Journalism and Jiminy Cricket

What is a virtuous journalist? Is journalism a moral pursuit?

During the decade I taught journalism at Ryerson University, I posed those questions to hundreds of students in classroom ethics sessions that usually sparked the most spirited, thoughtful debates of the term.

The questions, the standard think points of journalism ethics texts and seminars, don't lend themselves to easy, absolute answers in either the classroom or the newsroom. But wrestling with them remains nonetheless critically important to the integrity of individual journalists and the credibility of the media organizations that employ them.

I was reminded of those classroom debates this week during a spirited, thoughtful meeting of the Star's credibility committee, a newsroom group now updating the Toronto Star Policy and Ethics Manual to determine the ethical standards of gathering and presenting news and information in our global, wired community.

The group, working with recommendations from subcommittees that had already put many hours of thought into this, sought to define concepts of fairness and fair play in the Star's journalism, and how those values now pertain to covering matters of race, religion, sexual orientation and the disadvantaged of our community. In days to come, we're set to discuss numerous other journalistic issues including the use of anonymous sources, avoiding conflicts of interest and the need to balance the public's right to know with the right to privacy.

We're not reinventing the wheel of journalistic ethics here, but rather updating the ethical framework that has long guided Star journalists. This is a worthy project, an important aspect of sustaining a newsroom culture of ethics and excellence.

But it's important that we don't lose sight of the fact that an ethics manual doesn't necessarily guarantee ethical journalism.

Ethical journalists produce ethical journalism. And ethical journalists are most often guided not by codes of conduct but by their own inner compass of journalistic right and wrong.

When I taught, I dubbed this idea my "Jiminy Cricket Theory of Journalistic Ethics," after the fictional character from Pinocchio who served as the wooden puppet's official conscience or, as he was described in the 1940 Disney movie, "the Lord High Keeper of the Knowledge of Right and Wrong, Counselor in Moments of Temptation, and Guide Along the Straight and Narrow Path."

This theory contends that ethical journalists are well attuned to an individual journalistic conscience that tells each of us how far to go in the pursuit of a story and what is fair and accurate in the gathering and telling of news. It maintains that all journalists must take responsibility for determining their own ethical standards and understand that those standards affect the public's perception of all journalists. It's supported by my conviction, backed by numerous studies of the journalistic mindset, that the vast majority of journalists are indeed guided by virtue, values and clear understanding that excellent journalism is ethical journalism.

Now, those readers who think somewhat less of journalists might be surprised to learn that most journalists are motivated by the idealistic belief that journalism is a do-good endeavour and that the outcome of the best journalism – independent, accurate, information that matters to citizens and communities – can make for a better world.

That's particularly relevant for many Star journalists who express much pride in working for a newspaper with a strong commitment to public service and investigative journalism.

That's not to get too Pollyanna-ish about this and try to tell you that all journalism published by the Star (or any other news organization for that matter) always hits the mark of excellence or the highest ethical standards. As public editor, who fields readers' complaints, I'm well attuned to the gap between the reality and the ideal. But I know that the sometime poor judgments that lead to substandard journalism usually result from the challenges and pressures of a 24/7 news operation.

For me, there's no debate that journalism is an ethical pursuit. My conscience tells me so.

publiced@thestar.ca