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.Themedia, in this instance, would be viewed as a receiver, the profession as anassociate.Another example might be a circumstance in which a newspa-per’s obligation to turn a profit is overridden by its obligation to inform itsreaders.The result might be not giving readers what they want, but givingthem, instead, what they need—even at the risk of losing readership.In thiscase, fidelity to an ideal (or professional standard) may supersede eco-nomic considerations.At the very least, the obligation should be identifiedand recognized.A diagram of these potential linkages would show that certain obliga-tions are more likely to be linked with certain stakeholders/claimants (Fig.2.5).For example, because providers such as regulatory agencies have con-siderable consequential impact on a regulated business (such as broadcast-ing), that business is more likely to be obligated through fidelity to that link-age.Gratitude may also come into play, but usually in a lesser degreebecause these linkages rarely occur between friends.(Friendship is not arequirement of gratitude, but gratitude generally implies a closer or moreinformal relationship than a formal or contractual one.) Remember, also,those linkages that result in the consequences being felt by the organiza-tion are least likely to incur ethical obligation—at least from the organiza-tion’s side.Fidelity may also be owed to a receiver.For instance, dealers who re-ceive a product from an organization and then sell the product on the or-ganization’s behalf are bound to the organization by an explicit contract(television affiliates that must carry certain network programming, for ex-ample).However, other receivers, such as consumers, potentially arebound to the organization in additional ways.Certainly, a manufacturer ofa product implicitly, if not explicitly, promises that customers will receiveTLFeBOOKMORAL CLAIMANTS39FIG.2.5.Obligation by linkage type.their money’s worth.To break this promise could involve reparation.Theobligation of noninjury requires, for example, that the organization’sproducts are free of safety hazards, or that no hazardous waste is pro-duced as a byproduct of manufacture.Justice can come into play in hiringpractices in which minority groups are underrepresented, or when plantsare closed without due consideration of the needs, loyalty, and merit ofthe employees.Obviously, benevolence comes into play as philanthropicgiving, but may also become an obligation to provide products and ser-vices that contribute to the well-being of society as a whole.This is espe-cially true of journalistic obligations to serve the public interest—alsoviewed as a duty of fidelity.The linkages that are most likely to incur ethical obligation are issue-defined constituents.Here, the nature of the issue will play a central role inhow these obligations are ordered and whether or not they supersede pre-determined obligations to other linkages with stronger effects on the orga-nization.As with receivers, issue-defined constituents often require actionsbased on noninjury, and justice.Fidelity is noticeably absent, because thelinkages between issue-defined constituents and the organization are rarelyformal.Added to the list of obligations, however, is reparation.The likeli-TLFeBOOK40CHAPTER 2hood that the organization will have done something that requires repara-tion is much greater with these claimants than with others with whom it islinked.Invading a family’s privacy in order to get a story, for example, re-quires that those most affected by the action be considered.Naturally, all of the six obligations listed by Ross might be applicable toeach of the five linkages; however, it is more likely, given the direction ofconsequences, that more of them will come into play with receivers and is-sue-defined constituents.This potential imbalance in obligation should helpto offset the traditional tendency among media practitioners to honor theobligations to the linkages affecting them most directly, especially provid-ers and suppliers in the form of employers and clients.The key is to remember that we are tied to our stakeholders by morethan just economic or political linkages.We are tied to them socially, andsocial links imply obligation.We must always ask not only to whom we arelinked, but also in what way we are linked, observing both functional andethical ties.We may, after determining our obligations, ignore them.But wecannot avoid the likelihood that others recognize these same obligationsand are very likely to hold us accountable when we do not honor them.Asyou might imagine, however, not everyone agrees that the media have anyobligation at all toward their claimants.THE LIBERTARIAN APPROACHIn a sense, the United States was founded on the concept of libertarianism
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