What is an Ethical Journalism Essay Example?

In the article Rules of Engagement by Roger Simpson and the book Enrique's Journey by Sonia Nazario, the topic of journalistic intervention is essential. Journalistic Integrity is presenting a fair and accurate story, but intervening when one can prevent harmful situations and feels a moral duty to do so. Journalist Sonia Nazario believes not to interfere unless someone is in imminent danger, to present the most accurate and fair report. Journalist Roger Simpson believes that journalists should minimize harm if they can, even if the story is not authentic. Despite the potential for an inaccurate account, journalists should intervene in a subject's life when they can prevent harmful situations, and feel morally obligated to act. In return, journalists can protect life and their psychological health, and even improve the quality of their story.  

Some journalists like Sonia Nazario believe not to intervene unless their subject is in imminent danger, to keep fairness and accuracy and quality of their story. In Enrique's Journey, Enrique gets robbed and held and beaten by police officers. He makes his way to Las Anonas, Mexico, to find someone to help him. Sirenio Gómez Fuentes sees Enrique "[limping] forward on bare feet [...] His right chin is gashed. His upper lip is split. The left side of his face is swollen. He is crying. His eyes are red, filled with blood. He dabs open wounds on his face with a filthy sweater he has found on the tracks. Gomez hears him whisper, 'Give me water, please'" (Nazario 45).

When Nazario writes that Enrique's eyes were "filled with blood," and he was "[limping] forward on bare feet," she suggests that he had a severe medical injury and no clothes. And when she writes of him having a "filthy sweater" to dab his wounds, while asking for water, Nazario implies that Enrique had no help and was begging for it. Had Sonia Nazario been there, she wouldn't have helped him to convey the problematic reality of the journey. Nazario believes that when intervening, the story would not be accurate. Instead, it would be an alteration of the truth. According to some news organizations, Journalistic Detachment is essential "to ensure audiences of reporters' fairness and objectivity" (Simpson 2006). Nazario demonstrates this by not interfering with Enrique's Journey. While Nazario accurately tells a story and appears to remain detached, she risks the lives of her subjects and her mental health. 

While some Journalists believe their story over their subjects, journalists should prevent harmful situations as frequently as they can, to benefit their psychological health. These natural disasters that happened were uncalled for, and instead of reporting, these journalists put aside their stories to help out the locals and listen to their suffering. For those who could not help, they were troubled and filled with guilt. For many, denying oneself opportunities for action will lead to a significant amount of guilt and will trouble their energies and emotional well-being. Journalistic detachment and a belief in a lack of individual agency in troubling situations feed despair. Reporters like Roger Simpson will not present a story as fair or accurate as journalists like Nazario, but they will be saving more lives and benefiting their psyche.