The Canon Of Journalism: Responsibility (1)

   As early as 1923 the American Society of Newspaper Editors has come up with a Code of Ethics or Canons of Journalism to guide journalist in their callings or profession.

Indeed the calling of every journalist is no easy task involving as it does a very exacting standard among its followers and practitioners.

The Code of Ethics or Canons of Journalism is important, relevant, and significant more than ever most especially that we are now in the Computer Age or Digital or Information Age.

The profession of a journalist is more challenging than ever before throughout the world more particularly in those hostile areas, where there is war, civil strife unrest, hunger and poverty and human misery and tragedy.

Even the very lives of journalist are always exposed to constant risk, threat, coercion, intimidation and even death. There are numerous reports of journalist being killed in some parts of the world yet journalism as a profession keeps on thriving and fulfilling its continuing mission in our society.

The Need For Canons Of Journalism

   In almost every profession there is a Canons or Code of Ethics that is being followed as a constant guide and reminders among its practitioners. A profession from the very word itself implies that a person profess or publicly express that  he or she believes in something or believes in an ideals that one is following in his or her life from the rest of the public.

Such profession indeed makes oneself set apart in the way one talk, think and act. A canon or ethics are set of standard or rules by which the journalist must talk, think or act in any given situation in the day to day exercise of their profession.

The purpose of any canons or ethics is to constantly elevate the high quality and high standard of the journalist piece of work in particular and the journalist profession in general.

Journalist first and foremost owes it to themselves to follow and abide with the Code of Ethics or Canon of Journalism. They also owe it to their comrades and companions in the profession to strictly follow these rules.

But most of all every journalists owes it to the general public to constantly observe these rules for journalism and journalists primarily exist for the public and for the betterment and promotion of the public welfare.

The word ethics connotes and implies the same idea of set of rules but more particularly carries with it a sort of judgment call: the rightness or wrongness of any journalists act or activities in any given situation.

Thus, ethics always pertains to the ethical standards that any journalist is following and must always follow.

Freedom And Liberty As The Bedrock Of Journalism

   The very basis of journalism is the fact that every human being is born free and without chain in any part of the world.

From this natural state of freedom, society deems it best on the basis of reason and common sense and historical experiences that it is better to uphold, advance and promote these individual liberty and freedom rather than destroy or diminish or decrease the same.

It is with this recognition of human liberty and freedom that this very rights itself extends to other parts or aspect of human lives—expression, speech and the press.

In the modern world and in any democratic society the Freedom of Expression, the Freedom of Speech and the Freedom of the Press are always recognize and protected and zealously guarded. (to be continue)

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