Texas Drifter “Rio Hondo News” Needs Ethics Class?
Marshall’s Law Townhall Dateline – Question are media publishers responsible for ethical practices of their for profit enterprise employees? Example to be used to answer dateline question involves how Publisher of “Rio Hondo News: Your Community Newspaper” Rio Hondo, Texas would answer nine simple questions.
Some might ask why ethics question involving one small town newspaper matters in world dominated by national issues which threaten America’s future, especially when “headline” issues like national consuming debt threatens to bankrupt America’s economy; uncontrolled illegal immigration policies threaten everything from national domestic tranquility to national public health, reader can list other issues on their own.
Answer should be obvious, if grass roots politics is America’s “salvation” from America’s self destructive woes; should not grass roots ethics be considered important integral contributing factor to integrity of grass roots politics?
Perhaps reader might wonder how Publisher of Rio Hondo News would answer following questions.
1. Is publisher responsible for editor’s decisions?
2. Is “traditional newspaper’s” primary obligation to report neutral facts and truth best it can, or cater to desires and interests of special interest groups?
3. Is newspaper taking credit for non-staff news photos - ethical?
4. Is newspaper not accurately reporting any public agency’s actual services which damages private citizens’ financial interests - ethical conduct?
5. Is newspaper not reporting incompetent services by any public agency which damages private citizens’ financial interests - ethical conduct?
6. Is newspaper not reporting problems citizens have with public education system to allow newspaper to continue having access to school’s extracurricular activities to publish news to sell papers - unethical?
7. Is paper not reporting news which if offended advertisers could cost paper advertising revenue - unethical?
8. Is it ethical for paper to represent itself as “Chamber” type publication which only publishes positive propaganda about community; as long as it does not represent itself a “traditional newspaper”?
9. Is paper dishonoring all those who fought, suffered, and died defending Constitution’s “freedom of press” by pretending to be “traditional news paper”; when it is in reality nothing more than special interest propaganda publication?
Those are the questions; perhaps reader might apply above questions to their own local media sources including newspapers, radio stations, and television stations? Closing thought should not integrity start with free citizens from bottom up instead of coming from top down from elected politicians and bureaucrats?
Fun question, accusing no one of anything, just asking: what word applies to someone who aswers aboves questions correctly, but whose actions differ from their correct answers?
