There are specific factors broadcasters and newspaper companies have to consider, such as: legal and ethical policies, anonymity, objectivity, accuracy, confidentiality, good taste and code of practise.
Legal policies can include copyright, the privacy of certain people involved in an event, defamation, not giving out personal information about children involved in an event, and victims of sexual offences. Copyright is a legal right created by the law of a country that grants the creator of an original work exclusive rights for its use and distribution. It is crucial that news companies should look out for copyrighted work, as if they use that copyrighted work without permission then the rightful owner is able to sue the company. The privacy of a certain person in a news article can be not giving out the person's address, full name and personal details. Defamation is the action of damaging the good reputation of someone, for instance a respected celebrity. Children involved in an event can not be named or given out their personal information, however if a child commits a crime as severe as an adult could commit, then their name can be revealed in the news article. Victims of sexual offences should remain anonymous for life unless given permission to be revealed. |
| BBC Article About Defamation |
Ethical policies are taken into account for what the audience's reaction to the news story, or how it may impact the audience's opinion on certain demographics or location. An example of a news story that didn't consider ethical policies can be when a news reporter was talking about the event of a paedophile living in the town they were reporting at, however this reporter was infront of a irrelevent house at the time during the shooting therefore the audience assumed that the house they were reporting infront of was the culprit's. As a result of this, the house got vandalised as the owners were accused of being the paedophile, it ended with the news company being sued.
Anonymity is when a person remains unidentified during an event. Children should always remain anonymous as should sexual assault victims. However, if the child involved has committed a crime as severe as what an adult could do, then their identity can be revealed. Sexual assault victims have the right to remain anonymous for life, unless they give permission to reveal their identity. An example of a news story that reveals the identity of a child can be the James Bulger news story. James Bulger was murdered by two young boys in a very inhumane way, later during the case of this murder both of their identities were revealed.
Objectivity is when a news event is unbiased and is based on the majority's opinion, such as something everyone would agree on. News companies should attempt to stay objective otherwise they could offend an opposing audience, if this happens they risk being sued and having their reputation damaged.
Accuracy is a major factor to consider whilst creating a news piece. The Press must take care not to publish inaccurate, misleading or distorted information or images, including headlines not supported by the text. A significant inaccuracy, misleading statement or distortion must be corrected, promptly and with due prominece, and (where appropriate) an apology published. There should be given a fair oppurtunity to news companies to reply to significant inaccuracies, when reasonably called for. The Press, while free to editorialise and campaign, must distinguish clearly between comment, conjecture and fact.
Confidentiality is when journalists have a moral obligation to protect confidential sources of information. When this moral obligation isn't followed, the punishments can be as severe as receiving a prison sentence.
Good taste is when a news paper and/or news company doesn't show obscenely groteque or explicit images/shots throughout the news piece. An example of a news company not having good tast can be if a car accident occured and the reporter was at the location and they showed possible dead bodies on scene. A way the news company could avoid having bad taste could be to shoot cutaways of nearby traffic relevant to the story, possible ambulances and staff (if given permission) and the overall scene without having any explicit factor in it.
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| James Bulger (middle) |
Objectivity is when a news event is unbiased and is based on the majority's opinion, such as something everyone would agree on. News companies should attempt to stay objective otherwise they could offend an opposing audience, if this happens they risk being sued and having their reputation damaged.
Accuracy is a major factor to consider whilst creating a news piece. The Press must take care not to publish inaccurate, misleading or distorted information or images, including headlines not supported by the text. A significant inaccuracy, misleading statement or distortion must be corrected, promptly and with due prominece, and (where appropriate) an apology published. There should be given a fair oppurtunity to news companies to reply to significant inaccuracies, when reasonably called for. The Press, while free to editorialise and campaign, must distinguish clearly between comment, conjecture and fact.Confidentiality is when journalists have a moral obligation to protect confidential sources of information. When this moral obligation isn't followed, the punishments can be as severe as receiving a prison sentence.
Good taste is when a news paper and/or news company doesn't show obscenely groteque or explicit images/shots throughout the news piece. An example of a news company not having good tast can be if a car accident occured and the reporter was at the location and they showed possible dead bodies on scene. A way the news company could avoid having bad taste could be to shoot cutaways of nearby traffic relevant to the story, possible ambulances and staff (if given permission) and the overall scene without having any explicit factor in it.
