Tsunami, Nickels & the Ethics of Journalism--Six-Figure Thoughts

As of today the number of reported deaths from the South Asian tsunami have risen to 155,000 and still climbing.

This is in contrast to two other six-figure numbers in the news today:

--$180,000 worth of nickels were reported missing today after the truck carrying them for the Federal Reserve was found empty in Florida. Foul play is suspected and concerns over the safety of the missing driver were raised. This calculates out to 3.6 million nickels weighing 45,000 pounds. Imagine moving, say, 1000 boxes of nickels weighing 45 pounds each from one truck into another. Moving three boxes per minute would take over 5 1/2 hours of steady work. Maybe someone used a fork-lift! By my estimate those nickels, if stacked into one pile, would reach over 5 miles into the air, almost the exact height of Mt. Everest! The next time someone in (Hononlulu) Chinatown asks me if I have any spare change I'll be tempted to say, "No, I don't. But I know someone who does!"

--In the other story, it cost the US Department of Education $240,000 to air two one-minute commercials promoting the "No Child Left Behind" program on columnist Armstrong Williams' radio show. The money, which was paid to him personally, also required him to personally speak in support of the project and to encourage others pundits, especially from the African-American community, to do so also. The only problem was that Mr. Williams did not mention that his advocacy had been purchased with our tax dollars. It is a fundamental tenet of journalistic ethics that there is a clear distinction between saying something out of personal conviction and being paid to say it. And that distinction must be made public or else the integrity of the journalist becomes null and void. So also, it seems, has Mr. Armstrong Williams' journalistic standing has become null and void.

As a Pastor, I am also paid to teach and preach the Good News of the Gospel of God's saving love in Christ Jesus. The difference is that everyone knows that I am paid for my efforts. It is up to them to determine if my faith is genuine or simply performance art. And it is up to me to live out my integrity in full public view. Would I "sell my soul" for $240,000 in return for airing two one-minute commercials? As a matter of economics it's a pretty good deal. On the other hand there is Jesus, who asked, "What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?"

Each one of us must face this question every day. God tells us that, in death, "(our) works do follow (us)." They also follow us in life. Unfortunately for Mr. Williams, he "gained the world" but lost his credibility...and his job.