Media Ethics 2008 Abstracts
Media Ethics Division
The Ethics of Lobbying: Testing an Ethical Framework for Advocacy in Public Relations • Kati Berg, Marquette University • This study evaluates the ethical criteria lobbyists consider in their professional activities using Ruth Edgett’s (2002) model for ethically-desirable public relations advocacy. Data were collected from self-administered surveys of 222 registered lobbyists in Oregon. A factor analysis reduced 18 ethical criteria to seven underlying factors describing lobbyists’ ethical approaches to their work. Results indicate that lobbyists consider the following factors in their day-to-day professional activities: situation, strategy, argument, procedure, nature of lobbying, priority, and accuracy.
Cultivating Critical Thinking in a Media Ethics Classroom • Piotr Bobkowski, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill • Media ethics instructors and researchers seem to agree that proper ethics education entails the development of critical thinking. But evidence that would support this notion is absent from journalism and mass communication literature. Addressing this deficiency, the present paper identifies the components of critical thinking instruction, evaluates the extent to which decision-making models presented in media ethics textbooks promote critical thinking, and identifies teaching strategies that further critical thinking in a media ethics course.
Documentary Tradition and the Ethics of Michael Moore’s Sicko • Sandra Borden, Western Michigan University • Michael Moore’s documentary, Sicko, is evaluated using virtue theory, which calls our attention to the way traditions inspire us to perform our various roles with moral integrity. Focusing on his use of voice, truth, argument, humor and irony, I will argue that Moore’s performance as a documentary filmmaker generally exhibits coherence, continuity and creativity within the documentary tradition. On the other hand, his performance is not entirely consistent with the moral commitments of documentary filmmakers.
The Moral Sensitivity and Character of Public Relations Students: A Preliminary Study • Mathew Cabot, San José State University • Public relations practitioners and academics have been exploring ethics models, revising ethics codes, holding ethics workshops, and building ethics curricula – all in an attempt to address the ethical lapses that continue to occur in the profession. Little of this activity, however, has included research dealing with the moral development of public relations practitioners and its connection to ethics theories, codes, and instruction.
Ethics of Antismoking PSAs • I-Huei Cheng, University of Alabama; Seow Ting Lee; Jinae Kang, University of Alabama • This study examines the ethical dimensions of public health communication, with a focus on antismoking public service announcements (PSAs). The content analysis of 826 television antismoking ads from the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Media Campaign Resource Center is an empirical testing of Baker and Martinson’s (2001) TARES Test by directly examining the content of tobacco control ads for elements of Truthfulness, Authenticity, Respect, Equity, and Social Responsibility.
Mortality Morality: Effect of Death Thoughts on Journalism Students’ Attitudes Toward Relativism, Idealism, and Ethics • David Cuillier, University of Arizona • This study, based on terror management theory, examines how the thought of death affects views toward relativism, idealism, and unethical behavior. College journalism students (N = 101) participated in an experiment where half were primed to think about death and the other half, the control group, thought about dental pain, and then all of them completed a questionnaire.
Constructing a “Moral Minefield”: News Media Framing of the Ethical Debate in Stem Cell Research • Nicole Smith Dahmen, Manship School of Mass Communication, LSU • The ethical considerations surrounding stem cell research are fueling increasing debate in science, politics, and religion. And this debate has largely been played out in the news media (Nisbet, 2005). This research provides in-depth understanding of how the media have framed the ethical aspects of the stem cell debate. In the analysis of the ethical frames, the theme of the consequences of impeding scientific progress received considerably less coverage than did the religious theme.
There is No Right Answer: What Does Media Ethics Mean to Journalism Students? • Allyson DeVito, University of Tennessee • This study examines the meanings of ethics to journalism students. Although many scholars have argued the importance of teaching media ethics and how best to teach it, there have been few research attempts to examine how journalism students actually understand ethics. After analyzing twelve qualitative interviews, the findings show that students with more professional experience have different meanings of ethics than those with limited experiences outside the classroom, which has implications for teaching media ethics.
Fair Comment? The Ethics of Anonymous Postings on News Web Sites • Kyle Heim, University of Missouri • Many news Web sites now permit readers to post comments on blogs and news stories or to share their thoughts in message forums. Often, readers may do so without having to give their names. Defenders of anonymity say it fosters more candid discussion, but critics charge that it damages trust and encourages incivility. This paper examines the debate and draws on ethical theories to advocate a middle ground of pseudonymity coupled with full-name registration.
The Effectiveness of Newspaper Codes of Ethics • Emily Housley, Texas Christian University • In an industry where public perception appears at an all-time low, it is vital to evaluate the effectiveness of newspaper codes of ethics. Studies have evaluated the role of codes of ethics in the ethical decision-making process, but none have looked at the overall effectiveness of having a code. This study is a quantitative evaluation of one newspaper’s code of ethics, in relation to individuals’ ethical differences, code applicability and code agreement.
The Ethics of Punishing Unethical Expression: Journalism, Imus, and First Amendment Values • Robert L. Kerr, University of Oklahoma • This paper considers the ethics of punishing unethical words — words that not only offend but are argued to cause more harm than simple offense. In this case, the particular words were uttered by radio and television talkshow host Don Imus in 2007. Even though there were no issues implicating First Amendment law in the Imus controversy, strictly speaking, a closer analysis indicates that the relationship between ethical principles and freedom of expression is more symbiotic.
