This document provides an overview of topics to be covered in a journalism ethics class, including social media ethics, personal ethics guidelines, the business of journalism, and ethical issues in the presidential campaign. It discusses emerging forms of digital advertising like sponsored content and native advertising. It also summarizes readings assigned for the next class on the Washington Post's ownership and newspapers' transition to digital.

1. JOURNALISM ETHICS & ISSUES
CLASS #13 | JRNL 4650 | FALL 2016
• Instructor: Bill Mitchell
• bmitch (at) gmail (dot) com
• 727-641-9407
• 20 October 2016 | Northeastern Univ.
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2. WHAT WE’LL DO TODAY
• Journalism Ethics on Social Media by Ben
• Your Personal Ethics Guidelines
• Review of Foreman’s Chapter 11: The Business of
Producing Journalism
• Ethical issues in the Presidential Campaign
• Assignments for Class with Dan Kennedy Tues Oct. 25
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3. 3

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5. YOUR ETHICS GUIDELINES
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• Ethics code as process: Georgie
• Following a code enroute to justifying your decision: Ali
• Considering a context that includes audience: Tessa
• Accuracy as gateway to truth, trust & respect: Olivia
• 3 tests -- front page, mom, God-as-my-witness: Marie
• Be fearless: Zafirah
• Be patient: Anita
• Ongoing conversation w/ sources, readers, colleagues:
Elise

6. FOREMAN CHAPTER 11:
THE BUSINESS OF PRODUCING JOURNALISM
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• Comparing the news business with other businesses
• News: $63-$65 billion
• Video games: $93 billion
• Google: $75 billion
• Starbucks: $15 billion

7. THE MEDIA LANDSCAPE:
WHERE PEOPLE GO FOR NEWS
7Source: Pew Research Center

8. THE MEDIA
LANDSCAPE:
WHERE PEOPLE
GO FOR NEWS,
CONT.
8Source: Pew Research Center

9. DECLINE OF NEWSPAPER AD REVENUE
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Source: Gigaom.com

10. GROWTH OF DIGITAL AD REVENUE, BUT…
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Source: Gigaom.com

11. EMERGING FORMS OF DIGITAL ADVERTISING:
EARNED, PAID AND OWNED
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Source: Gigaom.com
• Earned Media: Word of mouth, media coverage of a
worthy product, etc.
• Paid Media: Advertising that resides on a news
organization’s site, includes traditional banner ads as
well as native advertising; sometimes used to drive
traffic to a brand’s Owned Media
• Owned Media: Advertising that resides on the brand’s
own site

12. EMERGING FORMS OF DIGITAL ADVERTISING
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Source: Gigaom.com
• Sponsored content: Advertising that appears on a news
organization’s site in a form that…
• Looks more like news than advertising, but hopefully
• is clearly marked as sponsored
• is not produced by the regular news staff
• actually provides useful, engaging information as
opposed to simple promotion of a product

13. EMERGING FORMS OF DIGITAL ADVERTISING
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Source: Gigaom.com
• Native advertising: Advertising that appears on a news
organization’s site in a form that…
• Looks more like news than advertising, but hopefully
• is clearly marked as advertising or paid content
• actually provides useful, engaging information as
opposed to simple promotion of a product

14. EMERGING FORMS OF DIGITAL ADVERTISING
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Source: Gigaom.com
• Content marketing: Advertising that often appears on a
brand’s own site (so called owned media) and
• actually provides useful, engaging information as
opposed to simple promotion of a product

15. PROBLEMS WITH A CARELESS
APPROACH TO SPONSORED CONTENT
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16. THE ATLANTIC’S APOLOGY
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17. IMPROVED APPROACH
TO SPONSORED
CONTENT
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19. ADVANTAGES OF NATIVE VS. TRADITIONAL ADS
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Source: businessinsider.com

20. NATIVE ADVERTISING, IMPROVED
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22. EXAMPLE OF CONTENT
MARKETING/ADVERTISING WELL DONE
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• By WP Brand Studio: The Washington Post’s in-house
ad/marketing agency:

23. ANALYSIS OF TRUTH OR DENIAL
(LINKS TO FULL ARTICLE)
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25. CONTENT MARKETING:
USEFUL, ENGAGING ON BEHALF OF BRANDS
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27. CAMPAIGN ISSUES
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28. CAMPAIGN ISSUES
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29. CAMPAIGN ISSUES: PUTTING
PHOTOSHOP TO GOOD USE
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30. ASSIGNMENTS FOR TUESDAY OCT. 20
• Read Dan Kennedy’s paper on Bezos ownership of Washington
Post:
http://shorensteincenter.org/bezos-effect-washington-post/
• Read Jack Shafer’s look at newspapers’ decision to go digital:
http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/10/newspapers-
digital-first-214363
• Read Steve Buttry’s rebuttal of Shafer:
https://stevebuttry.wordpress.com/2016/10/18/the-newspaper-
industrys-colossal-mistake-was-a-defensive-digital-strategy/
• Read Dan Kennedy’s Storify about the Shafer piece:
https://storify.com/dankennedy_nu/print-versus-digital-special-
2016-edition
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