What are the ethics of media blogging?
My question is for media industry bloggers out there (like me, at www.thejjunkie.com <-- shameless plug) and other interested parties. I am writing my J-school ethics midterm and looking at the rules (guidelines?) that guide blogging about journalism, i.e. your own industry, coworkers, company...
How do you blog your honest opinion without burning yourself with future employers? How do you conciliate your journalist’s instinct to spit out all the information you have with your employer’s right to proprietary information? In general, how do you think news organizations are faring, when they praise transparency in the editorial process but are usually pretty defensive on disclosing their business practices, and what can/should bloggers do about it?
The topic is wide, and the questions many. Full disclosure: Comments will be sourced/attributed on my midterm paper, that will be read likely by less than 5 people. It will be published on my Web site though, and excerpts might be used on my blog.
How do you blog your honest opinion without burning yourself with future employers? How do you conciliate your journalist’s instinct to spit out all the information you have with your employer’s right to proprietary information? In general, how do you think news organizations are faring, when they praise transparency in the editorial process but are usually pretty defensive on disclosing their business practices, and what can/should bloggers do about it?
The topic is wide, and the questions many. Full disclosure: Comments will be sourced/attributed on my midterm paper, that will be read likely by less than 5 people. It will be published on my Web site though, and excerpts might be used on my blog.
Tags: J, blog, blogging, ethics, junkie, media
Views: 1
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Tish Grier on -
I think these questions need a bit of clarification: are you concerned about blogging about personal life experiences and how that might affect future employment? or are you talking about blogging about what's going on in a workplace?
Most employers--not just newspapers/magazines--are defensive about someone blogging their practices or their office politics (even when that office politics might be well known outside of the office) Therefore, it's best not to blog negatively about one's workplace, esp. if your blog has your name attached to it. If there's a burning need to log in the public record something that isn't quite "kosher" in a business/newsroom, then an anonymous blog may be the best route...
Think of blogging as Pubilc Record--which, technically, it is. I think of the old blogger's saw "If you don't want it printed on the front page of the NYTimes, then don't print it in your blog."
Bloggers need not always be the whistle-blowers. To be a whistle-blower is a personal decision and has nothing to do with whether or not one's a blogger. Bloggers may choose to hold journalists accountable, but that's never been the purpose or intention of blogs.
When it comes to what you write about yourself on a blog, you have to first decide if you want to have your name attached to it. And, if so, ask yourself if you want it to be searchable. Some blog platforms allow blogs to not be searchable. And always check yourself on Google--just to make sure you know what info's out there about you. -
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Permalink Reply by Mark S. Luckie on -
At 10,000 words I refrain from blogging about anything my newsroom is doing, any projects that we are developing or any issues we may be facing. I do very few posts that focus on personal issues, because I'd like to keep the blog centered on the industry as a whole rather than myself.
I believe most companies in general, not just media companies, are hesitant to make trade secrets known to the world, even in the interest of transparency. Unless there are egregious practices happening, I think it's okay for bloggers to leave well enough alone. -
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