Media Ethics and Accountability Systems

by Bertrand,Claude-Jean

• ISBN13: 9781560004202
• ISBN10: 1560004207
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2000-06-30
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

Over the last few years, the O.J. Simpson case, then the Lewinsky-Clinton affair, and scores of minor scandals have dominated the U.S. press, often taking precedence over important domestic and international issues. Tabloidization of the news media, both here and abroad, proves that "the market" cannot insure media quality. For media to function well in a democracy, they must be free of both political and economic muzzling. Bertrand argues the only solution is to add self-regulation, or quality control, by professionals and public to market and state regulation. In this controversial volume, he defines a set of accountability systems -- democratic, efficient, and harmless -- to insure true freedom and quality of media.This brief, highly literate volume focuses on what is missing in the philosophical foundations of media ethics. Media Ethics and Accountability Systems zeroes in on the many nongovernmental methods of enforcing "quality control", and on the difficulty of getting the media microcosm to accept such accountability. Bertrand proposes rethinking existing "media accountability systems" and creation of new ones. He observes that existing systems are rooted in four basic approaches: training: education of citizens in media use incorporating ethics courses in journalistic education; evaluation: criticism (positive and negative) not only from politicians, consumerists, and intellectuals, but from media professionals themselves; monitoring: by independent, academic experts over extended periods of time; and feedback: giving ear to the various segments of media users and their needs and tastes, rather than sales and ratings.Media Ethics will be of particular interest toacademics in the fields of communication and journalism, as well as to the general reader with an interest in public issues and a civic concern for society.

Author Biography

Claude-Jean Bertrand is professor emeritus, Institut Francais de Presse Universite de Paris-2.

Table of Contents

Introduction	1	(11)
Part 1: Basic Data
Major Distinctions	11	(14)
Shackles on Press Freedom	11	(1)
Press Regimes	12	(2)
The Functions of Media	14	(2)
Types of Media	16	(1)
News and Entertainment	17	(1)
The Participants	17	(3)
Market, Law, and Ethics	20	(3)
Morality, Media Ethics, and Quality Control	23	(2)
Principles and Values	25	(16)
Nature and Effects of Media	25	(4)
Human Values	29	(2)
Freedom of Expression	31	(1)
The Right to Communicate	32	(3)
Media Values	35	(6)
Part 2: Media Ethics
Codes of Ethics: Types and Contents	41	(20)
Nature of the Code	41	(1)
Purpose of the Codes	42	(1)
Who Writes the Codes?	42	(2)
Brief History	44	(1)
Categories of Clauses	44	(12)
Codes for Entertainment Media	56	(3)
Interpretation and Enforcement of Codes	59	(2)
Omissions	61	(18)
To Know Oneself and to Master One's Field	61	(1)
Tradition, Conservation, Routine	62	(1)
Single-Track Thinking	63	(1)
Fear of Novelty	63	(1)
Acquisition and Selection	64	(7)
Processing and Presentation	71	(2)
The Welfare of Society	73	(1)
The Entertainment Sector	74	(3)
Problems with Advertising	77	(2)
A Selection of Codes	79	(28)
An International Declaration of the Rights and Obligations of Journalists	79	(2)
The Code of Practice of the British Press Complaints Commission	81	(5)
The Code of Professional Conduct of the Russian Journalist	86	(3)
Third World Code from India: Norms of Journalistic Conduct	89	(12)
Ouest-France Code for Reporting Crimes and Accidents	101	(6)
Part 3: Quality Control
The M*A*S Media Accountability Systems	107	(30)
The Participants	108	(3)
The Basic Means	111	(1)
Written and Broadcast Documents	112	(4)
Individuals and Groups	116	(5)
Processes	121	(4)
Two Special M*A*S	125	(4)
European M*A*S 1998	129	(4)
M*A*S in the French Press	133	(4)
Criticisms and Obstacles	137	(12)
Criticisms	137	(4)
The Obstacles	141	(8)
Conclusion	149	(8)
A New Environment	149	(1)
Quality Pays	150	(1)
The Autonomy of Professionals	151	(1)
Freedom and Quality	152	(1)
Ethics Not Enough	152	(1)
What Remains to be Done	153	(4)
Bibliography	157