For Cláudio Abramo, one of the major names in the Brazilian
journalism, the
ethics of a journalist is the same as the ethics
of a woodworker. There isn''t a specific ethic for
journalism and other for the personal life. If we accept wrong conducts in our personal life, then we''ll have a wrong conduct when we''ll practice journalism. However, if we appreciate proper conducts, if we don''t tolerate that "the end justifies the means", then we''ll probably have a serious and honest carrier, with
ethics to be respected by everyone.
We need to be really careful when we are denouncing something or someone. We can quote a terrible example, such as the "Base School Case" (in the 80s). The owners and the teachers of the school were accused by a student of sexual abuse. Someone in rush to release the news, did it without any proper research or investigation. In the end, all of them were found innocent. The alleged abuse was created by the fertile imagination of some students. Anyway, to prove the innocence of the people was worthless, their lives were already destroyed and their dreams became nightmares.
Therefore, when we are going to publish a news, we have to check it and, most of the times, with different sources, so that no mistakes happen.
It''s better to delay the publication of a news than creating a misunderstand ant or, even, a dramatic problem.
The power of the media is immeasurable and with power there''s always the need of being careful. In case of a wrong use of it, we can generate a big social problem.
Our profession requires much ethics and it can only be done if we are conscious of our citizenship. We need to be prepared for this power because it can bring us so high that the fall might be permanent.