Ethics and Reporting

Question: Discuss about theEthics and Reporting. Answer: Introduction: Newspaper reporting can be defined simply as presentation of a specific situation, incident and so on that had happened in a sheet of paper. However, this definition has undergone a transformation in the current context where a newspaper may not be in printed form. The emergence of e-media has ensured that the outreach of newspapers has been extended to the World Wide Web and can be accessed through computers, mobiles and tablets. What has not changed regarding the newspaper reporting is the code of conduct and ethics related to the reporting of incidents and situations. The UNESCO has given an account of media legislation and regulations and code of ethics. There are certain professional standards that the journalists and reporters have to stick to while reporting an event ("Professional Journalistic Standards and Code of Ethics | United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization", 2016). The Australian: The Australian is a leading newspaper of the country and it is published from Monday to Saturday every week. It was launched in the year 1964 and its headquarters is at Surrey Hills, New South Wales. The editor-in-chief of The Australian is Paul Whittaker and editor-at-large is Paul Kelly. The owner of the newspaper is News Corp Australia which is an asset of News Corp whose owner is Rupert Murdoch. Some of the regular columnists of this paper are Janet Albrechtsen, John Black, Troy Bramstone, Rowan Callick, Nick Cater, Grace Collier and Gerard Henderson ("Opinion Analysis | The Australian", 2016). According to the data available in Enhanced Media Metrics Australia (EMMA), the readership base (monthly) of The Australian during the period June 2015 - May 2016 was 1,882 in its printed form and in its digital form the readership base was 1,912 ("emma.com.au", 2016). It comes fifth in the list after Daily Telegraph, Herald Sun, Sydney Morning Herald and Courier-Mail ("emma.com.au", 2016). The daily sections of The Australian include National News, Worldwide News, Sport and Business News. Other regular sections include Technology, Media, Features, Legal Affairs, Aviation, Defense, Horse-Racing, The Arts, Health, Wealth and Higher Education. The readership base of The Australian is wide due to its coverage of a wide variety of domains and hence the paper is extensively circulated pan Australia. The Australian published the article on the 7-Eleven scam regarding the under payment of students on visa in the franchisees stores in Australia. The incident was originally brought to light in the joint investigation of Fairfax and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (Baxendale Baxendale, 2015). The 7-Eleven case was covered by Rachel Baxendale in detail on behalf of The Australian. The article in question The Buck stops with us: 7-Eleven was published on September 2, 2015. The reporter has highlighted how the Chairman has accepted responsibility for the underpayment of the employees in the franchisee stores of the 7-Eleven (Baxendale Baxendale, 2015). The very first point that comes up while pursuing the article is its note of objectivity that is evident in the statements put forward by the reporter. In a good piece of article that seeks to describe a particular event, the reporter must put forward the incidents either chronologically or based on importance (Rich, 2015). The idea is to deliver the incidents in such a way that that the readers are able to discern the event clearly in their minds. An already biased reporter may not be able to able to focus on the whole incident without favoring (or disfavoring) any one faction without disclosing or giving importance to the other factors that may have played equally vital roles in the entire process (Rich, 2015). This point of objectivity brings us to another significant criterion that is yet another mark of a strong and proper piece of article perspectives. Any situation or incident will surely have multiple perspectives or points of view. A good reporter will take pains to uncover all the possible perspectives that can be linked with the particular incident in question (Craig, 2013). Different people will have different statements to make and those statements often produce contradictory results. The reporter will uphold such differences and discrepancies so that the readers can, for themselves, reach a conclusion on the strength of the arguments presented (Craig, 2013). In other words, a good newspaper is like a mirror which reflects the social occurrences faithfully and correctly without undue bias towards any individual or a group in particular. In case of the 7-Eleven incident, it has received the attention of every Australian due to far reaching effects and influence on the country itself. Australia has been generally brandished as