This document outlines the syllabus and assignments for a journalism ethics course. It introduces the instructor, discusses four theories of ethics that will be covered (rule-based, ends-based, golden rule, golden mean), and presents an ethical decision-making process. Assignments include weekly blog posts and comments analyzing ethics cases, developing personal ethics guidelines, and a final paper proposing a reform in media ethics. The document also reviews upcoming deadlines and assigned readings.

1. PERSPECTIVES ON
JOURNALISM ETHICS
JRNL 6202 SUMMER II 2015
• Instructor: Bill Mitchell
• 13 July 2015 | Northeastern Univ.

2. PERSPECTIVES ON
JOURNALISM ETHICS
JRNL 6202 SUMMER II 2015
• Instructor: Bill Mitchell
• Bmitch (at) gmail dot com
• 727-641-9407
• 13 July 2015 | Northeastern Univ.

3. BRITTANY INTRO
(ABOUT FIVE MINUTES)
3
• 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’re looking for from this class
• one word followed by elaboration

4. WHAT WE’LL DO TONIGHT
• Oral quiz/review of assigned readings
• Oral presentation of a couple of your blog posts
• 10 minute break (at about 7:30 p.m.)
• Review of ethical decision-making process
• Working a case
• Upcoming assignments, etc.

5. PRELIMINARY WORK ON YOUR
PERSONAL ETHICS GUIDELINES
• Which of the four theories of ethics might be a starting
point for your personal guidelines?
• Research needed on one of its historical proponents
• What principles strike you as core to your approach?
• (In-class work as a resource for ongoing assignments)

6. FOUR THEORIES OF ETHICS
• Rule-based ethics
• Immanuel Kant, 18th Century German, deontology
• Kant’s Categorical imperative: “I ought never to act
except in such a way that I can also will that my maxim
should become universal law.”
• “…an attempt to legitimize the present model of distribution,
where a minority believes that it has the right to consume in
a way which can never be universalized.”
-- Pope Francis, Encyclical on the Environment, May 2015
• “On a Supposed Right to Tell Lies from Benevolent Motives”

7. FOUR THEORIES OF ETHICS
• Ends-based ethics
• Benthem, Mill, 17th/18th Century British, teleology
• Also known as utilitarianism or consequentialism
• Mill: Greatest happiness for greatest number of people
• Clear understanding of stakeholders vital to this theory
• Flexibility both the advantage and risk of this theory

8. FOUR THEORIES OF ETHICS
• The Golden Rule
• Confucious, 6th Century BCE China, & various religions
• Confucious’ idea of Benevolence at the heart of Reciprocity:
• Respectfulness
• Tolerance
• Trustworthiness of word
• Quickness
• Generosity
• A limitation of the Golden Rule?
• With multiple stakeholders, which ones should benefit from
application of the rule?

9. FOUR THEORIES OF ETHICS
• Golden Mean
• Aristotle, 4th Century BCE Greece
• A way of applying interpretations of the Golden Rule to
multiple stakeholders
• An alternative to binary thinking
• A Third Way
• Neither socialism nor capitalism but…
• Risks?
• Another version of “socialism with a human face”

10. WHAT’S YOUR STARTING POINT?
• Five minutes thinking and writing:
• Which of the four theories – or another, if you
choose – will be your starting point?
• Rule-based (Kant)
• Ends-based (Benthem, Mill)
• Golden Rule (Confucious, et. al.)
• Golden Mean (Aristotle)
• Five minutes conversation with a partner: Help each
other sharpen your thinking
• Group discussion

11. BACK TO THE QUIZ…
• Foreman describes two main incentives for ethical
behavior:
• Moral
• Practical

12. TWO MAIN FUNCTIONS
OF NEWS ORGANIZATIONS
• To serve the public interest
• To make a profit

13. ROSENSTIEL & KOVACH ON THE
ESSENTIALS OF JOURNALISM:
• Journalism’s first obligation is to
• …the truth
• A journalist’s first loyalty is to
• …the audience
• The essence of journalism is to the discipline of
• …verification

