New Communication Technologies and Journalism Ethics in Zimbabwe: Practices and Malpractices
Journal Title: Online Journal of Communication and Media Technologies - Year 2013, Vol 3, Issue 2
Abstract
New media technologies have transformed journalism practice in a profound way and Zimbabwe has not been exception. However, research on the impact of these technologies on journalism ethical is troublingly scant. Much of the scholarly attention tends to focus on uses of new media technologies in everyday practice, while their ethical implications are pushed to the backstage. This is in spite of the fact that, the social utility of journalism is largely predicated on its ability to function as a provider of public knowledge, and “truthful, comprehensive and intelligent†accounts of news and events (Ward 2008). The present study examines ethical challenges faced by Zimbabwean journalism practitioners when using the internet, email and cellular phones in their operations. The study combines a survey questionnaire and semi-structured interviews to elicit data on ethical challenges and dilemmas faced journalism practitioners in Zimbabwe.. Results reveal a dialectical impact of new media technologies on journalism and suggest that, the Internet, email and cellular phone are viewed as enhancers as well as obstacles to ethical journalism. The paper motivates for the application of the sociology of journalism ethics as a framework for examining ethical challenges and dilemmas faced by journalism practitioners when using new media technologies. It is argued that the practice of ethical journalism should be viewed as circumscribed by the interaction of a complex web of structural, institutional and socio-economic factors, both internal and external to the environment in which journalism is practiced.
Authors and Affiliations
Tendai Chari| University of Venda, South Africa
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP9945
- DOI -
- Views 409
- Downloads 19
Islamic New Media Ethics
All the ways treaded into the twentieth century depicts people received most of the information by word of mouth, mails, or print media in a globalizing world. Today, bear in mind, technological expansion in communicat...
Technology and Diaspora: Investigating Immigration Issues in Timog Online
This study investigates the reciprocal relations of technology and diaspora through the examination of immigration issues in Timog Online forum. Through the types of messages conveyed by forum users, authors look at ho...
Covering Corruption: Frames of Broadsheets on the Philippine Government’s Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) Scandal
This study is a content analysis of the three Philippine broadsheets (The Philippine Daily Inquirer, The Philippine Star and The Manila Bulletin) from August 3 to October 30, 2013 on how much prominence the broadsheets...
Facing Off: Theorizing Over-Sharing and Under-Reading
This article offers a distinct rendering of Facebook. The social media giant is framed by Harold Innis’s late masterwork, The Bias of Communication. Probing what happens with media for leisure transform into educatio...
Taming the Information Beast: Content Customization and Its Impact on Media Enjoyment for Online Consumers
As technologies continue to evolve, customized online environments are becoming evermore popular with consumers as they help manage information flow in the online space while limiting exposure to advertising. This stud...