Herman Cain has been in the media all week long, defending himself from rumors of sexual misconduct after Politico broke the story about harassment settlements. I covered the ethics of Politico's story here. However, now the story has shifted and become an issue of Cain versus the media.
Recently Cain responded to reporters' questions about the allegations by stating "Don't even go there," and followed up with "Where's my chief of staff? Please send him the journalistic code of ethics." Cain is accusing the media of ganging up on him, picking on him unfairly because he's (a) conservative, (b) black, and (c) the front-runner. According to Cain, the big, bad liberal media are out to get him, and breaking ethical barriers to do so.
So, is the persistant questioning of Cain bad journalism? Cain wants reporters to re-read the code of ethics. Let's take a look at it.
Unfortunately for Cain, the Society of Professional Journalists' code of ethics mentions nothing relevant to the situation. In fact, it specifies that journalists should "Recognize a special obligation to ensure that the public's business is conducted in the open and that government records are open to inspection." As a candidate for president, Cain is a very public figure, and his conduct in prior offices or positions is just as much the public's business as are his policy proposals. In this case, the media has done nothing wrong in trying to get to the bottom of this story and expose a potential president for his character flaws. Chalk one up to the investigative media. Cain's whining about a biased and corrupt media out to get him are just plain wrong.
It might just be my inner journalist, but I completely agree with you. As you said, it's a journalist's duty to make sure that a public official conducts business in a public setting. Makes me wonder if Cain knows what he's doing.
ReplyDeleteOh please. The media is just doing its job. It would be less appropriate if journalists weren't focusing on his sexual misconduct especially since he has done such a poor job responding to allegations. If Cain is going to unjustly be a diva over media coverage now, how can he possibly be expected to handle important foreign policy issues with nations like Ubeki-beki-beki-beki-stan-stan...
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