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Journalists carry responsibility to report ethically
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THE 15th annual Chinese Journalists’ Day, a day set aside for the public to offer respect for media staff and the protection of their rights, fell on Saturday.
The past few years have witnessed dramatic changes in news reporting via new media, spurred by the mobile Internet, demanding a majority of the public’s attention and opinions — a realm once belonging to traditional media.
Some reporters argue the occupation is no longer attractive given stagnating salaries, with some voicing worry about tightening official scrutiny as others leave for more lucrative industries.
Is it true that the fourth estate has passed its prime because of negative outside influences? The answer is definitely no. The career will never lose its appeal so long as the journalists themselves treat it correctly and uphold the social righteousness.
Journalists can only become degenerated if they allow their values to stray.
Several cases of media blackmail and extortion were exposed in the past year, which severely stained the public image of journalism in China.
Chen Yongzhou, a reporter for the New Express newspaper in southern China’s Guangdong Province, was detained by police for allegedly taking bribes and writing unverified reports to defame a listed firm.
Shen Hao, a renowned journalist and publisher of the influential 21st Century Business Herald, was arrested alongside other executives of the same paper for forcing enterprises to pay ‘cooperation fees’ to avoid negative news coverage.
“As a journalist and media manager, I violated the basic requirements of professional integrity. I’m very regretful that I broke my promise to journalism,” Shen said in his confession.
In fact, more than 25 people from Chinese media have been arrested this year for alleged scams in which suspects collaborated to extort money from companies in return for favorable reporting.
Last year, a nationwide training program covering courses of journalistic tenets, professional ethics, rules and courses on preventing fabricated news reports, was carried out for the country’s 250,000 journalists to enhance overall reporting quality.
Moral value
Chinese authorities in October granted press credentials to staff from news portals, giving news reporting rights to online media, which for a long time were limited to editing and publishing news from traditional media.
These moves’ main purpose is to improve the professional quality of journalists so as to promote the sound development of the sector.
But for journalists in both traditional and new media, it is up to their self-consciousness to shoulder the responsibility to produce faithful stories, to seek the truth as much as they can, and to promote the interests of readers with solid writing skills. Under no circumstance should journalism become a tool for personal gains. The basic duty of a reporter is to produce genuine news, which calls for independent thinking and well-knit, field-based interviews.
Chinese President Xi Jinping said during a seminar last month that professionals from the field of culture and art should not pursue commercial success at the expense of moral value. He said that the social benefits of their works must be put before everything else.
Media staff should give full play to the role needed at the time, to be a committed recorder, a responsible critic and a clear-minded guide to national development.
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