GS4 · 20 marks · 250 words

With the advent of 24x7 news and prevalence of an array of news sources across the board, the media is omnipresent in nature. In this competitive environment, many media professionals who are overcome by deadlines, bottom-line imperatives, and corporate interests are losing sight of the ethical implications of their work. Further, there have been several cases of irresponsible reporting where the reportage has interfered with court proceedings, compromised delicate security situations or led to the spread of fake or unverified news. In this context, answer the following questions: (a) Identify the ethical issues prevalent in the profession of media. (b) How does unethical reporting and sensationalization of news impact the society? (c) What can be done to strengthen the role of ethics in media?

Answered by 3 toppers · CSE 2022–2024

Civil Service ValuesCodes of Ethics and ConductCorporate GovernanceAccountability and Ethical GovernanceDimensions of EthicsTransparency and InformationSocial Influence and Persuasion

Syllabus: Public/Civil service values and Ethics in Public administration: Status and problems; ethical concerns and dilemmas in government and private institutions; laws, rules, regulations and conscience as sources of ethical guidance; accountability and ethical governance; strengthening of ethical and moral values in governance; ethical issues in international relations and funding; corporate governance.

How toppers approached it

From all 3 answers · about 310 words · 33% drew a diagram.

Opening

  • No separate opening2 of 3
  • A constitutional or legal provision1 of 3

Body

  • Points3 of 3

Close

  • No separate close1 of 3
  • A summary1 of 3
  • A way forward1 of 3

The toppers’ answers

Parsanjeet KourAIR 11 · CSE 2022 · 309 wordsTheir whole copy

Opening

Issues of media's role in Priyadarshini Mattoo case, revealing details of residence of wing commander Abhinandan sir and spread of news of muslim vender spreading COVID-19 are all related to ethical principles and media and above case study is

intimately connected with it.

Body · points

a) Ethical issues prevalent in profession of media are - → Reporting of right and authentic information → No collusion with any political party → No bias to any religion or political group → Reporting matter on basis of facts and figures than ethical dilemmas and emotions. → Balancing its rights with sovereignty and security of country and privacy of individuals.

b) Incident of UPSC jihad and Sudarshan TV etc are examples of unethical

reporting and sensationalisation of news. These affect the society in following ways.

→ They cause polarization and division in the society.

→ They cause spread of ill feelings of communalism, regionalism and linguism in the country.

→ Spread radicalisation and extremism in the country.

→ Create hatred feelings and feeling of intolerance among people.

→ Can lead to bloodshed and loss of lives.

→ Also leads to violation of principles of brotherhood under fundamental duties of constitution.

c) To strengthen role of ethics in media, following steps can be taken

→ Bringing up of an enforceable code of conduct for media.

→ Encouraging culture of transparency in reporting.

→ Promoting spread of just and authentic news (Trusted News Initiative is a good step)

→ Incentivizing and encouraging honest journalists

→ Propagating culture of fair criticism can be a big step towards ethics in media.

Close · a summary

Incidents like arrest of NDTV journalist Vinod Dua is a black spot on media-freedom in country. Non-repetition of such incidents would be a great step towards ethics in media.

Media is the fourth pillar of democracy and its ethical approach is justified in interest of a vibrant democracy.

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