Ethics Research in the New Millennium: A Survey of the Journal of Mass Media Ethics from 2000-2007 • Carol Madere, Southeastern Louisiana University • This article summarizes research published in the Journal of Mass Media Ethics and seeks to determine the most common topic, method of research and theories used. It also evaluates the direction of ethics research against Starck’s prescription for future ethics research after his survey of the journal from 1990-1999. Finally, it proposes future directions for ethics research in the new millennium.
Tragedies of the Broadcast Commons: Consumer Perspectives on the Ethics of Product Placement and Video News Releases • Jay Newell, Iowa State University; Jeffrey Blevins, Iowa State University • Adapting Hardin’s (1968) metaphorical use of “commons” to the domain of broadcasting, we surveyed the attitudes of individuals towards two phenomena (product placement and video news releases), and three constructs (cynicism directed towards government, cynicism directed towards marketers, and the individual’s assessment of their marketing literacy). Respondents were highly cynical about government regulation of advertising and nearly as cynical of the ability of marketer’s to self-regulate.
A Dangerous Deficiency: Why Journalists Have An Ethical Responsibility to Understand the Essentials of Ecology • Bryan H. Nichols, USF • The world is becoming more populated and urbanized, disconnecting people from the natural support systems that maintain their quality of life. This disconnect results in unsustainable policy decisions and lifestyle choices, a situation which journalists are in an ideal position to address. Unfortunately, most journalists are as ecologically illiterate as the public. This paper uses an ethical analysis to argue that all journalists have a responsibility to learn basic ecological principals.
That’s a Wrap (-around!): Blurring the Boundaries of Entertainment and Ads • Kathleen O’Toole, Penn State University • The Children’s Television Act of 1990 restricted the amount of advertising carried on children’s programming and required program separators to distinguish between commercial and non-commercial programming. The law took a “golden mean” approach that balanced the economic imperatives of the television industry with the best interests of young viewers. This paper examines a relatively new genre of programming that may represent an attempt to subvert the spirit and the letter of the law.
“Good Story”—But How Good? Notes Toward a Rhetoric of Journalism • Ivor Shapiro, Ryerson University • Attempts to define how journalists assess their work have consisted of survey research on quality “criteria” and qualitative proposals of “elements” or “principles.” This paper proposes an assessment framework based on the study of rhetoric and organized within five “faculties” (discovery, examination, interpretation, style and presentation). Five standards arise (quality journalism is independent, accurate, open to appraisal, edited and uncensored) plus five criteria of excellence (the best journalism is ambitious, undaunted, contextual, engaging and original).
Academic and Professional Dishonesty: Student View of Cheating in the Classroom and On the Job • Linda Shipley, University of Nebraska-Lincoln • Early studies of academic dishonesty discovered that a large percentage of students admitted they cheated. Since then, additional studies have found even higher numbers of students who report that they cheat, and those students indicate that stress related to getting good grades is a driving factor. Recently, there have been several incidents of journalists who were caught cheating. Could academic and professional dishonesty be connected? This study looks at several factors that might contribute to both.
“Comment Is Free, But Facts Are Sacred”: User-generated content and ethical constructs at the Guardian • Jane B. Singer, University of Central Lancashire/University of Iowa; Ian Ashman, University of Central Lancashire • This case study examines how journalists at Britain’s Guardian newspaper and affiliated website are assessing and incorporating user-generated content in their perceptions and practices. It uses a framework of existentialism to highlight issues of particular interest here, including authenticity and the potentially conflicting ethical constructs of autonomy and responsibility. This study represents one of the first empirical approaches to understanding how journalists are negotiating both personal and social ethics within a digital network.
Video News Release Policies and Usage at Television Stations: Deontological Implications for the Newsroom • Burton St. John, Old Dominion University; Ed Lordan, West Chester University of Pennsylvania • In the last decade, television news stations have received an increasing number of video news releases (VNRs) from PR practitioners who are representing a variety of clients, including government agencies, non-profit organizations and for-profit companies. Despite the increased public profile of the VNR, no research has been conducted on newsroom selection procedures regarding VNRs — specifically, how newsroom VNR policies relate to broadcast journalists’ deontological obligations to multiple audiences.
Twice Victimized: Lessons from the Media Mob at Virginia Tech • Kim Walsh-Childers, University of Florida; Norman Lewis, University of Florida; Jeff Neely, University of Florida • In-depth interviews with survivors, family members and others associated with the April 2007 Virginia Tech shootings revealed that some journalists worsened the trauma through intrusive, insensitive behavior. While some displayed compassion, other journalists knocked on doors at 6 a.m., attempted to sneak hidden cameras into hospital rooms, interrupted grieving students and grabbed a student’s wounded arm.
A Comparison of the Moral Development of Advertising and Journalism Students • Stephanie Yamkovenko, Louisiana State University • This study employed the Defining Issues Test (DIT) to complete the analysis and comparison of the moral development of mass communication students, specifically those who major in advertising and journalism. The DIT is an instrument based on Kohlberg’s moral development theory and is a device for assessing the extent to which a person has developed his or her moral schemas.
How Much Do They Care about Advertising Ethics? -A Content Analysis of Plastic Surgeons’ Websites • Hyunjae (Jay) Yu, Louisiana State University; Tae Hyun Baek, University of Georgia; Yongick Jeong, Louisiana State University; Ilwoo Ju, University of Georgia • The present study focuses on the websites of plastic surgeons who are practicing in the ten major cities of the U.S. Websites are, along with magazine ads, the most popular advertising tool for American plastic surgeons who are now in serious competition among themselves. Under this extremely competitive situation, it is possible that the advertising content could be exaggerating or deceptive to get patients’ attention, as several researchers have indicated.
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