Journalistic deontology in news coverage of poverty in the digital age

Citation

Harkins S & Lugo-Ocando J (2021) Journalistic deontology in news coverage of poverty in the digital age. In: Miladi N (ed.) Global Media Ethics and the Digital Revolution. London: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003203551

Abstract
This chapter explores the British media coverage of poverty at home and abroad as a case study that allows us to illustrate our key argument: That the digital revolution has actually had very little impact upon Western journalists when it comes to the ethics surrounding the news coverage of poverty. It supports the argument set out by S. J. Ward for whom the conceptual base for journalism ethics needs to be widened in order to incorporate other perspectives. The chapter aims to contribute to the de-Westernization debate around ethics set in this book and highlight the need for a new journalistic deontology, particularly among Western reporters, that demands structural change rather than just palliative measures when it comes to poverty. The evidence presented suggests that economic inequality is a contributing factor to civil unrest and a key consideration for covering electoral politics overseas. However, it is rarely the central focus on news coverage in these contexts.

People

Dr Steven Harkins

Lecturer, Communications, Media and Culture