Ambush is the act or instance of lying concealed so as to attack by surprise. Journalism is the occupation of reporting, writing, editing, photographing, or broadcasting news. Ambush Journalism is commonly seen in American public affairs and tabloid programs. Ambush Journalism has been around for as long as we can remember and will continue to be around in the future. The question however is if Ambush Journalism is ethical or not. This is a very hard question to answer! First who decides what is ethical? That judgement is left in the hands of both journalist and the public.
Some journalists use this technique to obtain the latest and hottest news the outcome can sometimes be damaging or viewed as unethical. Other journalists refuse to use this technique because they feel that it violates the basic journalistic standards of balance and fairness (Day, pg.136).
The public on the other hand wants to know everyones private business so much that they sometimes do not care how it might affect the person or persons that the news is about. However if they were to be the subject of Ambush Journalism themselves they would most likely not like it at all. Is this subject a gray area? Yes it is a gray area because there is no set line or black and white answer of what is right or wrong. Take a murder trial for instance. If a murder trial is covered in one way that shows the emotions of the victims family in an interview, after a not guilty verdict is decided, then this could be viewed as unethical.
The Essay on Good Journalism V.s. Bad Journalism
Often, people come across bad journalism. It comes in numerous forms. Sometimes it is in the form of textbooks, television, and radio broadcasts. These stories are biased and untruthful. Often, lies are added to support the journalist’s opinion. Bad journalism is heavily opinionated and gives incorrect perceptions of things. One of the traits of good journalism is the ability to state the ...
This form of Ambush Journalism can be very rewarding and destructive at the same time. While getting the raw emotions of the family could be good, it could also be viewed as an invasion of the familys privacy as well as disrespectful. However if the same trial is covered so that the emotions of the victims family are not used to spur unreasoned answers then this form of journalism could be viewed as ethical. Journalists sometimes use the element of Ambush Journalism as a surprise technique to get the real story or news and raw emotions. This can sometimes be good because the persons true emotions are not hidden, as mentioned before, but usually the person being interviewed or ambushed does not have time to prepare and tends to have not well-reasoned answers. To fully understand what Ambush Journalism is one would need to observe previous cases and examples of it. First in the case of Chung vs.
Gingrich, Connie Chung, a journalist, interviewed Kathleen Gingrich, mother of House Speaker Newt Gingrich (Day, pg.137).
In the interview Chung asked Mrs. Gingrich what her son thought of the first lady, Hillary Clinton? After assuring Mrs. Gingrich that her answer would just be between them(even though the cameras were still rolling).
Mrs. Gingrich feeling secure whispered to Chung that her son thought the first lady was a bitch (Day, pg.137).
This situation then turned into a he said she said problem with Connie Chung as the center of attention. Some journalists voiced their opinion that what Chung did was unethical.
Chung was even accused of Ambushing Gingrich by the executive director, Everette Dennis, of the Freedom Forum Media Studies Center at Columbia University (Day, pg.137).
In Chungs defense, David Bartlett, president of the Radio-Television News Directors Association said there was no attempt to deceive or trick anyone into saying something on camera that they didnt want to say, (Day, pg.137).
Just in this situation it is hard to decide who is right or wrong. On one side you have an elderly lady who was told that anything she had to say would just be between her and the reporter. While on the other side you have a reporter that knowingly asked a loaded question during the interview caught the desired response on tape and used it as part of her story to get better ratings. I myself feel that what Connie Chung did was wrong.
The Essay on Journalism 4
Journalism/Media/Television 27 Influential Years of 60 Minutes 27 Years of Influential 60 Minutes Since 1968 America has been better enlightened than previously concerning current events and happenings around the world. A considerable factor for this occurrence is the television program 60 Minutes which debuted on the air in September of 1968. Many other television newsmagazines have been produced ...
She should have never told Kathleen Gingrich that she could say anything and then use it later. I feel that in this situation Chungs actions were unethical and violated the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics. She did not show good taste in her actions and was reckless in her pursuit of the truth as well as confidentiality. When a person or a small company is accused of anything that might be a sensational story, reporters focus on the accusation not the details. Some reporters say that in journalism, there isn’t enough time for details. They camp out at their homes or businesses to get video, family, and neighbors to profile suspects, or enticing customers to complain.
