The power of the media

That information in the media influences society is no longer a debate. We have many examples that have made impact on us in so glaring a manner that no empirical research is needed to prove it.

In 2002, a report in a national daily disrupted the Miss World Contest in Nigeria and caused the death of hundreds. That the whole world believed that Saddam Hussein of Iraq had Weapons of Mass Destruction can be credited to the power of the media and its ability to pin this offense on the Iraqi strongman. This eventually led to his fall. During the Biafran War in Nigeria, the secessionists forces realized the power of information quite early and they won international sympathy for their cause, and for their case against Nigeria. Nigeria realized this quite late and, that the war lasted that long could be credited to the international support which the secessionist authorities received.

Three East European countries found the power of the influence of the media and the practitioners to be so overwhelming in their process of social and political re-engineering that they came together to formulate Ethical Codes to be followed by practitioners in the respective countries. (See Appendix 1: Ethical Code Adopted by 3 East European Countries). It can be seen that the media can be quite potent in impacting on the society, whether positively or negatively. Given its power, therefore, the media can be a powerful tool to affect society in a manner that can serve humanity. Equally used without scrupples, it can have negative consequences on humanity.

In discussing “Ethical Considerations in Reporting and Advertising Sensitive Health and Social Issues,” we shall look at how media can be used by publishers, reporters, advertisers and advertising practitioners in a socially responsible manner for the greater good of society.

Ethics

Ethics can be regarded as rules of behaviour or moral principles that guide our actions in given situations. (Baran, 2002:390). Everard and Shilt (1979:32) also see ethics as the concern of people for establishing fair rules of conduct.

The word ethics, according to Baran, comes from the Greek ethos, which translates as the customs, traditions, or character that guide a particular group or culture. In our context, we can look at ethics specifically as the application of rational thought by media practitioners, users and owners, when they are deciding or choosing from two or more competing moral choices.

Take this example. There may be no law against publishing the names of a rape victim. But one may wonder whether it is ethical. Or suppose, as a reporter, you stumble on an accident where a young boy has been crushed to death. You see the father wailing and rolling on the ground and uttering all kinds of lamentations. You know very well that there is no law, which forbids you to stick the microphone to his mouth to record his expressions. Are you not being too insensitive? But is it ethical? How will the people around view your actions?

Ethics are generally a reflection of the ideas of a given culture about what is right or wrong. They exist at three main levels.

The first level is the Metaethics, which, according to Baran are fundamental cultural values concerning issues and questions such as: What is justice? What does it mean to be good? Is fairness possible? It is important for us to philosophically examine these questions to know ourselves. However, as valuable as they may seem to be for our self-knowledge, metaethics provide only the broadest foundation for the kinds of ethical decisions which people are called upon to make on a daily basis. At best, metaethics can, therefore, be only a starting point for moral or ethical reasoning.

The second level is Normative Ethics. These are, by and large, generalized theories, rules, and principles of ethical or moral behaviour. A good example of normative ethics are the various media industry codes of ethics or standards of good practice. The Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria also has one. These are more specific than metaethics to the extent that they relate to real world frameworks within which practitioners can begin to weigh competing alternative courses of behaviour. Even at that there is still a problem because: “Fairness is a metaethic, but journalists’ codes of practice, for examples, define what is meant by fairness in the world of reporting, how far a reporter must go to ensure fairness, and how fairness must be applied when being fair to one person means being unfair to another” (Baran, 2002:450).

The third level is the Applied Ethics. These come about as a combination of the metaethics with the normative ethics. This is where the media practitioner applies both the meta (big) rules and the specific (general industry) guidelines to his or her specific situation.

The Need for Ethical Codes

Ethics have attracted the attention of mankind since the days of Greek philosophers – Plato and Aristotle. Aristotle who was Plato’s student was later to disagree with his mentor on the issue of ethics. Whereas Plato held the view that philosopher kings should be allowed to set the rules as they deemed fit in their wisdom, since they were assumed to have special insights into the truth, his student felt that human frailties were too overwhelming for us to give even philosopher kings such freedom. He, therefore, advocated ethical rules to guide rulers. Plato believed that if one knew the good, then he would do it. But Aristotle took the notion of weakness of the will seriously.

