Journal of Mass Media Ethics, Volume 26, Issue 2, Page 181-183, April-June.

The contemporary debate about "who is a journalist" is occurring in two distinct domains: law and professional ethics. Although the debate in these domains is focused on separate problems, participants treat the central question as essentially the same. This article suggests that the debates in law and professional ethics have to be resolved independently and that debate within those domains needs to be more nuanced. In law, it must vary depending on whether the context involves constitutional law, statutory law, or (...) the distribution of informal privileges by government officials. In professional ethics, the debate should not be oriented around a single definitional threshold but should identify tiers that take account of different communicators' unique goals, tactics, and values. (shrink)

In this article, we explore the tension between truth telling and the demands of civic life, with an emphasis on the tension between serving one's country and reporting the truth as completely and independently as possible. We argue that the principle of truth telling in journalism takes priority over the promotion of civic values, including a narrow patriotism. Even in times of war, responsible journalism must not allow a narrow patriotism to undermine its commitment to truth telling. Journalists best fulfill (...) their civic role by adopting the perspective of a democratic patriotism. We conclude that if news organizations accept the primacy of truth telling and democratic patriotism, they should not embed reporters with military units, or if they do, they have an ethical obligation to implement special editorial precautions. (shrink)

This article argues that basic ethical principles of U.S. journalism as described in the Society of Professional Journalists' Code of Ethics are the result of, and a response to, cognitive bias and error. Cognitive biases and errors necessitate journalistic best practices to correct or attenuate them. Social cognitive processes explored include stereotyping, confirmation bias, and attribution. These concepts are noteworthy because each may be activated by the practice of journalism, and each has been shown to be susceptible to attenuation through (...) specific practices. The article concludes with ideas for integrating cognition into journalism education. (shrink)

This paper argues that the cognitive neuroscientific use of ordinary mental terms to report research results and draw implications can contribute to public confusion and misunderstanding regarding neuroscience results. This concern is raised at a time when cognitive neuroscientists are increasingly required by funding agencies to link their research to specific results of public benefit, and when neuroethicists have called for greater attention to public communication of neuroscience. The paper identifies an ethical dimension to the problem and presses for greater (...) sensitivity and responsibility among neuroscientists regarding their use of such terms. (shrink)

Scheuer, J. (2008). The big picture: Why democracies need journalistic excellence. New York: Routledge. 187 pp., $29.95 (Pbk).In Democracy and the News, Herbert J. Gans (2003) argues that journalis...

In these essays, we are concerned with virtue in journalism and the media but are mindful of the tension between the commercial foundations of publishing and broadcasting, on the one hand, and journalism's democratic obligations on the other. Adam outlines, first, a moral vision of journalism focusing on individualistic concepts of authorship and craft. Next, Craft attempts to bridge individual and organizational concerns by examining the obligations of organizations to the individuals working within them. Finally, Cohen discusses the importance of (...) resisting the powerful corporate logic that pervades the news media in the United States and calls on journalists to be courageous. (shrink)

This case study explores the ethical dimensions of the South Korean news media's coverage of the Dr. Woo Suk Hwang scandal and the extant journalism criticism. The study discusses the ethical issues associated with claims that Korean journalists acted too humanely, overemphasized scientific evidence, and were too culturally sensitive in their coverage of the Hwang scandal, and notes the broader implications for journalism ethical theory and criticism suggested by the study's findings. The case explores the differences in the ethical foundations (...) that underlay the press' efforts and the Korean-based criticism of the news media. Among other conclusions, the Hwang scandal illustrates the challenges of universalizing ethical standards in international journalism criticism. (shrink)

Against the background of media and social transformation, this study examines Chinese press journalists' ethical orientation and tolerance for ethically controversial practices. The former captures journalists' theoretical conception of ethics along a consequentialist versus absolutist spectrum; the latter speaks to journalists' ethical judgment in relation to concrete practices. Analysis of a survey of press journalists found that a substantial minority of the respondents were subscribing to ethical relativism. Different types of controversial reporting practices were tolerated to different extents. Multivariate analysis (...) shows that those working in online newsrooms, those who perceived substantial commercial influences on news work, and those who valued the advocacy role of the press exhibited a stronger relativistic orientation, whereas respondents who valued the information dissemination role of the press exhibited a stronger absolutist orientation. But there are mixed findings regarding the impact of other predictors, which hint at the complexities of the evolution of journalism ethics in China. (shrink)

This study analyzes the metajournalistic discourse surrounding leaks and whistleblowing crafted by online journalism industry publications since 2004. The goal of the study is to understand how jou...

ABSTRACTA study done in Canada and Ireland and in the 2 countries that cast a long shadow of influences over them—the United States and England respectively—suggests that the press council/ombudsman self-governing structure recently implemented in Ireland might help the Canadian press to gain more independence from court controls and regain a deeper sense of its own stated mission. The study included in-depth interviews with journalists and scholars in all 4 countries, close readings of sample crime coverage, and examinations of prevailing (...) ethics codes and accountability practices. The Irish said they are discovering that by foregrounding ethics, they have relaxed the battle against legal restraints and—to some measure—dug out from under the competitive pressures that had threatened to bury their primary mission. (shrink)

Journal of Mass Media Ethics, Volume 26, Issue 2, Page 183-186, April-June.