Ethics, the Law, and the Press/Dis 2 - Essay Example

Running Head: Ethics, Law and The Press Ethics Law and the Press Submitted [Pick the The law enforcing agencies face a variety of ethical challenges every day, two most common challenges are maintaining honesty against corrupt desires and treating people equitably avoiding favoritism. Corruption is an act where an official deems his personal want over his duty violating procedures and policies of the institution (Lynch, 1989). The evil of Corruption ranges from negligence toward responsibilities to an active participation in illegal activities for personal gains.

In February 2011, the head of anti-drug force was arrested by FBI against conspiracy to sell confiscated drugs (Solanga & Fraley, 2011). These incidents not only devastate an individual life of the offender but also damages public trust in law enforcement authorities. Incidents related to corruption can be avoided by rotating the personnel between assignments and encouraging peers to report a misconduct observed during routine duties. The second dilemma, favoritism is an unfair advantage or a flexibility given to relatives or friends violating the ethical standards set by the institution.

According to the Gallop survey of the honesty and ethics ratings of professions, public trust in law enforcement personnel ranks consistently below medical professionals and has recently seen a decline of 6 points in 2010 (Jones, 2010). The media business especially News Corporations and journalists proud themselves of fair reporting with reliable and secure sourcing of their news content, a shift from fair practices can devastate involved parties and result in lack of public trust. In July 2011, Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporations were alleged for invading privacy of celebrities and politicians by hacking their phones resulting in four different investigations, consequent arrests and resignations from Murdoch along with other company officials.

A free press is the cornerstone of American democracy but the widely known alignment of Fox news channel with conservative forces has damaged the most important value of impartiality and belief of free speech in our society (Anteby et al. 2011). ReferencesAnteby, M.J., Kanter, R.M. & Kaplan, R. (2011), Rupert Murdoch and the Seeds of Moral Hazard, Retrieved from http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/6777.htmlJones, J. M. (2010), Nurses Top Honesty and Ethics List for 11th Year Retrieved from http://www.gallup.

com/poll/145043/Nurses-Top-Honesty-Ethics-List-11-Year.aspx Lynch, G. W. (1989), Police corruption from United States perspective, Police Studies, 12(4): 165-170. Salonga, R., Fraley, M. (2011). Contra Costa drug force commander arrested in Benicia. Times-Herald. Retrieved from: http://www.timesheraldonline.com/ci_17411515?source=most_viewed