2. PERSPECTIVES ON
JOURNALISM ETHICS
JRNL 6202 SUMMER II 2015
• Instructor: Bill Mitchell
• Bmitch (at) gmail dot com
• 727-641-9407
• 6 July 2015 | Northeastern Univ.
3. WHAT WE’LL DO TONIGHT
• Introductory exercise: Who you are, what you think
• Intro to ethics in a half dozen slides
• 10 minute break (about about 7:30 p.m.)
• Discussion of syllabus, assignments, etc.
• Time to get started on your blogs
4. INTROS
(ABOUT FIVE MINUTES EACH)
4
• Who you are
• Why journalism in particular or media in general
• How you make ethical decisions
• try to sum it up in one word, and then elaborate
• Your sense of the state of media ethics
• one word followed by elaboration
• What you’d like to get out of this course
• same routine as above
5. THE NEXT HOUR OR SO:
5
• how you make good ethical decisions
• your assessment of the current state of media ethics
• what you’d like to take away from this course
• 5 minutes thinking & writing
• 5 minutes with a partner summarizing what you’ve come up with
• 5 minutes with listening to partner, probing their summaries
• 5 minutes introducing yourself to the full group and addressing the
three questions.
9. TWO VIEWS OF ETHICS
1. The philosophical study of the moral value of
human conduct, and of the rules and principles
that ought to govern it
2. The practical process we follow to conduct
ourselves according to the moral guidelines we’ve
told our audiences and our colleagues that we’ll
live up to
10. WHERE I’M COMING FROM
• Ethics is NOT just about common sense
• Journalism ethics is all about Green Light Ethics as
opposed to Red Light Ethics
• Finding a “third option” is often critical to a good ethical
decision
• Don’t kid yourself: As a journalist you WILL do some
harm.
11. FOUR THEORIES OF ETHICS
• Rule-based (Immanuel Kant, 18th century German)
• Deontology (deon=duty)
• Ends-based (Benthem, Mill, 17th, 18th century British)
• Teleology (teleo=ends)
• Golden Rule (various world religions)
• Do unto others…
• Golden Mean (Aristotle, 384-322, BCE)
• Golden Rule applied to multiple stakeholders
13. AN ALTERNATIVE LIST FROM
MCBRIDE & ROSENSTIEL
• Truth
• Transparency
• Community
14. AN ETHICS PROCESS
(REVISE AS YOU SEE FIT)
1. Agree on guiding principles
2. Ask good questions
3. Get clear about identity of stakeholders
4. Start with your gut but don’t stop there
5. Next consider rules, laws, codes
6. Then reflect on how your principles are in tension
7. Come up with at least three alternatives
8. Explain your selection of one alternative, in writing, to
your colleagues and your audiences
15. BOB STEELE’S TEN QUESTIONS
1. What do I know? What do I need to know?
2. What is my journalistic purpose?
3. What are my ethical concerns?
4. What organizational policies and professional guidelines
should I consider?
5. How can I include other people, with different
perspectives and diverse ideas, in the decision-making?
16. STEELE’S TEN QUESTIONS, CONTINUED
6. Who are the stakeholders — those affected by my
decision? What are their motivations? Which are legitimate?
7. What if the roles were reversed? How would I feel if I
were in the shoes of one of the stakeholders?
8. What are the possible consequences of my actions?
Short term? Long term?
9. What are my alternatives to maximize my truth-telling
responsibility and minimize harm?
10. Can I justify my thinking and decision to colleagues,
stakeholders & public?
17. IF TIME, WORK A CASE
• The Bishop and the rookie reporter
19. COURSE RESOURCES
• Syllabus: bit.ly/SummerEthics
• Main Class Blog: summerethics.wordpress.com
• Book: The Ethical Journalist, by Gene Foreman
• Blackboard: Mostly for grades, will open later
20. GRADES
• Participation: 0-5 points per class (25 total)
• Weekly posts, comments, presentations: 0-5 (25 total)
• Operation Correct That Error ( 5 total)
• Blog (10 total)
• Personal Ethics Guidelines (15 total)
• Final paper (20 total)
• Extra credit ( 8 total)
21. ASSIGNMENT: WEEKLY POST
• Weekly blog posts due Sundays at 7 a.m.
• Analyzes relevant ethical principles at stake in a case
• Explores various alternatives
• Might (or not) include links to existing media criticism
• Might (or not) include conversation or email w/ a
stakeholder, e.g. reporter, subject of coverage, etc.
• Prep to present your case orally (I’ll pick 2 each week)
22. ASSIGNMENT: WEEKLY COMMENT
• Comment on at least one of your classmate’s posts
• Due by 3 p.m. Mondays
• See if you can add to the conversation about the issue
• Less important whether you agree or disagree
• More important that you suggest a fresh look
23. ASSIGNMENT: CORRECTION
• Operation Correct That Error, first steps by 7 a.m. July 17
• Find an error, alert the publisher, get it fixed
• Describe your process with a blog post
• Particulars of what you did
• Lessons learned about accuracy & the phenomenon
of corrections in the digital era
25. ASSIGNMENT:
PERSONAL ETHICS GUIDELINES
• Personal ethics guidelines, first draft due 7 a.m. July 24
• Should include:
• Principles you’ll uphold
• Process you’ll follow in ethical-decision making
• Evidence of research you’ve done on others’
guidelines in the course of developing your own
26. ASSIGNMENT: FINAL PAPER
• Make journalism better! (snapshot due 7 a.m., July 31)
• Propose a reform (or even just renewed emphasis) in an
area of media ethics you believe needs it
• Might involve anonymous sources, plagiarism,
fabrication, conflict of interest, etc. – or something much
less visible
• Document your argument with examples and include at
least a couple of interviews
• Make specific recommendations
27. YOUR BLOG
• I suggest WordPress.com (free, easy) but up to you
• Send me the url of your blog by 7 a.m. July 10
• I’ll link to it from the main class blog so it will be
easy for everyone to find
• You decide what relevant resources to include as
sidebars, menus, etc.
28. UPCOMING ASSIGNMENTS
• 7 a.m. Friday July 10: Create your blog and email the
url to me
• 7 a.m. Sunday July 12: Weekly post published on your
blog
• 3 p.m. Monday July 13: Comment posted to a
classmate’s blog
• 5:30 p.m. Monday July 13: Read Chapters 1-6 in The
Ethical Journalist (I recommend reading Chapter 6 first)
