Brief Nine: Global Media Law or Ethics

 

What is Global Media Ethics?

Global media ethics is defined as a "comprehensive set of principles and standards for the practice of journalism in an age of global news media". Because news today can be distributed on a variety of communication platforms, this set of principles is essential to monitoring the ethical behavior of journalists around the world.

While media ethics is a global concern, any individual media association has not adopted a global code of conduct. Because no global code has been established, international conventions and discussions of media ethics have created a worldwide debate.

Before discussing the argument of global media ethics, first, we must understand what journalism/ media ethics are.

The specific idea of media ethics is designed to create change within global media to "eliminate inequalities" and to "reduce control" in the minority of Western countries. Because journalists and media specialists are constantly skeptical, the idea of media becoming completely ethical seems like an unrealistic idea for the future of media. And even if the idea of ethical media is possible, a majority of journalists find the idea undesirable. 

Because the globalization of media can have positive and negative connotations, it is important to understand the foundations and intentions behind this idea. 

The Center for Journalism Ethics divides the development of global journalism into three tasks of ethics:

1. Conceptual Tasks- "New philosophical foundations for a global ethics"
2. Research Tasks- "More research into the state of journalism, amid globalization"
3. Practical Tasks- "Actions to implement and support global standards"

The article also includes a section that describes the expectations and "conceptual elements" in three separate essentials of ethics expected of global journalists:

1. Act As Global Agents- Journalists are expected to deliver "well-informed" facts that will challenge "tyrants, the abuse of human rights, and the manipulation of information"
2. Serve the Citizens of the World- Journalists are expected to be loyal to people across the globe.
3. Promote Non-Parochial Understandings- "Global journalist frames issues broadly and uses a diversity of sources and perspectives to promote a nuanced understanding of issues from an international perspective"

Creating guidelines and expectations for journalists worldwide establishes universal values for the media to respect in every country. The transition toward global media ethics is a step towards a drastically improved direction for media platforms across the world.