Ethics in the newsroom?

“The Wire” is a drama television series that focuses on different states of the media and how journalism works in the offices of The Baltimore Sun.

Season five consisted of 10 episodes, many of which pertain to the newsroom in various aspects. Issues that exist today are depicted and this show gives the viewer a real sense of what really occurs in present newsrooms.

Episode three of Season 5 is entitled “Not for Attribution.” This hour long show portrays various issues in the newsroom.

In this episode, reporter Alma Gutierrez wakes up early in the morning to get the Baltimore Sun and to see her story that is supposed to be on the front page. However, when she gets the newspaper she realizes it is not on the front page, but on the second section below the fold. She is angry because her story on homicide victims was cut from 35 inches to only 12.

This is a common issue in journalism because many reporters get angry when they are lied to about the placement of their story. Alma thought that her story was important and the public should be aware of what happened. She also was not told by her editor that her story was going to be cut, so she was still expecting for her name to be on the front page of The Baltimore Sun.

Later in this episode Detective James McNulty decides that he wants to fabricate a story. Fabrication is an ethical question in journalism, and it should not be done. To fabricate is to devise something falsely. McNulty does this by placing a red ribbon around one of the homeless homicide victims. This then changes the story because there is a serial killer who puts red ribbons around his victims. This homeless man was not killed by the same serial killer, but McNulty is changing the evidence so it will seem like he was and this story will then become more interesting and written about in the Sun.

Later on in the episode Executive Editor James C.Whiting III gathers everyone in the newsroom to make an announcement.

He says, “It’s a bad time for newspapers, as you all know. The news hole is shrinking as advertising declines.”

Basically he says that there is going to be a fresh round of buyouts and the newsroom needs to learn to do more with less

“Some of you will be moving on to other opportunities beyond the Sun,” he adds.

This is another way of saying that people will start to be laid off because the news industry does not bring in as much money as it used to.

“The Wire” is a successful HBO program that depicts reporters and what goes on in the newsroom, which is something that is rarely seen on television. The different issues that occur throughout the season expand to more than just buyouts, corporate ownership, and fabrication. However, these are three main issues that are dealt with in today’s society, so I thought it was important to discuss them. Although “The Wire” is not the type of drama I usually watch, it was interesting to see how the journalists work alongside the detectives and police officers in a city that is so close to where I go to college.