Your browser does not support the PubReader view.
Go to this page to see a list of supporting browsers.
The Korean Society for Journalism & Communication (KSJCS)
[ Article ]
Korean Journal of Journalism & Communication Studies - Vol. 65, No. 4, pp.185-238
ISSN: 2586-7369 (Online)
Print publication date 31 Aug 2021
Received 09 Apr 2021 Accepted 30 Jul 2021 Revised 13 Aug 2021
DOI: https://doi.org/10.20879/kjjcs.2021.65.4.005

언론인의 윤리적 가치관 유형에 따른 취재보도 원칙의 중요도 인식 및 수행도 비교

오현경**
**서울대학교 언론정보연구소 객원연구원 pasacaglia@gmail.com
Perception and Practice of Journalism Ethics by Ethical Orientation of Korean Journalists
Hyun Kyung Oh**
**Visiting Research Fellow, Institute of Communication Research, Seoul National University pasacaglia@gmail.com

초록

본 연구는 언론윤리규범에 대한 언론인들의 인식과 실천에 대해 실증적으로 탐구하는 것을 목적으로 한다. 최근 언론인들을 대상으로 한 국내외의 조사 결과에 따르면, 취재보도의 원칙에 대한 중요도 인식은 실제 취재현장에서 이를 준수하는 실행 수준과는 상당한 괴리가 있는 것으로 나타나고 있다. 이러한 현상을 이해하기 위해 본 연구는 먼저 의무론적 관점, 목적론적 관점, 덕 윤리를 중심으로 한 이론적 논의 및 실증 연구들을 바탕으로 하여 언론인의 윤리적 가치관을 절대주의, 상황주의, 절충주의, 개인주의의 네 유형으로 구분하였다. 그리고 각 윤리관에 따라 취재보도 원칙의 중요도 인식 및 수행도 평가에서 어떠한 차이를 보이는지 분석하였다. 국내 언론사에 근무하고 있는 기자들을 대상으로 온라인 설문조사(n=303)를 수행하여 분석한 결과, 절대주의 윤리관에 동의하는 기자들일수록 전반적인 취재보도 원칙의 중요성에 공감하며 실행 수준 또한 높은 것으로 나타났다. 또 절충주의 관점에 동의하는 기자들은 다른 기자들에 비해 인권보호의 원칙에 해당하는 항목에서 중요도를 높게 평가한 것으로 나타났고, 상황주의 윤리관에 동의하는 기자들은 다른 기자들에 비해 품위 유지, 투명성 등에 해당하는 항목에 대해 중요성을 낮게 평가하는 현상이 두드러졌다. 개인주의 윤리관에 동의하는 기자들의 경우, 다른 집단과 비교했을 때 중요성을 낮게 평가한 원칙은 많았지만 수행도가 유의미하게 낮은 원칙은 없었다. 한편, 상황주의 및 개인주의 윤리관에 동의한 기자들은 공통적으로 갈등을 야기하는 보도에 대해 관대한 경향을 보였다.

Abstract

This study aims to empirically explore the perception and practice of journalism ethics among Korean news reporters. According to recent studies of journalists, including the Korean Journalists Survey as well as the World of Journalism Study, a considerable gap was found between how journalists perceive the codes of ethics as professional journalists and how they maintain those ethical standards in practice while newsgathering. To understand this gap, this study categorized journalists’ ethical orientation into four types based on theoretical as well as empirical studies about deontology, teleology, and virtue ethics: (1) absolutists, who agree with the idea that journalists should always adhere to codes of professional ethics regardless of situation and context; (2) situationalists, who argue that unethical practices can be justified for more important public interest in some cases; (3) eclecticists, who maintain rather a compromising position between absolutists and situationalists, focusing more on virtue ethics and who thus consider any report that can harm others is wrong regardless of its outcome; and (4) individualists, who believe that what is ethical in journalism is a matter of personal judgment. Based on this conceptualization, this study measured journalists’ ethical orientation and analyzed how journalists’ perception and performance of morality as professionals vary across orientation. For measuring perception and performance of morality, this study chose the six principles, i.e. truth, fairness, independence, transparency, protection of human rights, and maintenance of professional integrity, from the journalists’ code of ethics; and five clauses were extracted from each principle. A total of 30 items were used to measure how journalists perceive the importance of these ethical standards and to measure how they evaluate themselves in following those principles while newsgathering on the scene. An online survey of 303 Korean journalists was conducted. Among the respondents, 86.5% agreed with absolutism, 33.6% eclecticism, 33% situationalism, and 25.8% individualism. Results showed that those agreeing with absolutism, when compared to others, were more likely to consider most principles important and to rate themselves highly in maintaining those ethical standards on the scene. Those agreeing with eclecticism tended to perceive the protection of human rights especially more important than those who disagreed with eclecticism, while those agreeing with situationalism tended to perceive maintenance of professional integrity, as well as transparency, less important than those who disagreed with situationalism. Also, those who agreed with individualism perceived many principles to be less important compared to those who disagreed with individualism, while no principles were found to be less significant when it came to practice. Moreover, journalists who agreed with situationalism or individualism tended to be lenient with reports causing social conflict.

