Community Radio Pledge (pdf) - amarc

their turn expect ideal behavior from him.Here what we find after delving deeper into value and perception,morality, law and ethics is value and perception, morality and law are linkedwith social moorings right from the beginning. These indicate at communityinduced behaviors of the individuals. Value and perception, morality andlaws are made, directed and implemented by society.But ethics is personal from the very outset. This is linked and associatedwith behavior of the individual from the very beginning spontaneously. It iscreated and directed by an individual.Defining it in the given context, ethics for journalists would mean silentprinciple of wise behavior of an individual. In other words, ethics are thewisest alerts that stipulate and direct the behavior of an individual (journalist)apart from instilling element of consciousness which is instrumental indifferentiating between right and wrong, good and bad and responsibilityand irresponsibility. Much like what Prof John Morrel in his book "Imperativeof Freedom" has said ethics are directly related to the qualitative performanceput in by journalists.Going by Collins Dictionary of Sociology ethics is such a branch ofphilosophy which has got to do with what an individual should do to evolveas a morally tall person.Essentially, ethics for journalists denotes coordination of inviolableand inseparable press freedom and social responsibility. Ethics creates aplatform to ensure desirable behavior when dealing with strangecircumstances a journalist may encounter in life. Compliance to it means ajournalist keeping it all at the back of his mind.Classification of ethicsNo fixed principles have been established in Nepalese journalism.Journalists here have been following the ethics defined by a group ofprofessors of Missouri University of the United States of America asabsolute), free to follow one's will and relative.Absolute ethicsThose who go by this particular ethics have definite principles. Theydo not dither from definite principles. The arrangement is more or less likelaw. For them, if theft is a crime it is a crime for all time.This type of ethics allows printing the name of the woman who hasbeen raped. It is not concerned by the social stigma the woman may be leftto face after the news has been published. For them, the impact of theincident and its consequences is irrelevant. Absolute ethics is thearithmetical conclusion of an incident.14