Merrill’s Arguments in “the Professionalization of...

Merrill’s arguments in â€Å"The Professionalization of Journalism† against professionalizing journalism What is a profession? The Oxford English Dictionary defines professions as that way of life/manner of making a living that involves the application of a specialized knowledge of particular subjects, field, or science to fee-paying clientele. Examples of professions include nursing, architecture, medicine and engineering. Although journalism has some characteristics of a profession, for Merrill it cannot be considered a profession due to the fact that journalists do not have a direct relationship with their clients, there are no entry requirements and they do not follow a prescribed code of ethics or a standard way by which their behavior†¦show more content†¦He further states that the â€Å"attorney’s compliant† in such sample cases of moral dilemmas are not with the client but with the laws of inheritance and the Internal Revenue Code. Wasserstrom says that the role-differentiated behavior of the lawyer often makes it both inappropriate and excessive for the person in a particular role to put to one side, considerations of various moral and social implications and issues must be taken on despite the fact that from the lawyer’s side, in terms of defending the case, they might seem irrelevant. He said if he is wrong about these, there are four things which seem to be true and important: †¢ If accepted, supportive arguments to the role-differentiated amorality of the lawyer can succeed; †¢ For the system to work professionals must have certain character traits; †¢ the verbal role-differentiated behavior of the lawyer raise questions about the lawyer’s integrity, this makes the role-differentiated behavior of lawyers different from that of other professionals; and †¢ how the lawyer thinks and acts forms his person and this may be acceptable to the system. Wasserstrom states that the problem of interpersonal relationship between the client and the lawyer is not a good one, asShow MoreRelatedMerrills Arguments in the Professionalization of Journalism Against Professionalizing Journalism1659 Words   |  7 PagesMerrill’s arguments in â€Å"The Professionalization of Journalism† against professionalizing journalism What is a profession? The Oxford English Dictionary defines professions as that way of life/manner of making a living that involves the application of a specialized knowledge of particular subjects, field, or science to fee-paying clientele. Examples of professions include nursing, architecture, medicine and engineering. Although journalism has some characteristics of a profession, for Merrill