Keywords:

ethical orientation, journalists’ code of ethics, perceived importance, practice

키워드:

언론인의 윤리관, 취재보도 원칙, 중요도, 수행도

Acknowledgments

This study was sponsored by 2020 Rising Scholars Program of Korean Association for Broadcasting & Telecommunication Studies and Hyundai Home Shopping. (이 논문은 한국방송학회-현대홈쇼핑 2020년도 신진학자 연구지원 사업에 의해 수행되었음).

References

  • Atay, A. D. (2016). Communicating with the “other”: Peace journalism as a form of self–other relationship. Journal of Media Ethics, 31(3), 188-195. [https://doi.org/10.1080/23736992.2016.1188012]
  • Borden, S. L. (2007). Journalism as practice: MacIntyre, virtue ethics and the press. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd..
  • Browning, N. (2015). The ethics of two-way symmetry and the dilemmas of dialogic Kantianism. Journal of Media Ethics, 30(1), 3-18.
  • Coleman, R. (2000). The ethical context for public journalism: As an ethical foundation for public journalism, communitarian philosophy provides principles for practitioners to apply to real-world problems. Journal of Communication Inquiry, 24(1), 41-66. [https://doi.org/10.1177/0196859900024001004]
  • Craig, D. A. (2020). Justice as a journalistic value and goal. In L. Wilkins & C. G. Christians (Eds.), The Routledge Handbook of Mass Media Ethics (pp. 203-293). New York: Routledge [https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315545929-20]
  • Davis, M. (1999). Professional responsibility: Just following the rules?. Business & Professional Ethics Journal, 18(1), 65-87. [https://doi.org/10.5840/bpej19991811]
  • Duffy, M. J., & Freeman, C. P. (2011). Unnamed sources: A utilitarian exploration of their justification and guidelines for limited use. Journal of Mass Media Ethics, 26(4), 297-315. [https://doi.org/10.1080/08900523.2011.606006]
  • Elliott‐Boyle, D. (1985). A conceptual analysis of ethics codes. Journal of Mass Media Ethics, 1(1), 22-26. [https://doi.org/10.1080/08900528509358251]
  • Forsyth, D. R. (1980). A taxonomy of ethical ideologies. Journal of Personality and Social psychology, 39(1), 175-184. [https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.39.1.175]
  • Glasser, T. L., & Ettema, J. S. (2008). Ethics and eloquence in journalism: An approach to press accountability. Journalism Studies, 9(4), 512-534. [https://doi.org/10.1080/14616700802114183]
  • Halliki Harro-Loit (2015) Journalists' Views About Accountability to Different Societal Groups, Journal of Media Ethics, 30(1), 31-43.
  • Hanitzsch, T., Hanusch, F., Ramaprasad, J., & de Beer, A. (Eds.). (2019). Worlds of journalism: Journalistic cultures around the globe. Columbia University Press. [https://doi.org/10.7312/hani18642]
  • Hollings, J., Hanitzsch, T., & Balasubramanian, R. (2019). Risky Choices? Modelling journalists’ perceptions of aggressive newsgathering practices. Journalism Studies, 20(1), 22-39. [https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670X.2017.1353431]
  • Hong, W. S. (2018). Toward A Practical Understanding of Journalism Objectivity : A Case Study of ‘Fact Check.’ Communication Theories, 14(4), 183–226. [https://doi.org/10.20879/ct.2018.14.4.183]
  • Hossain, M. D., & Aucoin, J. (2018). The ethics of care as a universal framework for global journalism. Journal of Media Ethics, 33(4), 198-211. [https://doi.org/10.1080/23736992.2018.1509713]
  • Jung, J. (2021). [Korean Broadcasting Journalists’ Association--Special Committee for Journalism] The 2nd Report about Korean Broadcasting Journalists’ Concerns and Hope. Broadcasting Journalists, March-April, 2021. Available at http://reportplus.kr/?p=30690
  • Kahneman, D., Sibony, O., & Sunstein, C. R. (2021). Noise: a flaw in human judgment. Little, Brown.
