Steve Pokin, a writer for the Suburban Journals of St. Charles County,
wrote an article about the tragic story regarding the suicide of a
thirteen-year-old girl, Dardenne Prairie, after being cyber bullied. The
messages that were sent to her MySpace, a popular social media network at the
time, were cruel and vicious, and many believe that this was a key contributor
behind her suicide choice. Pokin waited to write about the story until it was
confirmed that there was not enough evidence made against the neighbors that
were taunting the young girl on her MySpace. He chose to not include the
neighbors names from the story, due to the fact that they were not convicted of
any crime and thus, there was no real evidence that they were to blame for the
girls death. The Journal was the source
that posted Pokin’s article. Both Pokin and The Journal were extremely ridiculed for excluding the names of the
neighbors that were believed to have caused this terrible tragedy. Among many
complaints, the website and author were called cowards for choosing not to
reveal the neighbors names. Many people voiced their opinion about how the
neighbors should be punished for causing this young girl to commit suicide and
were curious as to why it was decided not to let the world know who was behind
this. An ethical perspective that could make a case for why Pokin and the Journal were ethically justified could
be the opinion of Kitross. Kitross states that one should stick to their own
values when making a decision of ethics, regardless of the pressures that one
may encounter in the workplace. (Kitross, p. 60) In this case, even though Pokin
believed he might be scrutinized for excluding the names, he stuck with his own
values to leave the names out.
The Post could be considered ethically justified in identifying the
neighbors with the Society of Professional Journalists code. The text states
that the SBJ code indicated that courses should be identified whenever it is
feasible (p. 151). In this case, it was feasible to indicate who the neighbors
were yet Pokin chose not do so. Pokin was aware of the believed cause of death,
which was due to the cyber bullying coming from the neighbors. However, Pokin
made a judgment call not to state their names, a call that angered many
readers, especially when it was very possible for Pokin to just tell the truth
about who was believed to be the cause of the suicide.
Of the two ethical perspectives I
find Kitross’ argument to be more compelling. The SBJ code is extremely vague
and leaves a lot open for interpretation. The opinion could be swayed in either
direction. Kitross’ argument, on the other hand, is clear on the main point.
Kitross believed that it is important to stick to ones own personal values when
choosing what decision is the most ethical. This makes sense because many ethical
scenarios come down to that one choice of what that person thinks is the right
thing to do. In this scenario, Pokin believed that his article would show
others the effects that bullying, and in particular cyber bullying, can have on
others in hopes that it could raise awareness with parents and children,
teaching everyone valuable lessons about what could happen due to bullying.
A third ethical perspective is that
of Gordon, where he states that ones own personal values are worthy but
unattainable (p. 73). In this case, although it was bold of Pokin to stick to
his judgment call of excluding the names of the neighbors that bullied the
young girl, Pokin took a big hit for that choice. It may have been more useful
to wait until the neighbors were completely cleared from the case and then have
indicated specifically that although there was some suspicion, there is no
evidence that indicated that the neighbors are guilty of causing this young
girls suicide. The journalist could have also indicated the neighbor’s names
after knowing that they were not charged, and hope that they were not
scrutinized due to lack of charges.
Work Cited:
-
Online
Harrassment – A Hoax, A Suicide – A Journalistic Dilemma by Roy Malone
-
Textbook Controversies in Media
Ethics 3rd Edition by A. David Gordon, John Michael Kittross,
John C. Merrill, William A. Babcock, Michael Dorsher
- http://blogs.swa-jkt.com/swa/10472/2013/02/20/tok-ethical-dilemma/