Plurality Based Morality

[dave29]

Seems to me we need some new ideas in morality, since everyone has their own code. One of the specific problems I see raising from Democracy - is the idea that everyone has the right to freedom, but not everyone has an equal right to enjoy it, especially under the current system. The current form of Government was determined in order to provide representation for groups of individuals, with the idea that adequate representation could be provided with the correct formula for any given territory in the United States. The system of checks and balances put in place was actually quite remarkable until corporations came into being, followed by lobbyists - and became a powerful force swinging the pendulum away from the individual, and towards those individuals with power. These corporations have also come to control the media, which is where I see the most urgent need for a new code of ethics.

I propose what I call a "plurality based morality" for the media: a new code of ethics for those who provide information to the people. This code is simple - and works the reverse of Democracy: Basically, the story that effects the most people is the story that gets the most coverage - and you work your way backwards from there. Immediately you begin to see that stories such as celebrity murders or gossip fade from view, and stories such as the Genocide taking place in Africa take their place. Of course local news coverage would work the same way - the idea is scalable.

Obviously, this is "sort of" how current journalism works. For example, stories about politics tend to effect more people because laws effect us all - and you see plenty of these stories in the news, if not slanted. Stories like the recent Tsunami are just too huge to ignore.

To take care of bias in the media, the practice of corporate or Government sponsored punditry would be ended, as it is too easy for any political concept to be spun to such a degree that it is completely unrecognizable from the reality it represents. Journalists would not be allowed to be professionally linked to any politically active corporation, or any Government agency, period.

By placing emphasis on stories that may not have a lot of entertainment value, but still effect millions more people, a focus can be brought to problems that need to be solved - a lot more quickly than they normally would.

This code would require journalists to focus on the "magnitude" of the problem, based on the number of people it effects, and how adversely it effects them. This can also help determine the amount of time spent on a story. A special emphasis should be placed on stories that may not effect those living in the United States, but still effect vast groups of people, so that we can better understand emerging problems, and things that may become larger problems down the road.

Stories that effect individuals should be far and few between. Worrying about people being able to "relate" to the story should not be a problem, since the story that effects the most people is the story receiving the most coverage.

Any thoughts on this concept?