official reports from any “authority” such as the police or the rescuers, or even the hospital. The witnesses were not even named nor described who were they. Furthermore, even the statement of the mother whose children were missing does not seem that much credible. The article did not provide enough data such as interviews on important people on the story to make it more credible - for it appears to be like a piece of a hearsay post than a news article.
In the SPJ Code of Ethics, the article failed to adhere to the provision of “Seek truth and report it” as it failed to “identify sources clearly” and to “gather, update and correct information throughout the life of a news story”. The writer of the article failed to provide necessary information such as about the family’s plans about the sisters, or even information from the authority such as the police and barangay in relation to the accident that has occurred. While in the PPI Code of Ethics, the article failed to adhere to the first provision which states that “I shall scrupulously report and interpret the news, taking care not to suppress essential facts nor to distort the truth by omission or improper emphasis”. Upon reading the article, it did not included vital facts on the story. Whatever reason for not including those information should also be stated as to why they were not obtainable. Thus, it can be considered that these facts were omitted by the failure to include them in the report.
References:
SPJ Code of Ethics
PPI Code of Ethics
http://www.philstar.com/nation/2016/08/29/1618168/girl-6-drowns-sister-missing