Seek Truth and Report It.

According the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics, the first and most important job of a journalist is to seek the truth and report it. (http://www.spj.org/ethicscode.asp) As journalists, this should be the principle we should be most dedicated to. We have discussed at length the acts of N.Y. Times journalist Neil Sheehan and his involvement in releasing the Pentagon Papers, and the acts of Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein in the Watergate scandal. These men were truth seekers and acted as government watchdogs, and in doing so expanded First Amendment rights, exposed corruption, and even brought down a president and his cabinet.

During this presentation I was reminded of  the 1986 graphic novel Watchmen. It was written as a commentary on the governmental anxieties related to the Vietnam war and those present in the Nixon administration. Several of the “Watchmen” in the book are just regular people who chose to become superheroes and help the government, while keeping them in check with international affairs. One of the main characters is a member of the Watchmen group named Rorschach. He is a truth seeker who investigates the death of a fellow Watchmen member. He eventually uncovers a secret plot that stops world wide nuclear war, but results in the death of millions of people. Because of his dedication to uncovering the truth, Rorschach leaves the Watchmen to report on his findings, but he knows that he will probably be stopped, even at the cost of his life. He is eventually killed by a fellow Watchmen member who feels the truth will undo the good of stopping nuclear war.

 

The death of Rorschach brings about two questions in my mind: Should we be seekers of truth at the cost of our lives? Is there a point where reporting the truth can be harmful to the greater good?

Obviously, most of us as journalists are not going to be put in a situation of this magnitude, but it is something we should contemplate. There will probably never come a time in our career where our lives will be at risk because of what we report, however, our dedication to the truth should be to the degree of not being compromised, even to the point of giving up our careers and maybe even our lives to report the truth.

There is a point where the truth can do more harm than good. In a case where this is possible, research your sources, ponder the outcomes, and consult your editor. You and others on the staff, can together determine what course of action to take. In the case of Woodward and Bernstein, the truth that they reported did a lot of harm to the nation and its morale. It made many people wary of their government and even incited anxiety and panic over the powers of the government. However, it also brought about amendments to the Freedom of Information act and greater openness to the public on government dealings. It uncovered deceit and corruption in the highest office in our nation. Because of this, the truth was worth the harm caused.