Question

A Marine captain is accusing a major news network’s journalist of lying in a story. The journalist, who was with the Marines on patrol, wrote that the helicopter he was in came under sniper fire. The journalist admits to his producers that he embellished the story. The journalist was not under fire, but other choppers behind him were struck. The producers want to minimize the damage to the network and are unsure how to proceed. What is the most ethical action for the network to take? A) have the journalist give the accurate account of the incident and apologize for lying to viewers B) have the journalist report on air that he was confused and “misreported” the incident C) offer a settlement to the Marine captain for withdrawing his accusation D) ask the journalist to discredit the Marine captain by discussing the captain’s poor leadership in a new story

Answer 1

Answer:

A). Have the journalist give the accurate account of the incident and apologize for lying to viewers.

Explanation:

Ethics is associated with the moral principles like fairness, equality, integrity, respect for individual rights, etc. that control a person's conduct/behavior. Thus, an ethical action must consider these values of giving equal worth(respect, justice, and opportunity) to each individual.

In the given situation, the most ethical action that the network must take would be 'allowing the journalist to provide accurate details of the incident and apologize for the lie that he made to the viewers' as this would give him a fair opportunity to rectify his mistake. It reflects that the network aims to give equal respect and worth to every individual and nurtures relations through advancing justice. Thus, this action would not only reduce the damage caused by journalist to network's reputation but rather enhance it(through its ethical move). Thus, option A is the correct answer.