  • Kang, M. G. (1993). Sociology of Korean Professional Journalists. (Vol. 263). Nanam Publishing.
  • Kim, S. H. (2007). An investigation of journalistic objectivity: Journalistic objectivity as hermeneutic frames. Journal of communication science, 7(3), 5-38.
  • Kim, S. E. (2006). Democracy and media trust: A theoretical search for a normative model of comtemporary Korean media. Korean Journal of Journalism & Communication Studies, 50(5), 55-78.
  • Korea Press Foundation. (2019). Korean Journalists Survey 2019.
  • Kovach, B., & Rosenstiel, T. (2014). The elements of journalism: What newspeople should know and the public should expect. CA: Three Rivers Press.
  • Lee, A. M., Coleman, R., & Molyneux, L. (2016). From thinking to doing: Effects of different social norms on ethical behavior in journalism. Journal of Media Ethics, 31(2), 72-85. [https://doi.org/10.1080/23736992.2016.1152898]
  • Lee, E. T. (2002). Moral Developmental Stages of Korean Journalists: A Q-methodological Study. Korean Journal of Journalism & Communication Studies, 46(3), 289-318.
  • Lee, E. T. (2006). A study on the necessity of virtue ethics in Media Ethics. Media & Law, 5(2), 147-168.
  • Lee, G. H., & Nam, J. I. (2019). Korean Journalists’ Acceptive Attitude toward Digital Journalism Reality - Journalism Norm and Ethics. Korean Journal of Communication & Information, 93, 7–38. [https://doi.org/10.46407/kjci.2019.02.93.7]
  • Lee, J. K. (2019). A study on the determinants of job satisfaction among newspaper, broadcasting, and internet media journalists: With a focus on the data of the 13th Korean Journalists Survey by the Korea Press Foundation. Social Science Research Review, 35(1), 1–22. [https://doi.org/10.18859/ssrr.2019.2.35.1.1]
  • Lee, J. H., & Kim, G. (2006). The Historical Formation of Professional Identity among Korean Journalists. Korean Journal of Journalism & Communication Studies, 50(6), 59-88.
  • Lee, M. K., Frost, L., & Hanitzsch, T. (2016). Journalists in South Korea. Worlds of Journalism. Retrieved from https://epub.ub.uni-muenchen.de/31696/1/Country_Report_South_Korea.pdf
  • Lee, S. K. (2011). Critical Contemplation on the Commercialization of Journalism. Korean Journal of Communication & Information, 56, 26-47.
  • Lee, S. S. (2000). A study of the illegal news gathering and reporting: Analyzing the legal regulations. Korean Journal of Broadcasting, 14(1), 295-336.
  • Lee, Y. J. (2006). Towards a journalism ethics in the era of over-expressive journalism: Aphrodisia and Philia. Media & Society, 14(1), 6-42.
  • Lim, J. S. (2008). The Kantian Ethical Approach to Conceptual Derivation of "Public Interests" in the Television Industry and Policy Discourse. Korean Journal of Journalism & Communication Studies, 52(6), 282-299.
  • MacIntyre, A. (2007). After Virtue: A Study in Moral Theory [1981]. London: Duckworth.
  • Merrill, J. (1997). Journalism Ethics: Philosophical Foundations for News Media. St. Martin's Press.
  • Meyers, C. (2011). Re-appreciating WD Ross: Naturalizing prima facie duties and a proposed method. Journal of Mass Media Ethics, 26(4), 316-331. [https://doi.org/10.1080/08900523.2011.606009]
  • Moore, W. E. (1970). The professions: Roles and rules. Russell Sage Foundation.
  • Nam, J. (2010). The Process of Construction of Korean Journalism Ethics as Job Ideology. Korean Journal of Communication & Information, 50, 73-93.
  • Nussbaum, M. C. (1999). Virtue ethics: A misleading category?. The Journal of Ethics, 3(3), 163-201. [https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009877217694]
  • Pae, J. (2020). Efforts for Recovering Journalism. Newspaper & Broadcasting, March 2020, 43-48.
