Types of ethical theory in journalism pdf

A publication or broadcast outlet is only as strong as its audience, but reporters also have to remember that journalism plays a unique role in society that most other businesses do not and act accordingly. The code is intended not as a set of rules but as a resource for ethical decisionmaking. Professional ethics is a major division of applied ethics. Code of ethics for journalists centre for media freedom.

It is for her students in jnl2105, journalism ethics, at the national management college, yangon, myanmar. Ethical theories two types of ethical theories i teleological theories value based theories an act is morally right if it promotes the good or what has value. Broad in his 1930 book, five types of ethical theory. Five principles of ethical journalism ethical journalism network. Moral or ethical theory may consider the application of rules or the consequences of actions. Annotated list of ethical theories the following list is selective, including only what i view as the major theories. Proposed by aristotle, the theory that moral beliefs are primarily influenced by ones upbringing and class. Topic will usually be a chaptercase study in the book team is expected to go beyond what is in the book to provide additional information and analysis regarding the case study topic.

It is based on the notion that it is always moral to promote ones own good, but at times avoiding the personal interest. Ethical systems and theories are discussed to inform the debate on the importance of ethics and reasoning education. Each one of these theories looks at our ethical behavior in different ways. In moral contexts, it usually conveys the sense of what is just or fair.

The ethics of journalism reuters institute for the study of journalism. Since the mid1900s, many institutes, centers and journals have been established to study and enhance nursing ethics, business ethics, biomedical ethics, journalism ethics, and the ethics of government and corporate. Act independently improving and protecting journalism since. As with other ethical codes, there is a perennial concern that the standards of journalism are being ignored.

Ethical practice is as important in media as it is in any other walk of life. Morality is derives from mores or custom the rules of conduct of a group or society. Major questions include the nature of ethical language, the objectivity of ethical beliefs. Ethical theories in journalism andrew christopher takes on.

Research about the role of journalism in disaster has been done by disaster scholars from a number of areas of social science and by mass communications or journalism scholars. Theories of journalism oxford research encyclopedia of. Managing corporate citizenship and sustainability in the age of globalization, 2nd edn. The principle of beneficence guides the decision maker to do what is right and good. This has always been popular with colonial governments in africa, also true in south. Each moral theory holds a specific approach in how to handle lifes decisions. This workbook can be used alone to stimulate the moral imagination and provoke interesting. If a journalist, in his work, violates the principle of truthfulness. Entries in bold face have been especially influential. At first the word normative theory was pronounced in usa during the height of cold war with communism and soviet.

The four fundamental ethical principles are respect for autonomy, beneficence, justice and nonmaleficence. Ethical theory we may feel instinctively that a certain conclusion to a problem is fair or unfair, but. Founded in 1998 at the annenberg school of journalism, the online journalism. In an effort to attract as many readers, editors of daily. Analyze case study in terms of major foundational ethical theories and major journalism ethical theories. Journalism ethics in a digital environment archive ouverte hal. Deontolological ethics related to ethical formalism and moral. Though the theory has been applied to the study of assorted types of journalists employed in a variety.

A story may be wellwritten, legal and careerenhancing, yet also ethical. Journalism ethics is important to study, and this study focuses on infringements of journalism ethics during the general elections of 2015 in turkey. These are just a few of the ethical dilemmas you could encounter in your career in the field of journalism. Journalists serve as our eyes and ears, delivering information and opinions about current events, crime, politics, the economy and more. The ethical egoism is a teleological theory that posits, an action is good if it produces or is likely to produce results that maximize the persons selfinterest as defined by him, even at the expense of others. This socially important principle may be deviated from. Introduction to moral theories and principles that inform.

Four classic theories of ethics from the ethical journalist, a textbook by gene foreman. Todays evolving journalism market includes jobs in traditional print, radio and television platforms, along with opportunity in the new frontier of the internet. Recommendations for additions to the list are welcome. The spj code of ethics is voluntarily embraced by thousands of journalists, regardless of place or platform, and is widely used in newsrooms and classrooms as a guide for ethical behavior.

