A number of somaliland media owners use Extortion to gain influence and Funds
Media ethics is the subdivision of applied ethics dealing with the specific ethical principles and standards of media including broadcasting media, print media, and films etc. The ethics of journalism is one of the most well-defined branches of media ethics, primarily because it is frequently taught in schools of journalism. Journalistic ethics tends to dominate media ethics, sometimes almost to the exclusion of other areas. Media ethics are a complex topic because they deal with an institution that must do things that ordinary people in ordinary circumstances. It is discovered that many news media possessor circulate false news in their medal in an effort blackmailing and pressure the government to achieve financial gains and a typical case in point of such news media owners is like Haatuf, newspapers who is a Campaign for practice.
Reporters face a range of ethical issues on a regular basis. Journalists need to make a commitment to telling the truth. This includes not giving false or made-up reports, and telling truthful stories that are not intended to deceive the audience. This may require reporters to provide not only the facts but also the context surrounding them. Journalists’ main goal is to ensure the right of citizens to truthful and important information, which allows them to form adequate impression about social processes, their essence and importance, about the situation in the modern world.
The journalist bears responsibility before the society in general, before the law and before the professional association. The social responsibility of the journalist requires that he acts in accordance with his personal ethical standards. The ethics of the trade involve permanent responsibility of the journalist for everything he/she does in the framework of his/her professional obligations, rather than sticking to the rules which were established once and for all. The present Code shall set a high standard of ethical and professional behavior for people involved in searching, receiving, keeping, distributing and commenting on information in the mass media. The norms of the Code are not obligatory requirements and formulated as moral guidelines or standards against which media employees can compare their professional work.
The news should be based on facts and information where truthfulness can be checked. The journalist should do his/her best to obtain information from all possible sources, to make sure it is complete, truthful and unbiased. Information which may offend or humiliate a person should be checked especially carefully. Information should be obtained in legal and ethical ways. When requesting information, the journalist must introduce himself/herself, name the media outlet that he/she represents, inform the interlocutor that his/her words may be published, except in cases when the information is confidential or impossible to obtain officially.
When gathering information, journalists may not misrepresent themselves. Journalists’ search for information by hidden means can be justified only in cases when the information in question is of major importance for society and cannot be otherwise obtained. Unbiased journalism does not mean that the journalists should abstain from expressing their personal opinions. However, the reader should be able to tell the difference between the articles stating facts and materials expressing someone’s opinion or interpretation of events. However, this principle should not limit the journalist in choosing the style of writing. The journalist should not be a spokesman for an egoistic private or group interest. He/she should contribute to mass media’s objective coverage of the pluralism of opinions. It is not allowed to hide publicly important information or distort the facts. Bias in commentary is a violation of the principles of journalistic ethics. Preparation and writing of analytical materials and commenting on certain events should be performed by journalists whose competence and experience correspond to the task in hand.
Headlines and sub-headlines of newspaper articles should correspond fully to the contents of the article, photographs and video materials should clearly illustrate the events, instead of presenting them out of context. Unconfirmed information, rumors and conjecture should be marked as such. Symbolic illustrations (photomontage, restorations, similar motives recorded in other time periods) should be clearly recognizable or have corresponding tags. When stating facts, commenting on them or entering a discussion on a certain issue, journalists should stick to the ethics and principles of a dialogue and express respect for the discussion partner.
Information on the private life of a person may be published only if the behavior of this person in the private sphere affects the public interest. In such cases it is necessary to make sure that such publication will not violate the interests of the third parties. The journalist should not photograph citizens in private environment without their consent. Photographs or pictures of people in their daily lives that could offend or humiliate them should not be published. In covering family conflicts or cases being handled by the courts or other institutions it is recommended not to mention the names of minors. Mass media should correct mistakes quickly and in completely. Corrections of significant mistakes should be published without delay in a visible place. The journalist should not benefit from the financial information received as part of his professional activities before its publication or before conveying it to other persons. finally the journalist ( He/she) should not write on moneys that form the sphere of his/her material interests or interests of his/her relatives or by the intention of pressuring certain organization like the government to obtain financial gains to stop further false news reporting.
Ismail Yousuf.