Code of Ethics

Kanye West’s career has been greatly affected by good and bad publicity. But what determines whether or not a story within the media is good or bad publicity, and who in the press decides which direction to take. There are two sides to every story, so who gets to determine which side the media will take? Is it based on the opinion of the majority or is it all based on individual ethics? With examples of Kanye West break downs and publicity stunts we can learn more about the media and there universal ethics. In my opinion I believe if you are in the mainstream media’s eye there are certain procedures you will have to endure, such as the paparazzi. Apparently Kanye West doesn’t agree. Kanye West has had a few public altercations with the paparazzi in which he has attacked the camera men and even been caught on film taking a camera and breaking it. At this point do we agree with Kanye for wanting his privacy, or do we look down on him for being a celebrity snob? Well, if we follow the media we will probably say that Kanye West is a snob. Is the media wrong for this? Do they have a right to shed negative light on a celebrity that treats them negatively? Should media ethics come into play with this kind of story, If so how? Should the media “do unto others as they would have others do unto them?” Or do they treat the story with a “veil of ignorance” not mentioning that he is a multimillion dollar celebrity and instead focusing their story on how he gets no privacy and is always in the spotlight? One of the Professional Journalists Code of Ethics states that we should “recognize that private people have a greater right to control information about themselves than do public officials and others who seek power, influence, or attention. Only an overriding public need can justify intrusion into anyone’s privacy.” This would make it seem as though shedding bad publicity on Kanye West for his public outburst is fare. But, another guideline in Code of Ethics says to “Make certain headlines, photos, videos, etc do not misrepresent. They should not highlight incidents out of context.” So who’s to say why Mr. West flipped out on the paparazzi? For all we know it could have been due to a personal issues and not because he saw an attempt to get in the media’s spotlight.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eomEQc5t4VI