Hype in the Media

1. With new technology being released all the time that has the ability to alter photographs, video and sound clips, it is hard to know what is real and what is fake. For this reason many questions involving ethics arise. In my personal opinion, I do not think there is ever a time where altering a picture for the mass media is ethically right. The reason I believe this is because if this was a common practice among journalists, then they would be able to sway story in the direction they wanted regardless of whether the story is factual or not. This would make the general public question whether anything in the media was real. This would also go against the moral code of journalists to always tell the truth in news.

2. When it comes to sensationalizing the news to get reader's attention, I think that companies need to follow their set of guidelines. If a company is set on telling the truth and having a balanced newsroom then they should stick to both normal and exciting news. However, in this day and age with so many media outlets demanding consumer attention, I think it is ok to gear news stories to grab consumers attention. Although more basic news is pushed aside, as long as companies continue to tell the truth and make sure they are not lying to get ratings, I find it ok to adjust to what consumers want.

3. Junkets are invitations given to journalists by companies who are attempting to influence journalists reviews on their new product. However, this can present problems when the journalist is experiencing a conflict of interest due to an ethical dilemma. For example, if a journalist finds a safety problem with a product that a company is trying to sell it will be difficult for the journalist to release that information if the company has just paid for a trip to Europe, all expenses paid. Even though journalists are morally required to tell the truth when it comes to problems such as safety, the company may have achieved their goal by persuading the journalist in showing them a good time.

4. Fake news is not a new phenomena, however, with the increase in media outlets, such a the internet, it seems as though anyone can now attempt to fool mass media. When a completely sensational, outrageous story is released many news outlets fall for the hoax and release the story. One of the reasons that this is happens is because mass media is always looking for attention-grabbing news that the public will want to read. The more interesting and unusual the story the more likely there will be in increase in the public viewing and absorbing that certain media outlet. Therefore, radio, newspapers, television and the internet are constantly looking for the newest thing to relay to their audiences. I think that the internet is more likely to fall for these pranks of fake news because they need all the news they can get to stand out. As there are so many different news websites, each site needs to find something that will make then stand out from the rest. This is the reason that many of these websites will turn to exciting, new things that will show that they are different than the rest.