Ethics in the Media Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Ethics in the Media - Essay Example The concept of free speech and freedom of the press is therefore the glue that holds the country’s hard-fought-for freedoms intact. Political correctness is a term used to refer to the care in speaking that emerged in the 70s, gained strength in the 80s and remains an important topic in media relations today. When it first started being used, â€Å"Folks on the left used the term to dismiss views that were seen as too rigid and, also, to poke fun at themselves for the immense care they took to neither say nor do anything that might offend the political sensibilities of others† (Bliefuss, 2007). This half-joking sense of sensitivity in communication has since blown up into a very serious threat to our rights of free speech and free media. When considering whether we truly want political correctness as a guiding principle in our media, it is important that we take the time to more definitively define the term and its application. The importance of free speech and free media is highlighted in the First Amendment to the United States Constitution which states â€Å"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.† (â€Å"The Constitution†, 2006). The Founding Fathers of America considered a free press one of, if not the most, important aspects in the formation of a free and democratic society. A great deal of their emphasis on this point stemmed from their perception that the media channels that then existed in England, after whom they patterned much of their legal code, was rigidly censored. Journalists who questioned the King’s decisions were often jailed or worse. The Founders knew that if the press were not free, the country would not be either.