This, by and large, is the position held in the marketing communication and media industry. If freewill is allowed, the urge to outwit competitors, the urge to make more profit, and the urge to cut corners is likely to lead even good marketing communication and media practitioners to engage in practices that can debase the profession and harm society. Ethical Codes at this level concentrate on legality, truthfulness and fairness. At a higher level, we can see this factor being the major rationale for constitutions of nation states.

Advantages of Ethical Codes

Bowie (1982:90-93) has outlined five key advantages for the institutionalization of Ethical Codes of Conducts in the business.

  • Ethical Codes provide more permanent and stable guides. Decisions are not left to the idiosyncrasies of the person on seat at the time. Personalities do not count. The rules as already stated are the reference point.
  • Ethical Codes are a guidance in ethically ambiguous situations.
  • Ethical Codes serve as a control and check against the autocratic power of employers. If an employer wants a professional to do something that is unethical, it is easy to point to the rules that forbid it.
  • Ethical Codes help to specify the Social Responsibilities of a business, thus contributing to bringing about order out of chaos.
  • The development of Ethical Codes, which are essentially voluntary self-regulation, is in the best overall interest of the profession. Unethical business activities normally lead to increased government regulation of business activities normally lead to increased government regulation of business activities, thus taking the initiative out of the business community.

To these one can add:

  • Ethical Codes enhances the confidence of the public at large in advertising and marketing (International Chamber of Commerce, 1998).
  • Ethical Codes safeguard an optimum of freedom of expression for advertisers and marketers.

Corporate Social Responsibility

Corporate Social Responsibility is about how companies manage the business processes to produce an overall positive impact on society. Lord Holme and Richard Watts defined Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as “the continuing commitment by businesses to behave ethically and contribute to the economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as well as the local community and society at large.”

Looked at in this perspective, therefore, we can equate Ethical Business Behaviour with Corporate Social Responsibility especially when the organisation is dominant in the decision situation involving the ethical choice. Ethical conduct is then regarded as a tool designed to assist media owners and practitioners. The assumption, in this matter as Nelson (1992:24) points out, is that business corporations hold a kind of public trust. Society extends power to individual corporations based on a consent that the business is fulfilling its public trust. Managers and media practitioners are entrusted by society to provide for the needs of society. Professionals in the media and advertising share this belief as can be see from the copious rules or codes of ethics. Emmet (1966) describes a profession as follows:

A Profession…carries with it the notion of a standard of performance, it is not only a way of making a living, but one in which the practitioners have a fiduciary trust to maintain certain standards. These are partly standards of competence, or technical ability in carrying out functions valued in the society. But not only so: professional competence has to be joined with professional integrity…. A professional man carries out his functions in relation to people who also stand in a particular role relation to him. The relationship carries specific obligations to be distinguished from those of purely personal morality, or from general obligations to human beings as such.

As media and advertising vocations get more professional, the greater responsibilities that go with such vocations.

Stakeholders in Ethical Conduct

  • Media Owners
  • Media Managers
  • Reporters/Editors
  • Advertisers
  • Advertising Practitioners
  • Advertising Agencies
  • Consumers, Audience

Sensitive Social Issues (Some Examples)

  • War
  • Election Results
  • Children’s Advertising
  • Sexual Sell
  • Manipulation
  • Exploitative Advertisements (Children, the sick, etc)
  • Terrorism
  • Deceipt
  • Communal Clashes
  • Security
  • Coup d’etat
  • Religion
  • Truth and Honesty
  • Privacy and confidentiality
  • Sexual Harassment
  • Ethical issues

Health Issues and Products (Some Examples)

