The+Importance+of+a+Code+of+Ethics

Media platforms can perform many positive and negative effects on its viewers. Positive effects include being informed and providing entertainment. Being informed is important, but can be compromised if the information is incorrect. Often times, important information can be compromised when entertainment comes into play with the addition of information. Negative effects include the display of inappropriate graphics and the spread of personal information. The spread of personal information can result in identity theft and even death. Many social media platforms have a code of ethics to prevent them from being unbiased, upsetting, or even displaying too many details in a broadcast. A code of ethics is a set of rules that helps outline social norms and responsibilities of an organization. The use of a code of ethics has slowly but inevitably become obsolete. They are typically used in businesses to promote secrecy and honesty within employees and employers. As they have grown obsolete, the public has become more and more graphically inappropriate. Many benefits can result from the addition of a code of ethics to social media platforms. The topic of the addition of a code of ethics to media platforms is not a well-developed conversation. Many people overlook the thought of the importance of having one, but the discussion has to start somewhere. Very few academic journalists have looked into this topic, which has downplayed the importance of having a code of ethics altogether. Georgia State University has a wide variety of media platforms that help keep its students and staff informed and connected. PantherNews is a news broadcast that is run solely by the students. In fall of 2016, a [|student was pronounced dead in front of Georgia State’s advisory building at 25 Park Place]. The police had resulted in ruling his death as a suicide because there was a broken window on the 26th floor and shattered glass scattered on the ground. PantherNews instantly showed up to cover this news to inform the students and staff. By advising the students and faculty, this was a positive use of social media. The way the information had been explained, however, may or may not be considered to be a positive use of social media. The first news reporter interviewed the police and fellow Georgia State students. After questioning, the reporter then began to show footage of the body on the ground. In my opinion, this is a negative use of social media. A code of ethics could have been used to, in this case, shield the public from seeing the body. It also could have been used to prevent the news reporter from displaying “residue” on the ground. These actions may be considered offensive or even disrespectful to the person who was involved in the tragedy. To prevent aggressive actions, Georgia State University may consider adding a code of ethics to its code of conduct. When constructing the code of ethics, Georgia State University may find adding restrictions on facial expressions for specific topics, displaying particular content, and reporting specific issues helpful. Academic journalists discover different methods that should help prevent unethical visuals from being shown in broadcasts. “University staff must involve institutional stakeholders in the development of writing social media governance and planning for effective campus practices” (Paquini 2016). For many death related events on media platforms, a notice of the exposure of graphics can be used as a barrier. A notification can help warn viewers of what they are about to view before they view it. In cases such as death, it can be helpful to inform the viewer if they are about to view a dead body or even blood. A notice can also prevent the accident from reoccurring. For example, in 2016, Netflix released a death related show that dealt with suicide. This show was previously a commonly read book in middle school and high school level students. As the show grew more and more popular, students began to react in a negative way to the show. Viewers began to relate to the show in a way that may not have been intended. Viewer reactions resulted in suicides that were adjacent to the suicide that was committed in the show. After the deaths were pronounced to be related to the show, Netflix inserted a notice of display of graphic content at the beginning of every episode that exhibits material such as rape and suicide scenes. The ability to speak one’s mind comes with attending a university. There are many ways that one may speak their mind. For example, speech areas, and group organizations. One may argue that the video that was uploaded by PantherNews was an acceptable way to display a deceased member of the university. In the comments section of the video, there are many people who agree that the video is a great way to distribute the awareness of the death of this student. Although, there are also a numerous amount of comments that request to have the video removed from the internet as it displays a dead body. Many comments explain that the video is actually disrespectful to the student, and have reported the video. As previously mentioned, the topic of ethical decisions that are made in news broadcasts is not very controversial. Many people can be effected when credible sources are not credible anymore. If the world did not have a credible source of information for events in the world, it probably would be disorganized and disoriented. The application of a code of ethics can be added to universities and social networking platform by spreading the word and supporting the topic altogether. Supporting the topic can simply mean starting a petition to remove the video or even a petition to adopt a code of ethics for Georgia State University. Outside of this specific university, one could help support the topic by drafting a code of ethics and offering it to different social networking platforms such as local news broadcasts.