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7.ethics.2020
This document discusses communication law and ethics. It covers several topics: historical traditions in ethics like virtue ethics, consequence ethics, and duty ethics; religious traditions that inform ethics like Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, and Islam; moral principles such as autonomy, nonmaleficence, beneficence, justice, and veracity; professional codes of ethics for fields like journalism, advertising, and public relations; and concepts of social responsibility and media like cultivation theory and peace journalism. The goal is to provide an overview of the key considerations and approaches to communication ethics.
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7.ethics.2020
- 1. Communication Law &Ethics RU COMS 400 Unit 7 Prof. Bill Kovarik, PhD wkovarik@radford.edu Class web site: revolutionsincommunication.com/law
- 2. Media ethics 1. Historicaltraditions 2. Religious traditions 3. Moral principles 4. Professional codes of ethics 5. Media & social responsibility
- 3. Ethics & the Media Weall need a reasoned approach that helps us balance conflicting demands and loyalties The balance includes ethical traditions (duty, virtue, justice and consequence ethics) as well as personal and religious
- 4. Ethics & the Media Ethicsconcerns what is right, equitable, fair, just, dutiful and/or responsible. Ethics involves the exercise of individual judgement.
- 5. Why study ethics? Practical reasons, whether or not you believe in universal laws of right and wrong. Be preparee for ethical challenges in your job or risk getting fired. Empathy is at the foundation of ethics and good journalism. While the ability to empathize varies from person to person, a lack of empathy is a symptom of mental illness.
- 6. 1 Historical traditions Virtue ethics / Plato ◦ Greek traditions Consequence ethics / John Stuart Mill ◦ Utilitarianism – greatest good for greatest number Duty ethics / Immanuel Kant ◦ Categorical imperative Justice ethics / John Rawls Bioethics / Aldo Leopold
- 7. Virtue ethics /Greek traditions ◦ Plato – seeking the ideal life Allegory of the cave ◦ Aristotle - Nichomachean Ethics Reason creates happiness (human telos) & gives us moral and intellectual virtues. Moral virtues include moderation, courage and magnanimity; the intellectual virtues include art, science and philosophical wisdom. ◦ Epicurian The Golden Mean -- seek moderation, good is usually found between the extremes
- 8. Duty ethics (Deontological) Base ethical decisions on rules Enlightenment philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) We should do what would be right if everyone did it. ◦ categorical imperative. Its not the consequences that make and action right or wrong, but whether they conform to a greater good.
- 9. Duty ethics (Deontological) Categorical imperative: ◦ Act only according to a rule that you would also want to become a universal law. ◦ Act in such a way that you always treat humanity, whether in your own person or in the person of any other, never simply as a means, but always at the same time as an end. ◦ Act as though you were, through your maxims, a law-making member of a kingdom of ends.
- 10. Utilitarianism – consequence ethics Greatest good for the greatest number of people. The value of an action is determined by its outcome. Problems – doesn’t involve personal virtue, justice or duty Also, the greatest good for the majority might be very bad for a minority.
- 11. Justice Ethics /John Rawls Alternative to utilitarian and duty ethics. Social choices should be made in non- self serving way from an unbiased original position or “veil of ignorance.” Example: Those who cut the pie are the last to chose their portion Distributive justice (equitable benefits / costs) versus procedural justice (maintaining rules & standards)
- 12. Bioethics / AldoLeopold “Sand County Almanac” 1946 described human responsibility to the natural world, broadening of the scope of virtue, consequence, justice and duty ethics from the purely human . Also reaction to unethical medical treatment of humans (Tuskegee etc) leading to Belmont report 1979 and other ethical standards for research
- 13. Bioethics / AldoLeopold Belmont Report 1979 – IRBs Ethical Principles and Guidelines for the Protection of Human Subjects of Research Three core principles -- respect for persons, beneficence, and justice. Primary areas of application -- informed consent, assessment of risks and benefits, and selection of subjects. Q: Should journalists be subject to
- 14. 2 Religious traditions Buddhism– 520 million Christian – 2.24 billion ◦ Judaism – 17 million Hinduism – 1.15 billion Islam -- 1.8 billion
- 15. Buddhism Gautama Buddha(480 – 400 BCE) Why do we suffer? ◦ We cling to impermanent things, keeping us in samsara, endless cycle of death and rebirth The way to liberation, to nirvana is … The eightfold path: Right views, Right aspirations, Right speech, Right conduct, Right livelihood, Right effort, Right mindfulness, and Right meditational attainment.
