“A major difference between the internet and real life is that everything you say online may live forever.� (Blood, 2002, p.129) Weblogs last forever…
Rumours of Alexandra Polier’s (who is better known as the Kerry intern) alleged affair with presidential candidate Senator John Kerry spilled into the blogosphere earlier this year. The bloggers soon had the attention of the tabloid journalists, radio talk-show hosts and cable news anchors. Despite the case being exceedingly thin, with both Kerry and Polier vehemently denying the affair, the information remains in weblogs around the world to this day (Grossman, 2004, 46). Webloggers often feel that they have the right to trade rumours, gossip and speculation without accountability. Is this true? Is this ethical in the blogosphere? Do weblogs present threats to personal privacy by the nature and distribution of information over the Internet? Who is to say that webloggers are not going to defame others via their blogs?
Just as one should do offline, it is equally imperative in the blogosphere to protect the privacy of others. According to Blood (2002, p. 135) it is never acceptable to publish a transcript of an instant message, chat-room conversation, or email on a personal weblog without the permission of all the participants.
What makes a blog so new and innovative is the fact that they break rules (grammar is not a major issue, they are more personal than the mass media, and they do not need to attempt to be objective in nature.) This is not to say that ethics do not need to be considered. For example, writers are somehow tempted to employ sarcasm far more often when online than off. Sarcasm should only be employed with reluctance, and should be identified as such. Although a bloggers code of ethics does not “formally� exist, bloggers should still be ethical. Blood (2002) has created a set of six principles that she suggests webloggers follow (p. 117). However she highlights that if a weblogger expects to be accorded the privileges and protections of a professional journalist, he or she should follow the journalistic code of ethics (Blood, 2002, p.118).
Weblogs are usually criticised for being more unethical than mainstream media, because information pertained in them does not have to be checked. Recently, however, the tables were turned when a weblogger discovered that CBS News aired a forged story.
On September 8, 2004, CBS News was suspected of forging memos as part of its 60 minutes story on President Bush’s Vietnam-era National Guard Service. The focus of the story was intended to be on Bush; however the story shifted to old media vs. new media. Young (Sep 20, 2004) explains, “Hours after the show aired, questions about the authenticity of the memos, purportedly written by Bush’s then- superior officer Jerry Killian in 1973, surfaced on right-of-center blogs.� Following the lead, ABC News and The Washington Post were also questioning the authenticity of the memos. In an attempt to defend the story, Jonathan Klein, who was the former CBS News executive commented, “You couldn’t have a starker contrast between the multiple layers of checks and balances and a guy sitting in his living room in his pajamas writing.� (Young Sep 20, 2004). Klein’s comment caused uproar with bloggers who believe that there are so many weblogs that they each play the fact-checking role with each other. Although this is only one example, it shows that ‘old’ media are also capable of being unethical.
Blood (2002, p. 19) claims that a link is the single most important thing that distinguishes weblogging from traditional forms of publishing. A link gives weblogs credibility by creating a transparency that is impossible in any other medium. Stone (2002, p. 180) believes that weblog credibility is often low because blogging has no editorial process. According to him, a blog will appear more credible if it:
If a weblog maintains ethical practices, it will increase its credibility, which in turn, will increase the amount of people who regularly read and respond to the weblog (this is vital, as there are now so many blogs).
Back to Corporate_Blogging
Pages of Interest
John Hiler's Blogging Code of Ethics
Corporate Blogging- Ethics in both Journalism and Blogging
Blogs about Senator John Kerry's 'alleged' affair
The Blog from Another Dimension
[http://www.the-hamster.com/mtype/archives/2004/06/kerry_intern_sp.html The Hampster]
Journalism Code of Ethics
Society of Prefessional Journalists Code of Ethics
Guiding Principles for Journalists
International Journalists Network- International Codes of Ethics
Reference List
Young, C. (2004, Sep. 20) "Memo stirs Old vs New Media War," Boston Globe, retrieved from Proquest database on October 8, 2004.
Catherine Miller 14:04, 26 Oct 2004 (EST)
