Ethical Decision Making at "Warp Speed" At SMU’s annual Sammon’s Lecture in Media Ethics last Wednesday, CNN correspondent and documentary producer Frank Sesno recalled the noise generated by bands of reporters banging away at their typewriters on the press plane. But the loud clacking that marked Sesno’s earlier days as a reporter has since been replaced by the gentle pattering of computer keys. Now that the delete key is the new whiteout and stories can be published with the click of a button, journalists face new challenges in regard to ethical decision-making.

The journalist’s ability to make ethical decisions has become increasingly valuable and essential as advancements in technology have accelerated the time for reporting news to what Sesno referred to as “warp speed.” Without the luxury of time to weigh and consider an ethical issue, journalists must be prepared to make such decisions quickly and instinctively. Today’s consumers expect new information immediately and seek the source that can deliver that information the fastest.

Sesno suggested some factors contributing to the time compression that has transformed decision-making. New technology has clearly played a role as it has become smaller, cheaper and faster. Anyone with $3,500 can purchase a portable case with the equipment to broadcast live from anywhere in the world, introducing the age of “every-man news.” Sesno also raised the issue of a fragmented public, as an overwhelming majority of consumers choose to get their news online as opposed to consulting the available print version. Almost all the students raised their hands when Sesno asked if they use the Internet as their main source of news. As a student, I can attest; online news is faster, easier, interactive, more diverse (multimedia) and offers more options and user control (I can get as much information as I want, when I want it). We are an impatient, “use and move” generation.

Other contributing factors include what Sesno called a “hot house of do-or-die,” referring to hesitation to hold information that the competition may choose to run. An increased focus on ratings and circulation has caused many journalists to lose sight of their responsibility to inform the public fairly and accurately. Instead, as illustrated in the Duke Lacrosse case and many others, they will go beyond merely reporting the story and continue beat the dead horse, using hype to get an audience. And society’s relatively recent obsession of celebrity culture has changed the idea of what is considered news.

With dramatic changes in how reporters work, Sesno wondered, where is the time to think? What do we need to do to adapt to this new “warp speed” journalism?

While it is obviously important for journalists to remain true to the purpose of journalism and remember to be skeptical and responsible despite competitive pressures and a rapid flow of information, there is also a responsibility on part of the consumers. Consumers should be informed and acknowledge their ability to make their own decisions when faced with so much information coming at them at once. Both journalists and consumers should embrace what Sesno called a “language of live” that acknowledges the fast pace of the reported information and recognizes that is constantly changing and often incomplete and should be consumed as such. If journalists maintain skepticism and accountability and if consumers understand that information is being reported extremely quickly under intense pressures, perhaps we can adapt to these new changes and reestablish the trust in the media that we once had.  ¶ posted by AlexM2121 at 11:15 PM •