If they’re photographed trying to avoid the camera, they’ll just look on TV like they’re running from the truth when they’re really just trying to get away from journalistic people who too often are only after a picture or quick response, not a lengthy explanation. Journalists are at great risk then to misunderstand the facts as they understand them, make assumptions, and misreport. Another good example of Ambush Journalism was the coverage of the Olympic bombing in Atlanta. Journalists were in such a hurry to report the news that they did so in excess and disregard for the presumption of innocence. An innocent man’s name was reported all over the country as the prime suspect. The damage was done and lawsuits later followed.
It was an embarrassment for the nation’s media and that issue was mainly discussed on talk shows. I think that this was a mild form of Ambush Journalism but still I feel that it is unethical. TV reporters know well that companies simply don’t cooperate when they know that they are the subjects of a negative story so they sometimes use Ambush Journalism techniques to get the information they need for their story. That’s one reason why stations keep on file previous video shot for other stories. The ambush reporters usually go to a company or hospital, or other place to do a positive story. Knowing that story is a positive one, the company openly gives access.
The news crew shoots lots of video for the positive story and saves it. Then later, if an adverse story comes up, they already have some video on file of that company’s operations to illustrate it. There’s not much the targeted organization can do about that. They let the camera in the first time and they have no control over how that video is used later. Reporters admit to freely using this technique. It’s a common practice. Where the ethical problem comes in, is when the file video shows identifiable shots of individuals.
The Essay on American Journalism And Its Defects
American journalism has gone through many changes since its inception. Some of these changes have been good, while some have not been good. One of the changes in American journalism that has not been good is the lack of values. It seems that in recent years, (most recently with the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal) American journalism is more interested in making money rather then presenting a story that ...
Then later the video is reproduced and the people that were easily identifiable are associated with the problem that the news story is concentrating, usually on a negative topic, or even if these people had nothing to do with this practice they are associated with the problem. Many of these new television shows and reporters use Ambush Journalism techniques to get undercover stories that tend to be negative. Such shows like Inside Addition capitalize on hidden camera interviews or investigations in their programs to find out what is really happening. These findings can sometimes be harmful to the company, person, or persons involved. Some of the better known groups that use this form of Ambush Journalism are tabloids. I never knew what Ambush Journalism was until I took this class.
I picked this subject because I thought it sounded like something that is very important in the journalism field today and always will be important. After finding out that I have seen examples of Ambush Journalism in my day to day life I began to think of the most important point of the subject. That is whether it is ethical or unethical. This like I stated before is a very hard question to answer because each case is different. There is also a problem in looking at old examples of Ambush Journalism, like the Chung vs. Gingrich case.
That is that it can be viewed as both ethical and unethical at the same. This is a predicament because both sides can be correct in their statements about the problem being ethical or not but a decision has to be made. I am glad that the ethical decisions of these cases are left in the hands of others because I can see how both sides can be right but only one of the sides is more right. In this I mean that the decision has to be made whether or not reporters actions, using techniques of Ambush Journalism, is ethical or not. Learning more about the ethics of journalism has been very productive and interesting. I now cant stop myself from reading the newspaper, watching television, and listening to the radio and thinking on whether or not the information provided, such as quotes were obtained by using unethical techniques such as Ambush Journalism. This paper has taught me that in every situation as a journalist you need to look at the entire situation and determine if you are or are going to violate any of the rules in the code of ethics.
The Essay on Minorities With Ethical Problems
Companies are faced with ethical discrimation. Hiring an employee has always been a major thing for the company, givin them a choice to choose two different people with the same qualifications always makes it hard of the company to choose the person that they feel is right for them. Companies are always face with providing quality and custemer service for the consumer. They must provide equal ...
1. Ethics In Media Communications, Third Edition. Louis Alvin Day, 2000, pages 136-137.