  • Pae, J., Yoo, S., & Oh, H. (2019). Study for Revision of Journalists’ Codes of Ethics. Korea Press Foundation.
  • Park, J. & Lee, J. (2016). Journalism in the period of democratization and the decline of “democratic value”: Examination of annual report on journalists’ self-conscience in Korea, 1989∼2013. Korean Journal of Broadcasting, 30(5), 43-80.
  • Patterson, P., Wilkins, L., & Painter, C. (2018). Media ethics: Issues and cases. Rowman & Littlefield.
  • Pellegrino, E. D. (1995). Toward a virtue-based normative ethics for the health professions. Kennedy Institute of Ethics Journal, 5(3), 253-277. [https://doi.org/10.1353/ken.0.0044]
  • Plaisance, P. L. (2006). An assessment of media ethics education: Course content and the values and ethical ideologies of media ethics students. Journalism & Mass Communication Educator, 61(4), 378-396. [https://doi.org/10.1177/107769580606100404]
  • Plaisance, P. L. (2011). Moral agency in media: Toward a model to explore key components of ethical practice. Journal of Mass Media Ethics, 26(2), 96-113. [https://doi.org/10.1080/08900523.2011.559800]
  • Plaisance, P. L. (2013). Virtue ethics and digital ‘flourishing’: An application of Philippa foot to life online. Journal of Mass Media Ethics, 28(2), 91-102. [https://doi.org/10.1080/08900523.2013.792691]
  • Plaisance, P. L. (2014). Media ethics: Key principles for responsible practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. [https://doi.org/10.4135/9781544308517]
  • Plaisance, P. L. (2016). Media ethics theorizing, reoriented: A shift in focus for individual-level analyses. Journal of Communication, 66(3), 454-474. [https://doi.org/10.1111/jcom.12230]
  • Plaisance, P. L., Skewes, E. A., & Hanitzsch, T. (2012). Ethical orientations of journalists around the globe: Implications from a cross-national survey. Communication Research, 39(5), 641-661. [https://doi.org/10.1177/0093650212450584]
  • Rawls, J. (2003). A theory of justice (Revised edition). Harvard university press.
  • Rhee, J. W. (2010). Tendentiousness of Korean journalism and the problem of ‘the distinction between facts and opinions'. Korean Journal of Journalism & Communication Studies, 54(2), 187-209.
  • Rhee, J. W. (2017). A Habermasian perspective to journalism ethics at the digital news age. Communication Theories, 13(3), 86-128.
  • Ross, W. D. (1930/1988). The right and the good. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. (Reprinted, 1988, Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Publishing Co.)
  • Sandel, M. J. (2010). Justice: What's the right thing to do?. Macmillan. [https://doi.org/10.1037/e597132010-001]
  • Shim, H. (2018). Does fairness reportage aim at the Supreme Good? : The limitation of fairness reportage in Kantian perspective and suggesting the alternative of Confucian Journalism. Korean Journal of Journalism & Communication Studies, 62(3), 37–67. [https://doi.org/10.20879/kjjcs.2018.62.3.002]
  • Shim, H., & Kim, S. E. (2020). The Reflective Consensus of Liberalism and Communitarianism through the Doctrine of the Mean. Communication Theories, 16(2), 5–53. [https://doi.org/10.20879/ct.2020.16.2.005]
  • Shim, S. T. (2021). [Journalism & Ethics] The relationship between journalists and their sources. Press Arbitration, Summer 2021, 82-85.
  • Wilkins, L., & Coleman, R. (2005). The moral media: How journalists reason about ethics. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. [https://doi.org/10.4324/9781410612106]
  • Zelizer, B. (1993). Journalists as interpretive communities. Critical Studies in Media Communication, 10(3), 219-237. [https://doi.org/10.1080/15295039309366865]

