The people's right to know and press rights to gather and publish information remain dominant justifications for controversial media activities. Yet, the power of the media to set the agenda for public discourse in our country warrants a careful analysis of these rights, their corresponding responsibilities, and their moral limits. This article examines the right to know and press freedom from the perspective of their shared purpose, facilitation of informed decision making. This article also demonstrates moral justification of limits on (...) right to know and press freedom based on traditional ethics theories and media impact on public discourse. (shrink)

The 1991 Pulitzer for spot news photography went to freelancer Gregory Marinovich, who documented the murder of an accused Zulu spy by African National Congress sympathizers in Soweto, South Africa. Marinovich tried, and failed, to stop the violence. Of 57 Associated Press newspapers surveyed, 24 ran either a photo of the victim being burned alive or an equally disturbing stabbing. This analysis reports that most editors who played the photos aggressively were also careful to place them in a substantive news (...) context. Although reader reactions varied, the study also suggests that important, albeit violent, photos are more likely to be accepted by readers if they are presented thoughtfully and with con text. (shrink)

As the composition of university campuses becomes more diverse, campus journalists must become better at making decisions that avoid needlessly offending members of various ethnic and cultural groups. This examination explores the role of the campus media and includes incidents that illustrate campus journalists' problems with decision making when confronted with material regarding their diverse audiences. It explores the political correctness movement on campuses, notes the advantage of ethical reasoning, offers a philosophical foundation for decision making based on respect, and (...) proposes a Model of Respect. This model should enable novice journalists to better self-regulate content, precluding the need for campus administrators and judicial bodies to establish regulations and laws that "force" sensitivity into campus speech and newspapers. (shrink)

This article discusses a serious problem in the way ethics is taught in journalism and mass communication programs. The study is based, in part, on a survey of 359 students who have had varied exposure to university journalism programs. The survey consisted of 87 questions that provided information on the demographics of the participants as well as an opportunity to respond to a series of 25 hypothetical ethical dilemmas. Results indicate that although respondents found most of the hypothetical situations to (...) be ethics violations, they often did not recognize the seriousness of the violations and did not know what to do when faced with those violations. (shrink)

Telephone survey of 293 TV viewers in Minneapolis-St. Paul investigated how viewers evaluate ethical issues and problematic content in TV news and entertainment programs, and attitudes toward methods of controlling TV content. In rating eight hypothetical news and entertainment scenarios, viewers appeared more willing to accept ethical breaches in entertainment than in news programs. In evaluating the severity of general problems in TV programming, most viewers considered violence, adult themes, and a lack of family values to be big problems. Different (...) methods of controlling potentially problematic content were evaluated, with viewers overwhelmingly endorsing a system of ratings or warnings, as well as restricting content to certain times or channels. Governmental regulation as a form of controlling TV content was strongly rejected. This article demonstrates the usefulness and appropriateness of empirical research in involving the audience in an active role in the study of media ethics. (shrink)

Ethical sensitivity is a precursor to mora1 judgment in that a person must recognize the existence of an ethical problem before such a problem can be resolved. It is an important concept, yet it has received little attention from ethics scholars. This preliminary and exploratory study indicates that ethical sensitivity can be identified in viewers' reactions to and evaluations of ethically controversial television news stories, that diferent levels of ethical sensitivity are evident in discussions of television news stories, and that (...) there are at least 3 dimensions by which ethnic sensitivity may be evaluated: time, breadth, and depth. (shrink)

The accelerated trend toward media cobranding, joint ventures, strategic alliances and mergers, and acquisitions with nonjournalistic companies raises new ethical concerns about the entanglements created in the name of synergy. As traditional media companies buy stakes in Internet companies in equity swaps, the cross-ownership of media creates vast potential for real or perceived conflicts of interest. Ethics scholarship routinely defines conflict of interest as an individual act, ignoring the rise of the media conglomerate. This article introduces the concept of institutional (...) conflict of interest. The problem with the traditional definition of conflict of interest, then, is that it assumes the interests of the institution are always good, and that only the journalist, acting individually can violate the norm. The article outlines how media consolidation creates new conflicts of interest by outlining the term's definitions in various professions and proposing a revised definition that encompasses institutional conflict of interest. (shrink)

This article examines implications of computer-sifted information: What happens when that information is reshuffled and used for other purposes than originally intended? Historical concepts of the philosophy of privacy are examined, essentially to demonstrate that a lack of clear precedent further confuses a fast-changing situation. The author argues that, a 100-odd years ago, advancing media technology prompted Louis Brandeis to proclaim a right to be let alone - but in the intervening years we have not been particularly effective in developing (...) proactive ethics and policy to deal with privacy issues. One case, a bill to restrict access to motor vehicle information, is cited as an example of proactive legislation; without advocating specific legislation, the author calls for increased foresight in the issue of technology and privacy. (shrink)