Part 1: Media and Journalism
The news source's choice is newspapers, particularly the Gulf News, Khaleej Times, and The Gulf Today newspapers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It is because the newspapers allow consumers or users to gain information profoundly and engage in critical thinking. The newspapers entertain and are a platform for invaluable opinions. The advantage is that today, newspapers are available both as hard copies and also online in soft copy, making it easier for people to access them in their preferred ways. The source provides facts about society and discussions about it, which are a preference for many consumers. The information in newspapers tends to be more complete and less biased than other news sources. They provide educational value through information on the nation’s economy, politics, sports, commerce, and business, among other subjects. Moreover, newspapers help its readers to develop their language vocabulary and language skills. They provide general information and knowledge and allow its consumers to participate in discussions on global issues and help shed a clear understanding of events in the nation and globally (Gibbs, 2020).
It’s prudent to check several aspects to determine if a news source is reliable: accuracy, authority, currency, and coverage. Checking for accuracy involves comparing the source's information against what the reader already knows while looking out for possible disclaimers that would point to the source’s level of accuracy. It might also include checking the source's information against another trustworthy source that the reader already knows. Checking the source’s authority involves ensuring that the source's information was authored by a reputable and reliable source and or institution. It can be done by checking the author’s credentials. The source’s currency depends on the type of content in the sources. For instance, if its news on technology and medicine, comparison of the source with other up-to-date sources will give a clear picture. On the contrary, for historical content, older sources may be more useful. The coverage of the source reflects how the news source fits into the reader’s information needs. The source must be relevant to the reader’s topic and address the subject matter to get a nod for the coverage check (Pennycook & Rand, 2019).
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Citizens, students, and social media participants have the ethical responsibility of respecting others’ privacy, refraining from dishonest advertising, or from sharing dishonest information, and being socially sensitive. For instance, it’s easy for one to read something on social media that is not true and share it to their circles to the detriment of the victim mentioned in the news that were indeed false. Moreover, in the digital age, it’s essential from everyone using social media to think independently and safeguard the truth they read by being socially sensitive and refraining from such vices as cyberbullying. For instance, a Pakistani girl committed suicide due to some social media user's insensitivity and bullied her online (Ogbebor, 2020). The impact of neglecting ethical considerations by users of these sites is devastating.
Part II: Government and Media Systems
Yes, media should be regulated, governed, and guided by legal decisions. In its nature and objective, the press and media seek to highlight society's happening and allow for progressive discussion. However, while freedom of the media is vital, it will enable the media to highlight essential needs changes or be propagated. The regulation will limit misreporting, and the rise of fake news or hate speech as the news agencies and personnel seek to push their individual or corporate agendas. Today data and news have become an economic resource and asset, hence regulating this critical resource. The regulation will help maintain public order and aid in supporting the instruments of justice set in place. The regulation will help protect the sectional and individual rights, which often risk being harmed by unregulated media. Regulating media should not mean the absence of press freedom; the regulation should be modest and to a reasonable degree for the general populace's welfare and not selfish interest by individuals or organizations. The regulation will enhance freedom of speech, access, and diversity; protect consumers besides stimulating expansion and innovation (McIntyre et al., 2018).
A journalist can be socially responsible for what they report in several ways. The journalist needs to report in consideration of the press is for the people and society. The journalist should report with the utmost integrity by incorporating fairness, objectivity, and honesty in all stories they report. They are responsible for putting their feelings aside and instead delving into digging dipper to get the truth on a subject before writing it. The journalist should ensure that their reporting serves the goal of reporting. They should be open to both comments and criticism toward the information they publish. The journalist should be socially responsible by publishing only information, photos, and documents from sources known to them or verified sources. Journalists have the social responsibility of educating the public on events and issues and elaborate on how these issues and events affect their lives. They have to go to the extent of interviewing expert sources, visiting the scenes, and searching public records to ensure they deliver the right information and societal issues or events (Said & Hussain, 2017).
Part III: Ethical Considerations in the Media
The Covid-19 pandemic period and its ravaging effects across the world reiterate the need for journalists to uphold ethics and presents pertinent challenges they face in doing the same. When dealing with a sensitive story and at other times, the journalists are required to abide by and uphold several ethical considerations that guide them to deliver balance, fair and accurate reports of societal happenings, in this case, the Covid-19 pandemic.
