Media%20ethics

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Media ethics

• Applying theory to practice

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Media ethics

• This branch of media studies concerns itself with
  what media practitioners and regulators (and
  still others in some cases) should do
• What is right and what is wrong?
• Compare to empirical social science that attempts
  to identify what media are doing
• Behavior
• Effects

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Moral decisions

• Decisions made by managers, practitioners,
  regulators, etc. in their professional/occupationa
  l roles all are inflected with moral choice
• Most are made without much awareness of ethical
  implications
• Issues are settled
• Some decisions lead to self-analysis
• Journalists are more likely than advertisers,
  fiction producers to evaluate the ethical
  dimensions of stories, etc.

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Moral/ethical theory

• Utilitarian v. deontological ethics
• Rights v. duties
• Process v. consequentialist ethics
• Individual v. collective
• Universal v. professional/role-playing

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Theory and common practice

• The most common approach to ethics in media is
  based on a utilitarian/rational self-interest
  model
• Produce the highest ratio of pleasure to pain
• Market economics is thought to be most effective
  economic system for furthering this end
• The publics right to know

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Christians

• Christians argues for a duties-based ethic for
  media professionals
• Potter Box for application in particular cases
• How does Christians argue for his viewwhat does
  he see as the main problems behind
  utilitarian/individualistic ethics?
• What new problems are generated?
• What previous problems remain?

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Practical application

• In all events/actions there are multiple factors
  and applicable theories, implications, etc.
• Makes the computation of total good produced,
  etc. pretty much impossible
• In the absence of careful critical thought it is
  easy for practitioners to justify their actions
  based on at least some related moral theory or
  ethical principle
• Give the public what it wants

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Examples

• Objective news reporting
• Probably the most common ethic stated in your
  short responses
• Violence and sex in TV programming
• Universal service for the Internet

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• Figure 8.2 Equality as a media performance
  principle, together with related concepts

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Figure 8.3 Component criteria of objectivity
(Westerstahl, 1983)
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Figure 8.5 Two accountability models compared
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Figure 8.6 Lines of accountability between media
and external agents in relation to publication
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Potter Box