An ethical theory isnt necessarily a guide to moral decisionmaking in hard cases. The term has come to mean the collection and editing of news for presentation via one or more forms of media. Slide 3 forms of ethical theories for individuals, the ethical theory they employ for decision making guidance emphasizes aspects of an ethical dilemma important to them and leads them to the most ethically correct resolution according to the guidelines within the ethical theory itself. Act independently improving and protecting journalism. The five major ethical theories are deontology, utilitarianism, rights, casuist and virtue. A theory is a systematic body of thought, starting with very general principles or standards. View journalism ethics research papers on academia. Pdf due to the rapidly changing norms and constant developments in technology. In this terminology, action is more important than the consequences. Feb 15, 20 before analyzing specific ethical models, we must understand there are two types of ethics. The varieties of ethical theories, buffalo psychiatric center, march 27, 1979. Using democratic theory in journalism ethics 185 david s. The general social science literature on media and disaster rarely focuses on issues such as ethical concerns that dominate the.

Before analyzing specific ethical models, we must understand there are two types of ethics. Analysis of the language, concepts and methods of resoning in ethics. The core principles of ethical journalism set out below provide an excellent base for everyone who aspires to launch themselves into the public information sphere to show responsibility in how they use information. It addresses the meaning of ethical terms such as right, duty, obligation, justification, morality, responsibility. For example, the positive morality of our age approves the industry, temperance, honesty, and a regard for human life, while it condemns their opposites. For individuals, the ethical theory they employ for decision making guidance emphasizes aspects of an ethical dilemma important to them and leads them to the most ethically correct resolution according to the guidelines within the ethical theory itself. These favor a subjective perspective and emphasize immersive experiences over objective facts. Deontological ethics is commonly contrasted to consequentialism, virtue ethics, and pragmatic ethics. Deontological theory what one must do, based on duties and obligations teleological theory the purpose or consequences of the moral acts consequentialist theory this is one sub class of teleological moral theory. Theoretical ethics is the theoretical study of the main concepts and methods of ethics.

The journal is interdisciplinary and publishes both theoretical and empirical work and contributes to the social, economic, political, cultural and practical. Ethics and journalism journalistic ethics is the application of the professional standards of this industry. Allen and elizabeth blanks hindman i b tauris the ethics of journalism data standards ltd, frome, somerset 1512014 01 ethics of journalism prelims. Pdf ethics and eloquence in journalism researchgate. Four broad categories of ethical theory include deontology, utilitarianism, rights, and virtues. What is good for journalism is also good for others who use the internet or online. New journalism and gonzo journalism also reject some of the fundamental ethical traditions and will set aside the technical standards of journalistic prose in order to express themselves and reach a particular audience or market segment. Introduction the time we live in is marked by the widespread lack of ethics which has unfortunately infected the media, and the press.

This subset of media ethics is known as journalisms professional code of ethics and the canons of journalism. Ethical dimension of the print media is the subject of this study. There are four fundamental ethical principles and five major ethical theories. However, there is no necessary incompatibility between ethical values and other types of value. Generally ethical principles stem from ethical theories, and when defending a particular action, ethicists normally appeal to these principles, not the underlying theory. Generally, ethical concerns in the media can be grouped into a few broad categories. Normative theories were first proposed by fred siebert, theodore peterson and wilbur schramm in their book called four theories of the press. The varieties of ethical theories given at buffalo psychiatric center march 27, 1979 by richard t. This has always been popular with colonial governments in africa, also true in. Once a journalist articulates core principles, making good ethical choices requires leadership, critical thinking, asking questions, identifying numerous alternatives for the given situation, and ultimately selecting the alternative that best serves his or her journalistic purpose. An initial definition of ethics, then, is the analysis, evaluation. Instead, in the first instance, it attempts to organize and explain common ethical opinions.

Surprisingly wikipedia does not list this as an ethical theory even though, with the divine command theory, one could argue it is the basis for most moral decisions. Ethics and standards in practice as with other ethical codes, there is a perennial concern that the standards of journalism are being ignored. Ethics based journalism with objectivity, accountability, fairness and truth as the key elements and are vital for responsible media practice. Introduction to moral theories and principles that inform ethical decision making in healthcare introduction if a clinical ethics committee cec is to provide support on ethical issues relating to. Nonetheless, professionals in the field generally take great pride and responsibility in their roles, and organizations such as the associated press and the society of professional journalists offer thorough and useful guidelines for ethical conduct. Etymologically, ethics comes from the greek ethos meaning character which indicates a concern for virtuous people, reliable character and proper conduct. The field of ethics or moral philosophy involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior.