- 16. Buddhism Ethics --Five Precepts (not commandments) ◦ Abstain from killing (Ahimsa); ◦ Abstain from stealing; ◦ Abstain from sensual (including sexual) misconduct; ◦ Abstain from lying; ◦ Abstain from intoxicants.
- 17. Christianity Based onteachings of Jesus Christ Sacrifice & Redemption - God’s love Ten Commandments (also Judaism) ◦ No other gods, no graven images, name of God not taken in vain, holy Sabbath, honor father and mother, don’t kill, don’t commit adultery, don’t steal, don’t lie, don’t covet. Golden Rule - Love your neighbor ◦ Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
- 18. Ancient religionof India and SE Asia Vedas, Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita Sanātana Dharma -- ethical duties ◦ Honesty, refraining from injuring living beings, purity, goodwill, mercy, patience, forbearance, self-restraint, generosity, and asceticism. Karma – moral law of cause & effect Liberation from sorrow and suffering through virtue is life’s goal Hinduism
- 19. Based onteachings of Prophet Muhammad ◦ (570 – 632 CE ) Quran – Major religious text Surrender to the will of God Mercy (rahmat) & forgiveness Depictions of people, & especially Muhammad and God, forbidden Six articles of faith: Belief in: Allah, Angels, Holy Books (Quran), Prophets, Day of Judgement, predestination Islam
- 21. 3 Moral principles Autonomy / people make their own choices without manipulation Nonmaleficence / do no harm Benificence / help people Justice / fairness Fidelity / honor Veracity / truthfulness
- 22. 3 Principles (cont) Communitarianor Libertarian ? Egalitarian Elitist Altrusitic Individualistic Social Cons. Social Liberal Economic Lib. Economic Cons.
- 23. 4 Professional Ethics What you should do (Prescriptive) What you shouldn’t do (Proscriptive) Important in career development Loyalty is to professional standards, not to current boss or job Need to keep long term issues in mind when dealing with ethical problems
- 24. 4 Pro Ethics- Journalism Society of Professional Journalists SPJ Prescriptive: Seek the truth and report it; Minimize harm; Act independently; Be accountable. Proscriptive: Do not plagiarize; Do not lie; Do not hurt people; Do not accept gifts or favors; Dont be afraid of criticism; Don’t be afraid to discuss and defend your work
- 25. Reuben M. Greenberg “Themore you (journalists) do your job, the less I have to do mine.” -- Chief of Police, Charleston SC 1982 – 2005 On a hot morning in Charleston SC, Chief Reuben Greenberg worried that a daily newspaper reporter would follow orders from his editors not to write about a civil rights demonstration taking place at city hall. He reminded the reporter that ethical journalism meant acting independently and following one’s conscience rather than blindly following orders. The reporter wrote the article. It infuriated editors at the Charleston Post-Courier, who did not publish it. The article appeared a day later in the New York Times.
- 26. 4 Pro Ethics- Ad, PR PRSA, Advertising Federation Prescriptive: Tell the truth, substantiate all claims, follow the law and regulations (FTC, FDA, etc) Proscriptive: Don't lie, don't cheat people, don't offend good taste or public decency.
- 27. 4 Pro Ethics– Digital Prod. Radio TV News Directors Assn. National Press Photographers Assn. Other media societies and organizations
- 28. 4 Other EthicsCodes Rotary International Four Way Test ◦ 1. Is it the truth? ◦ 2. Is it fair to all concerned? ◦ 3. Will it build goodwill and better friendships? 4. Will it be beneficial to all concerned?
- 29. Examples of ethicaldilemmas Journalists -- Protecting sources, ID victims, privacy vs news, conflicts of interest, demands of accuracy Advertising & PR – Cultural differences (Nestle infant formula), PETA (’holocaust on your plate), misleading ads Media production – privacy, graphic images,
- 30.
- 32. Manka Dhingr How doyou handle unethical fake ads like this one?
- 33. Anti- consumerist pranksters Lampooning government and business withfake press conferences and videos
- 35.
- 36. OJ Simpson –1994 magazine covers
- 37. Does this givethe wrong impression?
