One of the main ethical issues needed to be addressed today is truth-telling of breaking news.  News outlets like to be the first to break the news.  They find a source to give them information and release it without ever confirming the information with other sources.  In a world where breaking news occurs almost daily, get the facts correct to begin with is an important issue.  If people check in on Twitter at the start of a breaking news story and see information, they might spread it to others, whether it is correct or not.  Even in the Hutchin’s Commission report, it said the press needed to be accurate and give context (Blevins, 1997).  In our society, when news is broken, it isn’t always accurate and there is rarely context given until days later.

With our changing society, news outlets have also had to become more creative in how to have people choose them as their news source.  This means creating click-bait online and teasers on television to bring readers back to watch.  However, these are often editorialized and make readers think one thing about a story before having a chance to see what the real news is.  Take for example the Sports Illustrated article, “The Dirty Game.”  For days before the article was launched, Sports Illustrated hyped the release on Twitter and Facebook to entice readers in.  But when the article launched, some close to OSU saw holes in what was written and areas where the authors did not do their due diligence as journalists (Smith, 2013).  But with as much as the company publicized the release, one would expect the reporting to be airtight.  A commission in today’s society would have to look at how news outlets advertised themselves so the public does not think one way about an issue before the full story would be released.

Reference List

Blevins, F. (1997). The Hutchins Commission. Retrieved January 28, 2016, from

http://mtprof.msun.edu/Fall1997/Blevins.html

Smith, B. (2013, September 10). OSU Players, Affiliates Sound Off About SI’s Article.

Retrieved January 28, 2016, from http://www.news9.com/story/23393070/former-osu-football-players-sound-off-about-sis-article