When Does Ethical Fairness Come Into Play?

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 3^rd 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/