Privacy

Wed, 4 Oct 2006 15:02:13 -0700

As autonomous individuals we are all entitled to a certain amount of dignity, which should not be arbitrarily compromised for the sake of some slogan such as “the people’s right to know.” When invasions of privacy are inevitable, as when someone involuntarily becomes a subject of public interest, th

Morally Offensive Content

Wed, 4 Oct 2006 15:00:29 -0700

Although it may seem easy enough to determine what is morally offensive, the task is made difficult by the simple matter of taste. As the Romans said 2,000 years ago, “There can be no dispute over matters of taste.” Nonetheless, it is clear that there are many voices in this debate, not all in agree

Media Bias

Wed, 4 Oct 2006 15:06:59 -0700

Accusations of media bias come from both liberals and conservatives; however, the kind of bias they report is generally the result of a confluence of causes—some conscious, some unconscious. In order for us to make sense of the roots of media bias, we need to take a closer look at the assumptions th

Harm

Wed, 4 Oct 2006 15:03:23 -0700

As far back as Hippocrates we have been advised to avoid harming other human beings. However, to what extent, if any, is harm an allowable by-product of communication? Communication-caused harm has the potential to affect both individuals and multitudes. The nature of both democracy and capitalism i

Moral Claimants

Wed, 4 Oct 2006 15:55:20 -0700

We are linked to our stakeholders (constituents, publics, markets, audiences, whatever) by the consequences we have on them and by the consequences they have on us. These linkages are non-moral—that is, they have no moral implications under most circumstances. However, we can derive moral implicatio

Truth

Wed, 4 Oct 2006 15:10:33 -0700

The foundation of ethical journalism is sincerity. The sincere journalist will be honest alike in his purposes and in his writings. To the best of his capacity to ascertain truth, he will always be truthful. It is his attitude toward truth that distinguishes the ethical from the unethical writer. It

Ethical Relativism

Wed, 4 Oct 2006 15:52:11 -0700

Ethical relativism is the view that the moral conventions of a culture determine what it is right and wrong for the members of that culture to do. Seemingly conflicting moral judgment can then be equally correct when made from within different cultures.

The Media and Democracy

Wed, 4 Oct 2006 16:00:11 -0700

The United States was founded as an experiment in popular rule. Public opinion would be expressed periodically through elections and as a constant pressure on officials. Public opinion, in turn, would be cultivated by a free and vigorous press.

Introduction

Wed, 4 Oct 2006 16:38:59 -0700

The ultimate test of any principle, personal or professional, must be how the resulting actions based on those principles—affect other people: not just for the person acting (the moral agent), but for all those involved or affected by the action.

Consequential Theories

Wed, 4 Oct 2006 15:24:05 -0700

Utilitarianism has been the most influential normative ethical theory taking the teleological approach in modern times. Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832), a British ethical and legal philosopher, first proposed this theory in his Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation (1789). However toda

Virtue Ethics

Wed, 4 Oct 2006 15:15:35 -0700

Virtue ethics is currently one of three major approaches in normative ethics. It may, initially, be identified as the one that emphasizes the virtues, or moral character, in contrast to the approach which emphasizes duties or rules (deontology) or that which emphasizes the consequences of actions (c

Nonconsequential Theory

Wed, 4 Oct 2006 15:20:49 -0700

Deontological ethics (from the Greek Deon meaning obligation) or Deontology is an ethical theory holding that decisions should be made solely or primarily by considering one's duties and the rights of others. Deontology posits the existence of a priori moral obligations, further suggesting that peop

Social Contract

Wed, 4 Oct 2006 15:42:19 -0700

The first modern philosopher to articulate a detailed contract theory was Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679), who contended that people in a state of nature ceded their individual rights to create sovereignty, retained by the state, in return for their protection and a more functional society, so social cont