  • Unproven Cures
  • Claims of Break-throughs
  • Life-Prolonging drugs
  • Alcoholic Drinks
  • Tobacco
  • Sexual Sell
  • Manipulation
  • Exploitative Advertisements (Children, the sick, etc)
  • HIV/AIDS Characterisation

Ethical Conflicts for Media Practitioners

Louis Day (1997) outlined six sets of individual or corporate interests that can cause ethical problems:

  • The interests of the moral agent’s individual conscience; media professionals must live with their decisions.
  • The interests of the object of the act; a particular person or group is likely to be affected by media practitioner’s action.
  • The interests of financial supporters; someone pays the bills that allow the station to broadcast or the newspaper or magazine to publish.
  • The interests of the institution; media professionals have company loyalty and pride in the organisation for which they work.
  • The interests of the profession; media practitioners work to meet the expectations of their colleagues; they have respect for the profession that sustains them.
  • The interests of society; media professionals, like all of us, have a social responsibility. Because of the influence their work can have, they may even have greater responsibilities than do many other professionals.

These are concrete situations, which can motivate someone to offend the rules of conduct in situations of ethical dilemma that can confront media practitioners.

Ethical Dilemmas for Marketers

Dave Hall et al have identified ethical dilemmas confronting marketers in the following examples:

  • Should products, which might damage the health of consumers, be withdrawn from the market?
  • What effort, if any, should be made to ensure that business activities do not damage the environment?
  • Should money be spent on wheelchair access to workplaces and retail outlets?
  • Should a firm reject bribe-giving to secure an overseas contract?
  • Should contribution be made to local charities?
  • Should contribution be made to political fund?

Consumer Rights

Over the years, consumers have come to take some rights for granted. These assumed rights have taken on the image of laws, in practical terms, in many societies. These rights are:

  1. The right to safety – to be protected against the marketing of goods, which are hazardous to health or life.
  2. The right to be informed – to be protected against fraudulent, deceitful, or grossly misleading information, advertising, labeling or other practices, and to be given the facts needed to make an informed choice.
  3. The right to choose – to be assured, wherever possible, access to a variety of products and services at competitive prices, and in those industries in which competition is not workable and government regulation is substituted, to be assured of satisfactory quality and service at fair prices.
  4. The right to be heard – to be assured that consumer interests will receive full and sympathetic consideration in the formulation of government policy, and fair and expeditious treatment in its administrative tribunals. (Source: Consumer Advisory Council Executive Office of the President).

References

  • APCON (1995) Advertising Annual Vol.11
  • Baran, Stanley (2002) Introduction to Mass Communications, Media Literacy and culture, Mayfield Publishing Company, London.
  • Bowie, Norman (1982) Business Ethics, Prentice – Hall, England Cliffs, New Jersey.
  • Day, Louise (1997) Ethics in Media Communications: Cases and controversies. Belmont, Wadsworth.
  • Dave Hall, Rob Jones and Carlo Raffo Edited by Ian Chambers and Dave Gray (2001) Business Studies, 2nd Ed., Causeway Press, London.
  • Emmet, Dorothy (1966) Rules, Roles and Relations, Beacon Press, Boston.
  • Everard, Kenneth E. and Shilt, Bernard A (1979) Business Management 7th Ed, South-Western Publishing, Dallas.
  • Marcus, Alfred A. (1996) Business and Society: Strategy, Ethics, and the Global Economy, Irwin, Chicago.
  • Missner, Marshal (1980) Ethics of the Business System, Alfred Publishing, Sherman Oaks.
  • Nelson, R. (1992) “Training on ethics: Cummins Engine Company. Journal of Management Development 22 (3), 197 – 200.
  • Snell, Robin (1993) Developing Skills for Ethical Management, Chapman & Hall, Madras.
  • Vandan Bergh, Bruce G and Katz, Helen (1999) Advertising Principles: Choice, Challenge & Change, NTC Business Books.
  • Wyburd, Giles (1998) Competitive and Ethical? - How Business can Strike a balance, Kogan Page, London.