Ethical theory university of maryland, college park. The basic codes and canons commonly appear in statements by professional journalism associations and individual print, broadcast, and online news organizations. What one regards as a question of journalism ethics depends, ultimately, on ones conception of the primary functions of journalism and the principles that promote those aims. Ethical journalism strives to ensure the free exchange of information that is accurate, fair and thorough. Pdf journalists common sense, their everyday moral intuitions, offers a.

Third, the liberal theory of the press, during the nineteenth century. Journalism is the gathering, organizing, and distribution of news to include feature stories and commentary through the wide variety of print and nonprint media outlets. Major questions include the nature of ethical language, the objectivity of ethical beliefs, and the nature of ethical reasoning. This presentation by professor linda austin covers chapter 6. The theory of deontology states that when we have to make ethical decisions, our first thoughts are on our duties and obligations. Then look at advantages and disadvantages of developmental journalism for the media. Five principles of ethical journalism ethical journalism. Intraday print issues and hourly broadcasts in the twentieth century. But journalism has been newly problematized, destabilizing and restructuring both the units and levels of analysis in journalism theorizing. The society declares these four principles as the foundation of ethical journalism and encourages their use in its practice by all people in all media. Throughout history, a few moral theories have surfaced and have been analyzed for their strengths and weaknesses. By comparing the theoretical underpinnings of journalistic ethics with a variety of.

Ethics and credibility in online journalism introduction the etymology of journalism, from the latin diurnalis, suggests a daily account or record. Jun 10, 2015 this presentation by professor linda austin covers chapter 6. Journalism ethics is defined as a species of applied ethics that examines. Text for the annotations is taken largely from the relevant wikipedia articles or.

Normative theories four theories of the press introduction. Last year was one of challenging questions for media in the airing of graphic video. Bersak submitted to the department of comparative media studies, school of humanities, arts, and social sciences on august 11, 2006, in partial ful. Desjardins j 2006 business, ethics and the environment. Philosophers today usually divide ethical theories into three general subject areas. Since, according to the utilitarians, the business of morality is the maximi zation of the good, the other animals plainly fall within its. Maximization the view that the value of a state of affairs should be made as great as possible. Ethics involves what is right, impartial, fair, just, and responsible. Ethics four branches 3 metaethics the study of ethical terms, statements and judgements. These principles are filtered through the broader parameters of philosophy, itself, as well as acceptable social and political assumptions. Chapter 6 four classic theories of ethics, the ethical. Utilitarianism an ethical theory according to which the rightness and wrongness of acts depends entirely on facts about the maximization of overall wellbeing.

Since, according to the utilitarians, the business of morality is the maximi. Justice is one of the principles of morality, but not an exclusive moral principle. There are hundreds of codes of conduct, charters and statements made by media and professional groups outlining the principles. Types of ethical inquiry ethics is categorized according to three types of inquiry or study. In principle, public interest in reliable archives, which are as complete as. Ethical theory is applied to the philosophical examination, from a moral standpoint, of particular issues in private and public life that are matters of moral judgment. Journalistic ethics and standards comprise principles of ethics and good practice applicable to journalists. Icts, in general, and the internet, in particular, have created a fourth kind of. A moral theory often shapes a persons attitude toward others, belief system and life choices. In this lesson, we will discuss ethics of care theory and how it relies on our relationships with one another when making ethical decisions. Metaethics investigates where our ethical principles come from, and what they mean.

Ethical theories of different philosophies philosophy essay. At first the word normative theory was pronounced in usa during the height of cold war. The networked public sphere is constituted with new assemblages. Journalism ethics in a digital environment archive sic. A practical approach to journalism ethics usembassy.

The term deontological was first used to describe the current, specialised definition by c. Ethical challenges will not provide specific answers for the specific dilemmas that people face but will help readers bring to conscious awareness some understandings that help in thinking through ethical issues. Ethical theories in journalism andrew christopher takes. It is the application and evaluation of norms in various professions.