a nation with multi-ethnic population as its chief characteristic (Baxendale Baxendale, 2015). Conversely, accusations have been raised against the franchisee stores of 7-Eleven that they have paid the students and other foreign nationals lower than the prevalent award rate of about $24 dollar an hour. Allegations have also been made regarding the number of hours that they were made to work which far exceeded the limit imposed on the workers, particularly those working under visa conditions (Baxendale Baxendale, 2015). The victims have claimed that whenever they had tried talking to the store authority about both their wages as well as their working hours, they were threatened by saying that they would be reported to the immigration office since they have breached the visa conditions. Such a t hreat seemed effectual since the students could not inform anyone else regarding this injustice in fear of deportment. In the article by Rachel, the reporter was able to maintain both the desired objectivity and perspectives. She has done her best to present alternate view points of the episode by coming forth with the views of both the accuser and the accused and let the readers for themselves decide who was correct and who was wrong. Instead of imposing her own judgment, she had let the incidents talk for themselves. The reporter has distanced herself from the article so much so that she could achieve objectivity in the portrayal of the events pithily (Craig, 2013). The Australian Financial Review: The Australian Financial Review, also known as AFR, is a leading financial Australian daily newspaper that is published by Fairfax Media. It was established in the year 1963 and its headquarters is situated at Sydney, New South Wales. Originally, the Financial Review had been a weekly newspaper which was followed by it being published bi-weekly. Since 1963, it was published as a daily newspaper and in the year 1995, The Australian Financial Review Magazine was launched. Some of the famous columnists of this newspaper are Adele Ferguson, Brian Toohey, Christopher Joye, Debra Cleveland, Geoff Raby and Jennifer Hewett ("Columnists | afr.com", 2016). As per the total audience report during the period June 2015 May 2016 conducted by Enhanced Media Metrics Australia (EMMA), the readership base for the printed newspaper was 955 and that of the digital print was 952 ("emma.com.au", 2016). The sections of the AFR comprise News, Business, Markets, Street Talk, Real Estate, Opinion, Technology and Personal Finance ("AFR About us | afr.com", 2016). The readership base of the AFR is mainly restricted to the businessmen and those associated with the dynamics of the market and financial aspects and prospects in the current scenario in the nation and the world. The newspaper is mainly associated with the concepts of economic liberalism, small government, deregulation, privatization and trade liberalism ("AFR About us | afr.com", 2016). The Fairfax Media plays a noteworthy role in the disclosure of the 7-Eleven scandal involving the underpayment of foreign nationals, particularly the students, which had evoked strong criticism of the organization in the minds of the Australians. The students have made a claim that they were paid much lower than the prevalent award rate of $24 dollar an hour ("7-Eleven: Wage abuse claims puts scrutiny on Fair Work response", 2015). The number of working hours was also set higher for these employees and they were made to work in different franchisee stores for more than almost 16 hours a day without any break in between. They could not speak about their problem since they had breached the visa conditions which restrict the number of working hours to 20 hours a week. They might be deported back to their homelands if they are found violating visa conditions. It was this fear that prompted them to keep this injustice to themselves ("7-Eleven: Wage abuse claims puts scrutiny on Fair Work response", 2015). The AFR published the article 7-Eleven head office involved in wage fraud cover-up written by Adele Ferguson which traced the development of the incidents regarding the 7-Eleven scam. Adele Ferguson has been instrumental in bringing forth the incidents to limelight after talking with the whistleblower of the organization and also to the affected students. She had kept the identity of the whistle blower a secret in keeping with the conventions of journalism (McBride Rosenstiel, 2013). She brought out the vital points that pervaded the entire scandal and how each element had worked in a way that ultimately culminated in such a horrific story of the year. The article in question is notable in more than one way. The articles in AFR are preferable for substantiating its claims with relevant figures and this article is no exception. At every focal point, Adele has mentioned the adequate figure to drive