Wigand vs. brown and Williamson- ethical issues Essay

Wigand vs. brown and Williamson- ethical issues - Essay Example ere not only grounded on the dangers accompanied smoking but also the fact that the company was adding chemicals to the cigarettes and this made the consumption of such cigarettes more addictive to the consumers. First, there was ethical violation of the consumers’ rights. Apart from the fact that the company endangered the lives of the people, it was also unlawfully and corruptly obtaining wealth from the unsuspecting consumers. When investigation was instituted by the CBS, Wigand was convinced by Lowell Bergman to make his testimony proving the allegation through an interview. In the process of doing that, Wigand found himself in an awkward situation that put his entire life at risk. The information he provided regarding this malpractice was treated with contempt. He suffered a lot of harassment and faced numerous threats because of such crucial information. The point of interest was that the CBS did not air the interview and the information that was presented by Wigand despite the risk he had taken. The main reason that the CBS gave for the failure to air the interview was the fear of litigation by the company. The CBS had broken law in this matter because of the omission. As a fourth estate, it was important that they work at the interest of the people and not base their actions on fear of actions being taken by the company. This was one of the major ethical dilemmas that CBS had placed itself in. It was now serving its own interests based on assumption rather than the interest of the people. It was revealed that the management of the CBS has chosen not to air the interview purely for monetary reasons. According to the study, it was revealed that the CBS did not want to taint their name with any legal issues particularly litigations, considering that they were at the verge of selling their company with the Westinghouse, and negotiatio ns were at critical level. This envisaged litigation was seen to have the potential of lowering the company stock.