- 38. Professional ethics –VisComm
- 39. Professional ethics ABOVE: Ayoung man walks through chest deep flood water after looting a grocery store in New Orleans on Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2005. Flood waters continue to rise in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina did extensive damage when it made landfall on Monday. (AP Photo) LEFT: Two residents wade through chest-deep water after finding bread and soda from a local grocery store after Hurricane Katrina came through the area in New Orleans, Louisiana (AFP / Getty).
- 40. Parody of JoeCame Was it legal? Ethical? Did RJ Reynolds approve? Does it matter?
- 41. 5 Social Responsibility &media ◦ SPJ Code of Ethics ◦ AAF Code of Ethics ◦ Hutchins Commission ◦ Cultivation Theory ◦ Nuremburg principles ◦ MacBride Commission (UN)
- 42. SPJ code ofethics Society of Professional Journalists Seek the truth Act independently Be accountable and transparent. Admit mistakes. Minimize harm and have compassion for those who may be affected adversely by news coverage.
- 43. AAF code ofethics American Advertising Federation Distinguish ads from news & editorials Substantiate claims Be fair; consider the audience Protect privacy Follow regulations Full disclosure of financial context, business ownership
- 44. Hutchins Commission 1948 Thepress should: Give a truthful, comprehensive, and intelligent account of the day’s events in a context which gives them meaning; Provide a forum for the exchange of comment and criticism; Project a representative picture of the constituent groups in the society; Promote the presentation and clarification of the goals and values of the society; and Provide full access to the day’s intelligence.
- 45. Cultivation Theory GeorgeGerbner & others Media environment / psych effects ◦ “Mean world” syndrome; News about violence leads viewers to believe their world is more dangerous than it is. ◦ Body image: Media depictions of an imaginary ideal tend to cheapen the real
- 46.
- 47. Hutchins Commission 1947 The media should: provide a truthful, comprehensive and intelligent account of the day's events in a context which gives them meaning. serve as a forum for the exchange of comment and criticism. project a representative picture of the constituent groups in the society. present and clarify the goals and values of the society. provide full access to the day's intelligence
- 48. Nuremburg Principles 1946 Principle VII -- “Complicity in the commission of a crime against peace, a war crime, or a crime against humanity … is a crime under international law.” ◦ Julius Streicher, editor of Der Sturmer, a Nazi newspaper that forcefully advocated extermination of Jews, was convicted of crimes against humanity and executed at Nuremberg in 1946.
- 51. Nuremburg judgement (cont.) ◦ Othersin German Nazi media were imprisoned as war criminals, for example: Leni Rheifenstahl, whose 1936 Triumph of the Will was a celebration of the Nazis (3 years) Fritz Hipper, who made The Eternal Jew in 1939 for the Nazis (2 years)
- 52.
- 53. Propaganda and Conflict: Evidencefrom the Rwandan Genocide * (by David Yanagizawa-Drott) Broadcasts increased militia violence not only directly by influencing behavior in villages with radio reception but also indirectly by increasing participation in neighboring villages. In fact, spillovers are estimated to have caused more militia violence than the direct effects. Thus, the article provides evidence that mass media can affect participation in violence directly due to exposure and indirectly due to social interactions.
- 54. Serb propaganda that led to ethnic cleansingof Croatians and Bosnians in 1990s
- 55. MacBride Commission, 1980 ManyVoices, One World --- UNESCO The unequal flow of communication was making developing nations dependent on the cultural products of the industrial West. Centuries-old customs, time-honored cultural practices and simple life styles were being threatened. The one-way flow of information from industrial nations to developing nations was also a problem
- 56. Beginning to take adifferent view of war reporting -- Emphasis on helping peace to break out.