Appendix

부록

  • 강명구 (1993). <한국 언론 전문직의 사회학> (Vol. 263). 나남.
  • 김상호 (2007). 언론의 객관성에 대한 분석적 고찰. <언론과학연구>, 7권 3호, 5-38.
  • 김세은 (2006). 민주주의와 언론의 신뢰: ‘옳은’ 언론과 ‘좋은’ 언론에 대한 이론적 모색. <한국언론학보>, 50권 5호, 55-78.
  • 남재일 (2010). 직업이데올로기로서의 한국 언론윤리의 형성과정. <한국언론정보학보>, 통권50호, 73-93.
  • 박진우·이정훈 (2016). 민주화 시대의 언론과 ‘민주주의적 가치’의 후퇴: 언론인 의식 조사 자료에 대한 검토, 1989∼2013. <한국방송학보>, 30권 5호, 43-80.
  • 배정근 (2020). 저널리즘 회복을 위한 노력들: 《언론윤리개정을 위한 연구》언론의 정당성, 윤리규범에서 나온다. <신문과 방송>, 2020년 3월호, 43-48.
  • 배정근·유승현·오현경 (2019). <언론윤리규정 개선을 위한 연구>. 한국언론진흥재단.
  • 심석태 (2021). [Journalism & Ethics] 기자와 취재원의 관계. <언론중재>, 2021년 여름호, 82-85.
  • 심훈 (2018). 공정 보도는 과연 최고선을 지향하는가?: 칸트의 윤리형이상학과 공맹(孔孟) 사상을 통해 본 공정 보도의 문제점과 한계, 그리고 유가 언론학적 극복 방안. <한국언론학보>, 62권 3호, 37-67.
  • 심훈·김세은 (2020). ‘중용’을 통한 자유주의와 공동체주의 언론의 반성적 절충. <커뮤니케이션 이론>, 16권 2호, 5-53.
  • 이강형·남재일 (2019). 디지털 저널리즘 현실에 대한 한국 기자들의 수용 태도: 저널리즘 원칙과 윤리의식 변화를 중심으로. <한국언론정보학보>, 통권93호, 7-38.
  • 이상기 (2011). 언론의 상업주의화에 대한 비판적 고찰. <한국언론정보학보>, 통권56호, 26-47.
  • 이승선 (2000). 위법적 취재보도에 대한 법적 규제의 특성 연구. <한국방송학보>, 14권 1호, 295-336.
  • 이영주 (2006). 언론과잉 시대의 언론윤리에 대한 소고: 아프로디지아와 필리아. <언론과 사회>, 14권 1호, 6-42.
  • 이은택 (2002). 국내 언론인의 도덕발달단계에 관한 연구. <한국언론학보>, 46권 3호, 289-318.
  • 이은택 (2006). 언론윤리에서 덕 윤리학의 필요성에 대한 연구. <언론과 법>, 5권 2호, 147-168.
  • 이정기 (2019). 신문사, 방송사, 인터넷 언론사 언론인들의 직무 만족도 결정요인 연구: 한국언론진흥재단의 ‘제13회 기자 의식조사’ 데이터를 중심으로. <사회과학연구>, 35권 1호, 1-22.
  • 이정훈·김균 (2006). 한국 언론인의 직업 정체성: 샐러리맨화의 역사적 과정을 중심으로. <한국언론학보>, 50권 6호, 59-88.
  • 이준웅 (2010). 한국 언론의 경향성과 이른바 사실과 의견의 분리 문제. <한국언론학보>, 54권 2호, 187-209.
  • 이준웅 (2017). 디지털 뉴스 시대의 언론 윤리: 하버마스 담론 윤리의 적용. <커뮤니케이션 이론>, 13권 3호, 86-128.
  • 임정수 (2008). 방송공익의 개념적 파생에 대한 칸트 윤리학적 논의. <한국언론학보>, 52권 6호, 282-299.
  • 정제혁 (2021). [방송기자연합회 저널리즘 특별위원회] 한국 방송기자들의 고민과 희망이 담긴 8년만의 보고서. <방송기자>, 2021년 3·4월호. http://reportplus.kr/?p=30690
  • 한국언론진흥재단 (2019). <2019 한국의 언론인: 제14회 언론인 조사> (조사분석 2019-03). 서울: 한국언론진흥재단.
  • 홍원식 (2018). 언론 객관성의 실천적 이해를 위한 사례 연구: ‘팩트체크’를 중심으로. <커뮤니케이션 이론>, 14권 4호, 183-226.