The Inethical Reporting of Michael Jackson - 1282 Words

We are in a time where the public is more than eager to look into the lives of celebrities, and view the good, bad and the ugly sides of their lives. There are radio and television programs made to focus completely on celebrity journalism and celebrities often appear on main news programs. We have magazines and websites dedicated to celebrity lifestyle and we know that the most popular newspapers are those which contain celebrity gossip. Celebrity sells, and yet, it can only sell where there is a market for the product. Celebrity journalism tends to focus on the private lives of people already in the public eye, who are in that position through choice or otherwise. There is no question that ‘celebrity sells’, but there has to be a burden of responsibility on each journalist to ensure that simply because the ‘public has an interest’ in an individual celebrity does not mean that every story is ‘in the public interest’. Journalists are required to adhere to the same set of principles irrespective of the individual or group upon which they are reporting and this includes ‘celebrities’. However, people may argue that ethics in journalism are not mandatory. Journalism has power that should not be misused or abused, yet there are journalists with the field that do not embrace these ethics because loyalty is voluntary. The Society of Professional Journalists has a Code of Ethics that is adopted voluntarily and adhered to by many journalists. Although it does not seem to be a