MU journalism professors Bonnie Brennen and Lee Wilkins compared two early codes, the 1923 American Society of Newspaper Editors (ASNE) code and the 1934 American Newspaper Guild (ANG) code, with the 2003 New York Times code of ethics.

They found several significant changes that reflect the changing demands of the journalism marketplace-once privately owned, newspapers now publicly trade alongside thundering media giants that grow fatter every year.

"The work by the journalism faculty at the University of Missouri puts into sharp relief the astonishing differences between pre-World War II ideals and the present reality," said Rich Hanley, graduate programs director at the Quinnipiac University School of Communications in Hamden, Conn. "Their study is a great service to the profession and should trigger discussions on the value of ethical codes."

Code of the Times

"The ASNE code set out to maintain the rights and dignity of the profession and tried to establish ethical standards for journalistic conduct," said MU's Brennen. "For example, the ASNE code says that invasions of privacy should be avoided unless the public warrants such intrusion, and editors are asked to not publish unofficial charges without giving the people the opportunity to defend themselves."

The ANG code, Brennen and Wilkins found, insists that reporters respect the rights of individuals by crafting factual reports that accurately represent unbiased accounts.

Unlike the other two codes, The New York Times code primarily addresses conflicts of interest that may affect the company's bottom line.

The Times code, for instance, prohibits staff members from freelance work that may compete with the newspaper.

Additionally, "staff members may not appear on broadcasts that directly compete with the Times' own offerings on television or the Internet."

By also interpreting "conflict of interest" broadly, Brennen and Wilkins claim, the Times code places its economic health on an equal footing with the public trust, deepening "one of the main fault lines in the profession: the tension between economic goals and public service."

"That's the great question of our age: how do you balance the premises of Wall Street with the public trust?" said Charles Davis, editorial department chair of the University of Missouri School of Journalism. "That question is at the heart of a battle for the very soul of journalism."

Finally, where the ANG and ANSE codes focus on accuracy through careful evaluation of sources and the information they provide, the Times code makes no mention of these issues.

Jayson Blair and Stephen Glass may thus be the result of an evolving marketplace that has largely bypassed journalism's early traditions. Both reporters for prominent publications-Blair at The New York Times and Glass at the New Republic-ignored traditional ethics in hot pursuit of a journalistic tradition-the best-selling scoop.

"If the recent Jayson Blair incident is any indication, management's financial concerns-as articulated in the ethics code-have their parallels in real life," Wilkins said. "The emphasis reveals something central about the profession: concerns about financial profitability do remain on an equal footing with journalistic duty and service."

The Great Debate

"Journalism is not a product, like a widget or a bar of soap," Davis told SJR.

Nonetheless, its role as a profit center may be contributing to a "cultural drift in the mission of journalism that ultimately will diminish the role of journalism in society and lessen its impact in the discussion of important public affairs," said DePauw University communications professor Jeff McCall of Greencastle, Ind. "Certainly, media organizations must have financial stability to stay in operation, but as the MU researchers assert, economic goals are now likely overwhelming the information and public affairs objectives of journalism."

So, overwhelmed, contemporary journalism is experiencing a "disturbing trend away from journalism as a public service," said public relations copywriter Shel Horowitz, author of Principled Profit: Marketing That Puts People First.

"Journalism has always been a business, of course, but lately, it seems like the responsibility to delve and get the inner story has been left behind," Horowitz told SJR. "Witness the largely uncritical acceptance (until recently) of Bush administration claims to justify the Iraq invasion. This has not been Woodward and Bernstein journalism."

University of Denver journalism professor Linda Cobb-Reiley, however, does "not agree with the study's findings for several reasons."

While "economic concerns (i.e. intense competition and declining readership/viewership) can often give rise to ethical issues," they have not contributed to major revisions in ethical codes, Cobb-Reiley told SJR.

"The New York Times Newsroom Integrity Statement has been in place for many years," Cobb-Reiley said. "That statement conforms almost exactly to the ASNE and ANG codes."

Even if old codes differ from new, "the New York Times' code may be inherently flawed because it protects the economic interests of a company with restrictions on where journalists may appear in competing media," Rich Hanley said. "Why would the Times want its competitors to appropriate information and analysis secured under its reportorial investment?"

Yesterday's News

In a world of crass reality shows, breast-baring half-time spectacles, and celebrity pundits who take every opportunity to lower the culture bar, ethical codes may simply be old-fashioned and obsolete.

"How many people in moments of private grief have had reporters call and ask for comment?" Hanley asked. The old American Society of Newspaper Editors code "states that 'invasions of privacy should be avoided unless the public warrants such intrusions,' but newspapers today have stretched the interpretation of that section beyond recognition."

Yesterday's news may be just that-yesterday's news, giving way to two potent rival forces: corporate consolidation and digital decentralization.

"The consolidation of media ownership-1,200 radio stations owned by Clear Channel, for instance-opens the way for alternative channels that may be outside any real scrutiny-from bloggers to Matt Drudge to rumormongers on the Internet," Horowitz said.

Making fast bucks and posting quick reads can mean making hasty decisions about news quality.

"Journalism has fed a climate of not questioning, not dissenting, and accepting corporate or government press releases at face value," Horowitz explained. "In a culture that sees news only as a commodity that focuses on silly celebrities and that is unwilling to ask probing questions, the potential for abuse is so great it becomes irresistible to the Jayson Blairs of the world."

Blame not only Blair, but also the Times, however.

Journalists worldwide have experienced similarly graceless falls from grace. BBC directors recently stepped down over an ethical flap with another Blair-Prime Minister Tony Blair-about his role in the Iraq conflict.

Coincidentally, the BBC adheres to a Times-like code, Hanley explained.

"The BBC has restricted its staff journalists from freelancing 'a regular newspaper or magazine column dealing with current affairs, matters of current public policy debate, political or industrial controversy,'" Hanley told SJR. "The BBC statement of values also states that any freelance article should first be sent for 'publication by the BBC Press Office or syndication after publication by BBC News Online.'"

Blame Game

Ethical codes may be evolving, but so are audiences, tastes, and the marketplace.

Consequently, "there is plenty of blame to go around for the declining nature of our news media," McCall told SJR. "Some of the blame must be on the audience. As long as the audience is enamored with celebrity and scandal news, the agenda-setters in the media will keep serving it up to them."

As the agenda-setters, however, "media people should shoulder most of the blame," McCall concluded. "They take the initiative on setting the public agenda, and they should be the professionals who know best how to do it."