The All-Seeing Eye, aka, the Press

So, the news is buzzing around the latest big scandal to break headlines.  In this case it's the recent revelations of child abuse by a former Penn State assistant football coach (or is it Herman Cain's tenure as president/CEO of the National Restaurant Association?  Ugh. Too many scandals!)  I'm not following the details of the Penn State issue too closely, but by all accounts this scandal is a particularly nasty one.  Really terrible crimes and an apparent attempt by school officials to turn a blind eye in hopes of avoiding some really bad publicity.  It's now all blown up in their faces.  But this post isn't meant to discuss the unfolding drama at Penn State.  It's more about our reaction to such news.  As I was watching some of the coverage I found myself asking the television (yes people on TV can hear me) the same question that I think many people ask when a big scandal breaks into the media.  "These are educated people.  Surely they must've known they would find out."  "They" being of course "them", the people who "know". The Press (capital P).  The All-Seeing Eye.

The All-Seeing Eye, or Eye of Providence, traditionally has been reserved as a symbol representing the ability of deity to penetrate all, being witness to all human behavior (at least that's what I read on Wikipedia, so, pretty much take it to the bank).  The symbol of a single eye radiating beams of light was a reminder that all our actions are known to a higher power and that one day justice for what we do will be paid out to us in full.  Perhaps today a more threatening symbol would be that of a news camera with invisible beams of satellite transmissions bouncing all over the globe.  Better shape up, y'alls!  Who cares about what God thinks when you have the media to contend with?!

Case in point.  I work for a very large, publicly traded company.  As such, public perception of our business matters.  And when it comes to measuring our decisions from an ethical standpoint we are repeatedly counseled to ask ourselves, "Would my actions be something I would want to see headlined in tomorrow's newspaper?"  I hear that statement time and time again during ethics training meetings.  I'm sure there is discussion around the idea that we should do the right thing because it's right.  I actually do think my employer makes a terrific effort at good corporate citizenship.  But the big hammer to drive the point home, the acid test for ethical behavior, is fear of what the media can do.  Afterall, bad press kills stock value.

So, at least in some ways, the Press has supplanted deity as the All-Seeing Eye.  The fear factor is increasingly turning from an idea that God sees our actions and will deal out judgements appropriately to a fear that the media may uncover our mistakes and punish us through influencing public opinion.  When we see Joe Paterno, or Anthony Weiner (haha! Weiner.), or Bernie Madoff or William Adams or whoever it is that has done something stupid, the typical response of "Surely he knew that they would find out?" is an interesting one.