Why Journalism Ethics and Objectivity Matter

Recently, a journalism student from the University of Maryland interviewed me about journalism ethics. He asked probing and insightful questions that made me really think about the subject, so Ive decided to post his queries and my answers here. What Is the Importance of Ethics in Journalism? Because of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the press in this country is not regulated by the government. But that makes journalistic ethics all the more important, for the obvious reason that with great power comes great responsibility. One need only look to cases where journalistic ethics have been breached  Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã‚  for example, fabulists like Stephen Glass or the 2011 phone-hacking scandal in Britain  Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã‚  to see the implications of unethical news practices. News outlets must regulate themselves, not only to maintain their credibility with the public but also because they run the risk of the government attempting to do so. What Are the Biggest Ethical Dilemmas? Theres often a lot of discussion about whether journalists should be objective or tell the truth as if these were contradictory goals. When it comes to discussions like these, a distinction must be made between issues in which a quantifiable kind of truth can be found and issues in which there are gray areas. For instance, a reporter might do a story surveying statistics about the death penalty in order to discover whether it acts as a deterrent. If the statistics show dramatically lower homicide rates in states with the death penalty, then that might seem to indicate that it is indeed an effective deterrent or vice versa. On the other hand, is the death penalty just? Thats a philosophical issue thats been debated for decades, and the questions it raises cant really be answered by objective journalism. For a journalist, finding the truth is always the ultimate goal, but that can be elusive. Has the Concept of Objectivity Changed? In recent years, the idea of objectivity has been derided as a fixture of the so-called legacy media. Many of the digital pundits argue that true objectivity is impossible and therefore, journalists should be open about their beliefs and biases as a way of being more transparent with their readers. I disagree with this view, but its certainly one that has become influential, especially with newer online news outlets. Do Journalists Prioritize Objectivity? I think objectivity is still valued at most news outlets, particularly for the so-called hard news sections of newspapers or websites. People forget that much of a daily newspaper consists of opinion in editorials, arts and entertainment reviews, and in the sports section. But I think most editors and publishers, and readers for that matter, still value having on impartial voice when it comes to hard news coverage. I think its a mistake to blur the lines between objective reporting and opinion, but thats certainly happening, most notably on the cable news networks. What Is the Future of Objectivity in Journalism? I think the idea of impartial reporting will continue to have value. Certainly, the anti-objectivity proponents have made inroads, but I dont think objective news coverage is going to disappear anytime soon.

Audit Program, Materiality, and Rent Holiday Essay - 1

Essays on Audit Program, Materiality, and Rent Holiday Essay The paper "Audit Program, Materiality, and Rent Holiday" is a brilliant example of an essay on finance and accounting. Audit Program:The audit program is complete guidance regarding the evaluation process of businesses. It includes instructions on what and how much amount of data as evidence should be collected and analyzed. Further who will collect and analyze the data. Firstly all the accounting principles are understood and then audit strategy is formalized. It portrays an understanding and insights about the system and it is a fusion of mix of compliance which is basically tests of control and some other substantive tests that the auditors intend to do. The major purpose is to assist the performance of audit, record and control the implementation of audit, record all the objectives, purposes, procedures, sample size, timing and the basis of selection and it serves as evidence to the opinion of one performing an audit (Arter).Materiality:Materiality refers to the qualitative and quantitative omissions or misstatements which make it apparent verdict that influence the decision making of users that are mostly taken on the basis of financial statements.   It is mostly related to all the important errors, balances, transactions and errors which are a part of financial statements. Therefore, it defines all the verge and limit points after which the financial statements become significant to the users. So the information which is a part of financial statements has to be sufficient and complete in all the material aspects in order for them to signify an actual and fair presentation of the business (Accounting-Simplified.com).Rent Holiday:Rent holiday is a free or highly reduced rent for some specific time and that time period must not exceed twenty-four months. This rent is allocated in the lease for this mentioned period. Qualifying as a rent holiday depends on many things such as the number of months, the term of the lease, the amount reduced and the escalation clauses regarding the future rent payments keeping market conditions in the consideration (Bailey and Gaulin).The rent holiday has to be treated and recognized on an equal basis over the life of the lease, unlike the operating leases that do not affect the company’s balance sheet. The difference between rent expense and the rent actually paid is calculated and is considered as a deferred liability if the rents in the lease are increasing but if the rents are decreasing then it is taken as an asset. The future commitments are mentioned in the footnotes to the financial statements whether they are related to the capital or to the operations ( Financial Computer Systems, Inc).Audit Program Final:The audit program is final when the consideration of an entity’s internal program is complete. It should clearly define the scope of the audit and it should obtain the cooperation of all the auditees. Further, the team of auditors is formed up with the defined leading auditor, the audit plan has gained approval and has become a part of organization set of policies, it clearly reflects the all the purposes and objectives of audit and a report presenting all these are prepared by the audit program manager then the audit program is final and ready to launch (Kausek).

Writing About Literature Free Essays

In the stories â€Å"The Frog Prince† by Gustaf Tenggren and â€Å"Hazel Tells LaVerne† by Katharyn Machan are both very similar stories with relation to a frog. The one thing that seems to jump out to the reader is that one story takes place in a totally different time period than the other. Two comparisons that will be made in my story will be the main focus on the frog character and how time is such a big setting or difference from one story to the other. We will write a custom essay sample on Writing About Literature or any similar topic only for you Order Now The poem version of this frog prince â€Å"hazel Tells LaVerne† is told in past tense meaning the story had taken place the night before and the narrator is telling the story by what had happened while she was at work. As I read this story I quickly realized this had to have taken place in our present day and time because of the description told in the story about her cleaning of a toilet. Obviously the narrator sounded as if she wasn’t very much educated at all from the sounds of her talking. However, the author was very clever because she sounds as if she is trying to continue the actual story of â€Å"The Frog Prince† to a now modern day story of what would most likely occur today. In the actual fairy tale â€Å"The Frog Prince† details get very specific for this story is the actual and original story of â€Å"The Frog Prince†. The golden ball is key mentionable item in this story because its also mentioned in the poem†Hazel Tells Laverne†. Princess made a promise with a frog she came across in a well which was if the frog had gotten her ball she would bring the frog back to her castle, feed him, and sleep with him. She eventually broke her promises thinking because she had her ball after the frog retrieved it she didn’t have to follow up on the promise she made. The frog went to the castle told the king for he knew a word is someone’s word so she must follow through forcing her to do so. Princess got sick of it threw the frog into a wall but not least and a spell occurred and she turned into a frog and he a prince. The golden ball was mentioned in both stories which was why I assumed that maybe the poem was a continuation of the original fairy tale. Both stories had a frog prince which is why I will also conclude that maybe Katharyn Machan wrote the poem she did to make a shorter, more of modern day story of â€Å"The Frog Prince†, and maybe she wants to make a statement by how oblivious our society is today as to what it was hundreds of years ago. Both were very interesting stories in that they both had a different meaning and served a different purpose for not only the author but for the reader. It depends on how you perceive the message in the stories and this is how the story was presented to me which answers why I wrote what I did for my comparison between the two stories. How to cite Writing About Literature, Papers