home to the readers the injustice of the entire system. She had included data from the Fair Work Ombudsman and had highlighted on their role in the entire development ("Welcome to the Fair Work Ombudsman website", 2016). She had also intimated the readers with the business model which Adele considered as the main driving point behind the underpayment of the employees. The business currently in use denotes that 57 percent of the total profits earned by the franchisee stores would reach the head office while the rest 43 percent would be taken by the franchisee stores themselves ("7-Eleven: Wage abuse claims puts scrutiny on Fair Work response", 2015). According to the Adele Ferguson, this business model has been the root of the problem since the profits left with the stores is so less that the stores are left with no choice but to adopt this unfair method to scrape for themselves as much profit as possible. Adele has not just presented the problems but has also provided a solution for the readers. The article is also critical of the role played by the head office in the entire proceedings. Adele has clearly shed light on the fact that the head office has not only turned a blind eye to the illegal proceedings of the franchisees but it has also taken an active part in it (France-Presse, 2016). Instead of taking legal steps towards the stores adopting fraud methods, the head office has left no stone unturned to actually cover up the scandal. According to several other newspapers, the head office has actually enjoyed the earnings incurred from these stores. It was only when the news came to the forefront that the head office claimed that it would take strict steps towards franchisee stores that have involved themselves in the scandal (France-Presse, 2016). Conclusion: The newspapers play a very vital role in todays society since its duty is to provide the occurrences that directly or indirectly influences the life of every person dwelling in the society. As noted earlier, they reflect the incidents that happen in the society as faithfully as possible. The opinions expressed by the newspapers can sway the feelings of its readers and hence extreme caution should be exercised while dealing with such immense responsibility. In the case of The Australian, the reporter has been able to achieve professional objectivity by presenting the perspectives of both the accuser and the accused leaving the judgment in the hands of the public. On the other hand, the AFR has presented the events accurately by taking the help of relevant figures and data which substantiate the claims made by both the parties. The reporter has drawn justified conclusions on behalf of the public and has made clear the injustice that the employees ultimately suffered. References: 7-Eleven: Wage abuse claims puts scrutiny on Fair Work response. (2015). Financial Review. Retrieved 18 September 2016, from https://www.afr.com/business/retail/fmcg/7eleven-wage-abuse-claims-puts-scrutiny-on-fair-work-response-20150830-gjavxh AFR About us | afr.com. (2016). Afr.com. Retrieved 18 September 2016, from https://www.afr.com/about-us Baxendale, R. Baxendale, R. (2015). The buck stops with us: 7-Eleven. Theaustralian.com.au. Retrieved 18 September 2016, from https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/companies/the-buck-stops-with-us-says-7eleven-chairman-russ-withers/news-story/c446f2f834f4b72748c630a0944ec6b4 Columnists | afr.com. (2016). Afr.com. Retrieved 18 September 2016, from https://www.afr.com/opinion/columnists Craig, R. (2013).News writing and reporting: The complete guide for today's journalist. emma.com.au. (2016). emma.com.au. Retrieved 18 September 2016, from https://emma.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/emma-Total-Audience-Report_NPs_May16.pdf France-Presse, A. (2016). 7-Eleven under pressure in Australia over wage fraud claims. Business.inquirer.net. Retrieved on 11 September 2016, from https://business.inquirer.net/198280/7-eleven-under-pressure-in-australia-over-wage-fraud-claims McBride, K., Rosenstiel, T. (Eds.). (2013).The new ethics of journalism: Principles for the 21st century. CQ Press. Opinion Analysis | The Australian. (2016). Theaustralian.com.au. Retrieved 18 September 2016, from https://www.theaustralian.com.au/opinion/columnists Professional Journalistic Standards and Code of Ethics | United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. (2016). Unesco.org. Retrieved 18 September 2016, from https://www.unesco.org/new/en/communication-and-information/freedom-of-expression/professional-journalistic-standards-and-code-of-ethics/ Rich, C. (2015).Writing and reporting news: A coaching method. Cengage Learning. Welcome to the Fair Work Ombudsman website. (2016). Fair Work Ombudsman. Retrieved on 17 September 2016, from https://www.fairwork.gov.au/.../763/7-eleven-inquiry-report.pdf.aspx