Truth and Accuracy
It is impossible to guarantee perfection in delivering truth at all times, especially when one has no control over what their sources communicate to them. However, journalists need to value getting the truth and accurate information for their reporting. They should always strive to check and give all the relevant facts, and still admit failure to corroborate when the situation is so. For example, the police officers in Kerala arrested a television staffer for fake reporting and spreading fake news during the global pandemic (McIntyre et al., 2018). The reporter was held to account for the news that Keratitis had been starving in the streets for the past a month and a half. While the case need to follow due process, they highlight the necessity of upholding the principle of truthful and accuracy
Accountability
Journalists must be responsible and demonstrate the professionalism of the highest order. It is crucial for journalists to always correct errors when they make them and realize. Additionally, once a mistake is noted, the expressions of regret should be sincere and not cynical. Journalists should always strive to provide solutions when they are unfair. A UAE reporter, Omar, was arrested for reporting fake COVID-19 news and the reporter’s motive was not clear (Shapiro, 2020). However, when they notice changes In Abu Dhabi, the news reporters noticed inconsistencies and said the issue admitting that they were previously wrong.
Independence
Journalists should always maintain the independence of their choice in their reporting regardless of their informal or formal interest in cultural, corporate, or political issues. To avoid conflict of interest, journalists should communicate their interests and personal information to the editors to prevent conflicting interests or appearance (Hallin & Mancini, 2017). For example, Journalists in UAE have been arrested, charged, and even served jail terms to maintain their independent voice in their reporting. This has been the case, especially when they were reporting content that is considered pro-government. Despite such measures of hostility or blame form the government, the journalists must maintain an independent voice in their reporting without fear of victimization.
Fairness and impartiality
Journalists are not always asked to report everything they know about. However, it is imperative and required to report every content they report with objectivity, which may not be desirable. For example, the report could be about cases of brutality or inhumane actions that could easily temp a reporter to report for the sake of reporting without consideration of other factors. However, following the value of impartiality and fairness, the journalists will ensure they report objectively for all fairness and without partiality. For example, despite the highest internet reach globally, content in UAE goes through intense censorship to ensure that aspects of politics and religion that violate the principle of fairness and partiality are removed (Ogbebor, 2020).
Humanity
Journalists must always be aware of the impacts of their words on their listeners to viewers. Therefore journalists should always consider the potential harm of the words they say or affect people interacting t-with such content. Moreover, this will make them aware and careful with the word and images they report and how they impact their audience's lives. For instance, journalists in the UAE have been keen on the information about Covid-19 that they report to the public and how they comment on it (Gibbs, 2020). While it’s their responsibility to explain the state of the Corona-19 pandemic in UAE, they are also obliged to watch their comments on the issue to avoid any negative human impacts of their consumers.
References
Baek, Y. M., Hyunhee, K., & Sonho, K. (2019). Fake news should be regulated because it influences both “others” and “me”: How and why the influence of presumed influence model should be extended. Mass Communication and Society, 22(3) , 301-323.
Gibbs, T. (2020). Whistleblowing: protection or discouragement. Journal of Money Laundering Control .
Hallin, D. C., & Mancini, P. (2017). Ten years after comparing media systems: What have we learned? Political Communication, 34(2) , 155-171.
McIntyre, K., Dahmen, N. S., & Abdenour, J. (2018). The contextualist function: US newspaper journalists value social responsibility. Journalism, 19(12) , 1657-1675.
Ogbebor, B. (2020). The Press Reform Debate. In British Media Coverage of the Press Reform Debate , 19-40.
Pennycook, G., & Rand, D. G. (2019). Fighting misinformation on social media using crowdsourced judgments of news source quality. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116(7) , 2521-2526.
Said, A. S., & Hussain, N. (2017). dverse drug reaction reporting practices among United Arab Emirates pharmacists and prescribers. Hospital Pharmacy, 52(5) , 361-366.
Shapiro, I. (2020). To turn or to burn: Shifting the paradigm for journalism education. Toward , 11-27.