- 57. What is peacejournalism? When editors and reporters make choices that prompt and enable readers and editors to conside and enable non-violent responses to conflict War journalism - typically 2 parties, one winner Peace journalism – many parties, focus on negotiations, focus on civilians Peace Journalism is factual reporting, not advocacy But in situations of conflict, there are always people who are working for peace, it is the work o those people that can be reported as a way to make that material accessible to readers and audiences…
- 59. Ethical reasoning “Ethicalreasoning is the ability to identify, assess, and develop ethical arguments from a variety of ethical positions.” Consider the ethical problem Identify stakeholders: Who is affected? Apply ethical tests ◦ Consider 5 major ethical traditions ◦ Consider religious / moral positions
- 60. Ethical reasoning exercises Describe the problem and context Identify stakeholders and their goals Identify the relevant professional, traditional and moral codes Consider a variety of possible decisions Apply balancing tests to determine which ethical code best guides the decision Defend your decision
- 61. Examples of ethicaldilemmas Journalists -- Protecting sources, identification of private people, conflicts of interest Advertising & PR – Cultural differences, misleading or demeaning advertising Media production – Invasions of privacy, graphic images, copyright issues
- 62.
Editor's Notes
- #12 When you see well-to-do financial-industry types … with a glint of discomfort and even fear in their eyes — wondering if this thing may just spin out of control — you know that Occupy Wall Street is having a visceral impact. But if you want a philosophy that explains why the matter of the 99 percent and the 1 percent has deservedly struck such a nerve, you need to go back to John Rawls.
- #13 This was not entirely new. For instance, in Metaphysics of Morals, Kant said that people have a duty to avoid cruelty to animals. But Kant said this was because cruelty deadens the feeling of compassion in people, and not because non-rational beings have moral worth. That would have been a typical idea of the 1700s (and acceptable as part of ethical pragmatism). Today, with a bioethical lens, we see animals as having their own intrinsic moral worth independent of people. Another source of bioethics was the reaction to unethical human medical experiments. These included Nazi concentration camp experiments, and in the US, the deadly Tuskegee experiment and San Francisco Serratia experiment, along with psychologically damaging experiments like the Stanford Prison Experiment and the Milgram experiment, These experiments were conducted without consent of the participants. One reaction was the establishment of human subjects review committees in universities and scientific research institutions in the US and worldwide. Also, the National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research was established in 1974 to identify the basic ethical principles that should underlie the conduct of research. The Belmont Report (1979), partly an outgrowth of the commission, listed principles such as autonomy, beneficence and justice. Later, non-maleficence, human dignity and the sanctity of life were added to this list of cardinal values.
- #14 This was not entirely new. For instance, in Metaphysics of Morals, Kant said that people have a duty to avoid cruelty to animals. But Kant said this was because cruelty deadens the feeling of compassion in people, and not because non-rational beings have moral worth. That would have been a typical idea of the 1700s (and acceptable as part of ethical pragmatism). Today, with a bioethical lens, we see animals as having their own intrinsic moral worth independent of people. Another source of bioethics was the reaction to unethical human medical experiments. These included Nazi concentration camp experiments, and in the US, the deadly Tuskegee experiment and San Francisco Serratia experiment, along with psychologically damaging experiments like the Stanford Prison Experiment and the Milgram experiment, These experiments were conducted without consent of the participants. One reaction was the establishment of human subjects review committees in universities and scientific research institutions in the US and worldwide. Also, the National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research was established in 1974 to identify the basic ethical principles that should underlie the conduct of research. The Belmont Report (1979), partly an outgrowth of the commission, listed principles such as autonomy, beneficence and justice. Later, non-maleficence, human dignity and the sanctity of life were added to this list of cardinal values.
- #18 Monotheistic religion
- #19 Pantheistic
- #20 Monotheistic
- #23 Ethical orientation or ultimate loyalties / These are often in conflict when in fact both are (or can be) a part of an ethical approach to life
- #26 Several decades ago, at a demonstration over a civil rights issue took place in downtown Charleston, SC. police chief Reubin Greenberg told a reporter: “The more you do your job, the less I have to do mine.” Greenberg knew that editors from the notoriously racist daily newspaper, the Charleston Post-Courier, sent the reporter with orders not to write about what the speakers had to say. The reporter was ordered only to write about violence if any took place. Chief Greenberg knew that if the voices of dissent were not heard, anger would build up into violent confrontations. It had happened many times before. The chief was right. Ethical journalism means seeking and publishing the truth, and acting independently – even if it contradicts orders by editors or others. The reporter wrote the article. It was not published. in the Post Courier, but it was published the next day in the New York Times, which had been routinely carrying articles written by news reporters in the South but “spiked” by their editors. by
- #30 https://www.spj.org/ethicscasestudies.asp
- #31 Westchester County Journal published the results of an FOIA for registered concealed – carry gun permits in Dec 2012. Conservatives were outraged, called the newspaper feature a “violation of privacy,” a “scarlet letter,” and “intimidation.” The newspaper stopped publishing the individual permit information, noting that it was legal but agreeing that people didn’t expect to have that information released.
