Introduction to Ethics

What does it mean to be ethical? This is a question that faces all of us in an uncertain world. The literal definition of ethical is "pertaining to or dealing with morals or the principles of morality; pertaining to right and wrong in conduct." (Dictionary.com) In simpler terms, being ethical means following a sense of what is right and wrong. 


A person who is ethical is one who does what's right no matter what. For example, if a person with ethical morals found a $100 lying on the ground outside of a bank, he or she wouldn't take it; they would bring it back into the bank and ask them to find who it belongs to. By not taking the money that is not rightfully theirs, this person proves they are ethical. Someone of ethics also would inform a friend's parents if he or she had given out their address to a stranger online. Although there is a high possibility of the friend getting angry with them, it is more important to keep the friend safe and have him or her be mad at them, than letting them get hurt. 


How does this all relate to journalism? Ethics takes a huge roll in journalism due to the fact that reporters must be generally ethical in order to be credible. For example, an unethical reporter would take bribes from a source to write a false story about someone the source does not like. Without being unbiased and fair, a reporter is not credible; therefore, the reporter would not be considered ethical because it is wrong to take bribes and write false stories. If all news were presented by unethical reporters taking bribes left and right from people with grudges, then the world would not be informed on one of the most important factors that comes with news: the truth.


Bibliography

American Psychological Association (APA):

ethical. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged. Retrieved January 12, 2012, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/ethical

Chicago Manual Style (CMS):

ethical. Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/ethical (accessed: January 12, 2012).

Modern Language Association (MLA):

"ethical." Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. 12 Jan. 2012. <Dictionary.com http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/ethical>.

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE):

Dictionary.com, "ethical," in Dictionary.com Unabridged. Source location: Random House, Inc. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/ethical. Available: http://dictionary.reference.com. Accessed: January 12, 2012.