NBC Nightly News reporter Brian Williams has come under fire after a story he’s retold for more than 10 years has been revealed to be a lie. The story involves a helicopter he was in that was shot down in the Iraq War and left the crew on board stranded for two days. As the story has unfolded, more of the reporter’s “feel-good” stories have had their accuracy challenged. Now, his career is being called into question as people are wondering whether anything he reports can be trusted. This brings up the question: Should the ethical standards journalists are held to be applied to his personal conduct?
The answer, of course, is yes. Williams should be held to a higher standard as a public figure who’s been upholding the American truth-telling standard. Is it fair? Maybe not, however, one must hold oneself to a higher standard when accepting that type of job. The same is said for those who become police officers, city councilors or even actors.
The textbook talks about the five areas morality is owed to. One of the five ways is to the society. How does it look when a man who’s employed to expose the truth of the world is actually lying through his teeth when telling a “feel-good” story over and over for the sake of boosting ratings? CNN has been investigating into these claims since they’ve been reported, and NBC should be looking into them as well. It’s just unfortunate that a rather impressive career in news reporting can be rendered useless in just a few days.
References
Christians, C., Fackler, M., Richardson, K., Kreshel, P., & Woods, R. (2012). Media Ethics: Cases and Moral Reasoning (9th ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Foster, P. (2015, February 6). Brian Williams, trusted face of US television news, in trouble over made up war stories. Retrieved February 13, 2015, from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/11396522/Brian-Williams-trusted-face-of-US-television-news-in-trouble-over-made-up-war-stories.html
MATTHEW E. COHLMIA II 