Ethics and Journalism

by Karen Sanders

• ISBN13: 9780761969679
• ISBN10: 0761969675
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-04-14
• Publisher: Sage Publications Ltd

Summary

What are ethics? Why does ethical journalism matter? How do ethics affect good journalism? Ethics and Journalism provides a comprehensive overview of the main approaches to ethical enquiry in Western journalism. It examines the ethical dilemmas faced by journalists in all areas of the media and sets our ways of achieving ethical journalism. Ethics and Journalism: - Explores such subjects as: private lives and the public interest, relations to sources and coverage of death, disease and destruction- Examines the role of regulation and self-regulation of the media industry- Discusses strategies of good journalism- Thoroughly examines the role of industry codes. Ethics and Journalism is informed by interviews with top journalists and editors and is written in a clear and accessible style. It includes an exhaustive bibliography as well as an excellent list of relevant web-sites. It will be essential reading for all journalism, media and politics students studying journalism andethics, as,well as for those who already work in the media and are interested in understanding ethical issues.

Author Biography

Karen Sanders is lecturer in Ethics and Political Communications at the University of Sheffield.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	x
List of tables	xi
Ethics and journalism?	1	(13)
The reporting bestiary: Watchdogs, vultures and gadflys	1	(2)
The hack's progress	3	(2)
Skills and knowledge	5	(3)
Why journalism matters	8	(1)
Journalism as story-telling	9	(1)
Comfortable bed-fellows	10	(4)
Thinking about ethics	14	(13)
What is ethics?	14	(1)
The Aristotelian tradition	15	(1)
Natural Law tradition	16	(1)
Humean sentiment	17	(1)
Kant and the categorical imperative	18	(1)
Bentham, Mill and Utilitarianism	19	(1)
Modern approaches	20	(1)
Objecting to ethics	21	(3)
Concluding thoughts	24	(3)
Virtue ethics	27	(13)
The temptations that journalists are heir to	27	(2)
Ethical approaches to journalism	29	(3)
Virtue ethics	32	(3)
The education of the emotions	35	(1)
Acting virtuously	35	(2)
Why act virtuously?	37	(1)
Key features of virtue ethics	37	(1)
Professional and occupational goals	38	(2)
Lying to tell a story	40	(13)
The value of truth	40	(1)
Truth and truthfulness	41	(5)
Lying and deception	46	(1)
Lying and the public interest	47	(6)
Faking it	53	(10)
Seeing and believing	54	(4)
Breaking trust	58	(1)
The mendacious medium	59	(1)
Restoring trust	60	(3)
Freedom's scope	63	(14)
Understanding freedom	63	(3)
Freedom of expression	66	(1)
Freedom of the press	67	(2)
Avoiding harm	69	(2)
Freedom, truth and goodness	71	(1)
Undermining human dignity	72	(2)
Being free and responsible	74	(3)
Private lives and public interest	77	(16)
What is privacy?	77	(3)
Protecting privacy	80	(2)
Death in Paris	82	(3)
Making the private public	85	(1)
Private lives and public figures	86	(4)
Public interest and public good	90	(3)
Death, disease and destruction	93	(14)
Suffering, compassion and pity	94	(1)
Coverage of suffering	95	(1)
Death and disaster	96	(4)
Domestic tragedy	100	(1)
Picture power	101	(2)
`Only connect'	103	(4)
Liaisons Dangereuses: reporters and sources	107	(13)
Reporters and sources	107	(2)
Trust and confidentiality	109	(5)
Types of sources	114	(6)
Conflicts of interest	120	(8)
Intentions and motives	121	(1)
Bribes, junkets and freebies	122	(2)
Financial journalism	124	(1)
Puffery and suppression	125	(1)
Personal views	126	(2)
The bottom line	128	(11)
Chasing the market	129	(1)
Concentrating ownership	130	(1)
The product's integrity	131	(4)
The reporter's integrity	135	(2)
`Ethical efficiency'	137	(2)
Self-regulation and codes of conduct	139	(10)
Promoting ethical behaviour	139	(4)
Keeping the critics at bay	143	(1)
The Press Complaints Commission and its evolving code of practice	144	(2)
Global self-regulation and codes of practice	146	(1)
Generating ethical debate	147	(2)
Blaming the harlots	149	(11)
The limits of the letter of the law	149	(1)
Responsible and accountable	150	(1)
Social responsibility	151	(2)
Irresponsible journalism	153	(2)
Promoting accountability	155	(5)
The good journalist	160	(11)
Good journalism and journalists	160	(3)
Twenty-first century ethical challenges	163	(4)
Encouraging good journalists	167	(1)
Why be good?	168	(3)
Appendix 1 The Press Complaints Commission and the code of practice	171	(5)
Bibliography	176	(10)
Index	186