- #32 While criminal information is and should be public, it now has no shelf life. Some people argue for a right to be forgotten. Some ”mug shot publications” charge, or work with those who charge, to have criminal information taken down from the web.
- #33 https://youtu.be/TjjZmn-7IAk. Manka Dhingra is a moderate who ran for in the Washington state legislature. Her Republican opponents tried to portray her supporters as air-head hippy weirdos. That’s Vladimir Lenin behind a supporter. Note the bloody hands on the statue. Question: What is the ethical way to handle advertisements like this? See the AAF guidelines http://www.aaf.org/_pdf/aaf%20website%20content/513_ethics/iae_principles_practices.pdf.
- #34 Political activists from the “Yes Men” have been known to host press conferences impersonating chemical company spokesmen, saying they will “take responsibility” for major catastrophic incidents (like the Bhopal disaster) and thereby embarrass the companies into confronting their past. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LiWlvBro9eI and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhrpSW_pnck
- #35 Ingrid Newkirk, the CEO of PETA, decided to release the controversial campaign, and did not address the heated, angry emotions that arose surrounding the images for nearly two years after the campaign’s release in 2003. Germany’s Supreme Court became involved in the case in 2009, banning the campaign from the country, and the European Court of Human Rights’ decision in 2012 to uphold the ruling is still being fought by PETA. Question: Is the “Holocaust on a Plate” PR campaign ethically wrong? Can the mass-murder of millions be used as a communication tool to gain support for one’s organization? Or is the value of animal life equivalent to the value of human life?
- #36 / Oct. 2017 / Dove
- #37 The Time magazine cover was hotly controversial. Darkening OJ’s skin color to make him look more sinister struck a nerve with the public.
- #41 http://adbusters.org/spoofads/tobacco/
- #45 financed by Time Magazine publisher Henry Luce. Leading the commission was Robert Maynard Hutchins, then chancellor at the University of Chicago, whose ideas about education had focused on communication as central to a lifetime of learning. The Hutchins Commission found that freedom of expression had been imperiled by accelerating technology and by arrogant and irresponsible publishers. The commission urged publishers to “regard themselves as common carriers of information and discussion” and recommended five major points that it said society was entitled to demand of its press:
- #49 1. "Any person who commits an act which constitutes a crime under international law is responsible therefore and liable to punishment.” 4. "The fact that a person acted pursuant to order of his Government or of a superior does not relieve him from responsibility under international law,
- #50 JEWISH DEATHPLAN The Jews are our misfortune
- #52 1. "Any person who commits an act which constitutes a crime under international law is responsible therefore and liable to punishment.” 4. "The fact that a person acted pursuant to order of his Government or of a superior does not relieve him from responsibility under international law,
- #53 The Hutu newspaper Kangura, published in Rwanda in the early 1990s, advocated genocide of Tutsi people. In 1994, an estimated 800,000 Tutsis were killed by Hutus at the urging of Kangura and Radio Rwanda. Kangura’s editor, Hassan Ngeze, along with broadcast colleagues, was convicted of crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Tribunal and sentenced to life imprisonment, reaffirming the international legal principle that leaders of the mass media organizations can be held responsible for inciting genocide.
- #54 The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Volume 129, Issue 4, 1 November 2014, Pages 1947–1994,https://doi.org/10.1093/qje/qju020
- #56 In congruence with the dynamics of the Cold War, the call for a NWICO was rejected by prominent Western nations for its critical stance towards corporate control of communication flows, its emphasis on change for social justice and attack on continuing forms of imperialism. Following NWICO’s political demise after the UK’s and US’s strategic withdrawal from UNESCO in 1984, the organization concentrated its efforts on less divisive and apparently apolitical activities such as technical assistance, moving away from its South/East outlook and to do its ‘utmost to appeal to the West11’.
- #58 So as you have seen there are precursors to peace journalism, there are journalists who acted ethically who have avoided conflict, or minimized suffering Even if the dominant mode has been in more or less the other direction
- #62 https://www.spj.org/ethicscasestudies.asp