Ethical journalism

EthicsSydney Carlson, Austin Slade,Melanie Miles, Porter Ellett

Media Effects & Media Theory● Magic Bullet/Hypodermic Needle Theory ● Limited Effects Theory ● Two-Step Flow Theory ● Spiral of Silence Theory  ● Agenda Setting Theory  ● Third-Person Effect Theory

Anonymous Declares War?

 Agenda Setting According to Cohen

"The mass media may not be successful much of the time in telling people what to think, but they are stunningly successful in telling their audience what to think about." 

-Bernard Cohen

Agenda Setting & Spiral of Silence

● Princess Diana, OJ SimpsonMichael Jackson Trials

 ● Voice for the voiceless ● Nixon: Silent Majority?

Approaches to Objectivity

 Detachment - from stories and people in stories Fairness & Balance Absence of Interpretation Scientific Method - content analysis, sample surveys Stenography - recording what is said & repeating it back 

Ethics & Journalists

Journalists worry about being fair and harming innocents Jan Wong - "Get Under the Desk" in The Globe and Mail

Society of Professional Journalists& Their Code of Ethics

Members share a dedication to ethical behavior Should be honest, fair and courageous Treat sources, subjects and colleagues with respect Free of obligation to any interest other than public's right to know Accountable to audience 

Credibility: Ethics in Story Finding

Journalists are faced with moral and ethical questions when searching for stories 1. "Under-cover" role acceptable? 2. Always identify as journalist?  What counts as "crossing the line" in order to get a news story?

For Example, CNN.

CNN: setting out "stake-out camera" at the Whitney Houston funeral.  Is this ethical?  View individuals' responses on Twitter.   

Journalist's ethical challenge

● The Most difficult ethical challenge faced by Journalists:

 >>Get the Facts Right.>>Tell the Story Fairly.

Ethics + Politics = ???

● "You cannot legislate a journalist's political beliefs."

 >>Keep their views to themselves.>>Remain impartial.

For Example, FOX news

● FOX news' aggressive investigation into ACORN scandal and Pay Czars.

 ● 2009: Obama discredits FOX news as a

"news source" and attempts to ban them from the White House Pool.

 ● Isn't investigation and fact-checking a

central role for journalists?

Newsroom Diversity

•The power of appeal:  

Leaders in Diversity

•Arlene Notoro Morgan•Peter Bhatia•Joe Hight: “Gosh, I wish journalists would realize the First Amendment provides journalists with many rights, but it does not give us the right to trample on the lives of innocent people.”  

Business and Journalism

•A power struggle: 

Thanks For Listening