Ethics on the Beat: An Analysis of Ethical Breaches Across News Beats from 1999 to 2019

Blach‐Ørsten, Mark; Wittchen, Maria Bendix; Hartley, Jannie Møller

doi:10.1080/17512786.2021.1956363

Cited by 4 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…On December 2, 2015, the program documented that MQ had used fake sources in his previous work; both quotes from sources he had never talked to and sources whose existence could not be verified by other reporters 8 . The scandal that also affected MQ's former places of employment, another tabloid newspaper, BT, and a sports magazine, was covered on and off until September 8, 2016, when the Danish police dropped the criminal investigation into MQ's reporting (see also Blach-Ørsten et al, 2018;Hartley et al, 2021).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Though Danish news media remain robust despite increased commercialization and digitalization, studies of Danish news media also suggest that competition is on the rise (Allern et al, 2021) and that fewer reporters produce more news stories (Blach-Ørsten, 2013). However, studies on media ethics also show a high degree of compliance amongst journalists and new media organizations (Blach-Ørsten & Lund, 2015), while also showing a relatively stable number of complaints to the Danish Press Council from 1999 to 2019 (Blach-Ørsten, Wittchen & Hartley, 2021).…”

Section: Research Setting and Methodologymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Fabrication and erroneous information

2021

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This article analyzes news media scandals as critical incidents in journalism. A critical incident can be broadly understood as an event or development that reflects 'the hows and whys' of journalism. A part of the research into critical incidents studies these as occurrences that are made scandalous by journalistic misdeeds or ethical lapses. The purpose of this article is twofold: first, theoretically, to link this understanding of critical incidents to the study and theory of the scandal. Second, empirically, to analyze how different types of news media scandals lead to reflection and debate about journalism. To achieve this purpose, the article focuses on two specific types of news media scandals: the fabrication scandal and the erroneous information scandal. The two types of scandals bring into question fundamental standards and practices of journalism, such as 'telling the truth' and basing stories on 'facts.' They also lead to reflections on 1) increased competition between news media, 2) the pressure to produce more stories inside the individual newsroom, 3) the drive to get a 'scoop,' 4) journalism's relationship to powerful and/or anonymous sources, and 5) the problems of a 'trust, not supervise' culture in the newsroom.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Research Setting and Methodologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Fabrication and erroneous information

2021

Self Cite

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“…Other studies have shown that biased reporting and neutrality are core themes of investigations into press ethics on the trial beat. A recent study of rulings made by the Danish Press Council showed how some forms of crime reporting -including trial reporting -violate sound press ethics because of biased reporting and undocumented facts (Blach-Ørsten et al, 2021b). The risk of biased reporting was also discussed in Waterhouse-Watson's (2019) study on sexual crime trials, when she unveiled the "complex questions of ethics" when news media presented the defendant as innocent or guilty through specific narratives, which challenges the journalistic ideal of neutrality.…”

Section: Previous Research On Press Ethics In Relation To Court Repor...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Between harm and sensationalism: Court reporters negotiating objectivity when reflecting on ethical dilemmas in the Submarine Murder Trial

Wittchen

2023

Nordicom Review

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The trial of amateur submarine builder Peter Madsen for the murder of the Swedish journalist Kim Wall was one of the most publicised trials in recent Danish history. Through in-depth interviews with ten prominent Danish reporters who covered the trial, this study examines how court reporters negotiate and struggle with ethical dilemmas related to objectivity as both an institutional ideal and an ethical rule under the Media Liability Act. I demonstrate how reporters negotiate and strategise to maintain objectivity in relation to facts, relevance, the telling of both sides, and the avoidance of prejudging. I further highlight the dispute between fact-based reporters and a minor group endorsing interpretive and narrative reporting and advocating for a more pragmatic approach to objectivity. A core finding is how technological advancements and massive public interest have paved the way for new ethical practices, referred to here as “strategic ritual 2.0”.

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“…Journalists may be approached by public relations representatives with information that discredits the victim, to deflect responsibility from the company's actions. Journalists who are under increased time pressure due to the new digital landscape and a heavier workload, may be more likely to rely on this information instead of conducting ethical and independent journalism (Blach-Ørsten et al, 2021). In addition, they may be enticed to include the information because it is attention-grabbing and may increase readership.…”

Section: Implications and Suggestions For Future Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

All the news that is fit to print? Reporting on a victim's character during a crisis

Laufer

Einwiller

Neureiter

2023

Contingencies & Crisis Mgmt

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Using the United Airlines “bumpgate” crisis as example, this research analyses how reporting of irrelevant information on a crisis victim's bad character impacts on empathy towards the victim, the victim's reputation as well as the reputation of the news medium that published the information. A one‐factorial experiment was conducted with two conditions manipulating the reporting on the crisis victim's character plus a control condition. Respondents were 245 online‐panel participants from the UK. The findings show that when journalists violate the code of ethics by reporting irrelevant negative information on the character of a crisis victim, they harm not only the reputation of the victim, but also that of their news organization. This study contributes to the scarce research on the impact of media reporting during a crisis on victims of the crisis and on the reputation of the newspaper. Journalists must be aware that violating the journalistic code of ethics by reporting on irrelevant negative characteristics of a victim is not only detrimental for the victim but can also significantly hurt the reputation of their organization.

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Ethics on the Beat: An Analysis of Ethical Breaches Across News Beats from 1999 to 2019

Cited by 4 publications

References 39 publications

Fabrication and erroneous information

Fabrication and erroneous information

Between harm and sensationalism: Court reporters negotiating objectivity when reflecting on ethical dilemmas in the Submarine Murder Trial

All the news that is fit to print? Reporting on a victim's character during a crisis

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