In Relation To Investigative Journalism, How Much

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In relation to investigative journalism, how much does the end justify the means? Are there issues of media morality at stake? Discuss with journalistic examples in relation to the theory of the media as society’s watchdog, with a duty to inform and educate the citizens on matters of public interest. In this essay I will look into the My Lai massacre and American Pulitzer prize winner Seymour Myron Hersh to focus on when great investigative journalism started, its capability to change a whole nation opinion and to show what a true society’s watchdog should be. I will also look at the phone hacking to demonstrate that the duty to inform and educated citizens on matters of public interest cannot be an excuse for “lazy” investigative journalism, breaking the law and breaking the NUJ code of conduct. I will first look at what is a “society watchdog” and what is its responsibility when it comes to investigative journalism. A watchdog responsibility is to gives his owner security, protect him against any outsider interference and more importantly he must know where his loyalty lies. Now the question is where does a journalist loyalty lie? Society or the people in power? “When we talk about what are the core functions of journalism, one of them is to expose deceit in the people who are governing you.” –Micheal Williams, head of ethics in the journalism school at University of central Lancashire. Journalist are the watchdog of society and their main obligations according to the book by Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel, The Elements of Journalism, are to remain loyal to citizens and to tell the truth and, in order for them to do so they must be free and self-governing. Now a perfect example of a free and self-governed journalist is Seymour Hersh. “These journalists served another journalistic element; they were independent monitors of military and government

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