14. EXPECTATIONS FOR
JOURNALISTS
• The Hutchins Commission was a report about what
requested by whom in what year?
• The role of journalism in public life
• Henry Luce, the founder of TIME
• Commissioned in 1942, finally delivered in 1947

15. HUTCHINS COMMISSION’S
5 RECOMMENDATIONS
• Accurate accounts of events with context that provide
meaning
• A forum for exchange of comment & criticism
• Representative portrayals of various groups in society
• Discussion of society’s goals & values ?
• Full access to government proceedings

16. SOME PERCEIVED PROS & CONS
OF ETHICS CODES (CONS FIRST)
• Perceived Con: Bans or limitations on freebies
• Perceived Con: Potential for government control
• Perceived Con: Codes as tools for plaintiffs’ lawyers
• Perceived Pro: Codes as tools for journos’ lawyers
• Perceived Pro: Enhanced credibility
• Perceived Pro: A differentiator for professional journos

17. OBSERVER VS. PARTICIPANT:
ORPHANS OF ADDICTION (1997)
• Principles in tension:
• Truth (letting the story play out) vs. minimizing harm
(protecting children from “imminent danger”)
• What alternatives might the L.A Times have considered?
• Fuller up-front discussion of possible ethical challenges
• Note to readers describing surveillance of pastor
• Lessons reflected in Nazario’s “Enrique’s Journey” (2002)

18. SOURCES OF HOSTILITY
TOWARD JOURNALISTS
• Too many mistakes (facts, grammar, spelling, punctuation)
• Bias
• Insensitivity
• Anonymity
• Sensationalism
• Influence of advertisers

19. YOUR BLOG POSTS: KEY ETHICAL
PRINCIPLES IN TENSION?
• Alex
• Audrey
• Brittany
• Cameron
• Emily
• Hongyi
• Jessica
• Kareya
• Matt
• Serefina

20. UNDERCOVER REPORTING ABOUT
NATIONAL EXAMS

21. ANONYMOUS SOURCES FOR
ANKLE BRACELET STORY

22. HOW MIGHT THE 4 THEORIES OF
ETHICS APPLY TO THESE 2 CASES?
• Rule-based
• Ends-Based
• Golden Rule
• Golden Mean

23. 10 MINUTE BREAK

24. ETHICAL DECISION-MAKING PROCESS:
POSSIBLE GUIDING PRINCIPLES
• Truth (SPJ & McBride/Rosenstiel)
• Independence (SPJ)
• Minimizing Harm SPJ)
• Accountability (SPJ)
• Transparency (McBride/Rosenstiel)
• Community (McBride/Rosenstiel)

25. AN ETHICS PROCESS
(REVISE AS YOU SEE FIT)
1. Agree on guiding principles
2. Get clear on your journalistic purpose
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. Invite disagreement and challenge
8. Consider long-term as well as immediate consequences
9. Come up with at least three alternatives
10. Explain your selection of one alternative, in writing

26. CASE STUDY
• Bit.ly/nytpope
• Bit.ly/nytpope

27. CASE STUDY
• Bit.ly/BFeed1

28. WORKING A CASE WITH THESE:
1. Agree on guiding principles
2. Get clear on your journalistic purpose
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. Invite disagreement and challenge
8. Consider long-term as well as immediate consequences
9. Come up with at least three alternatives
10. Explain your selection of one alternative, in writing

29. 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)

30. ASSIGNMENT: WEEKLY POST
• Weekly blog posts due Sundays at 7 a.m.
• Analyze ethical principles at stake in a case – link to
the story and specify the principles in tension!
• Explore 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)

31. 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

32. 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

33. ASSIGNMENT:
PERSONAL ETHICS GUIDELINES
• Personal ethics guidelines, first draft due 7 a.m. July 24
• Should include:
• Principles you’ll uphold
• Discussion of philosophical/historical roots of your
guidelines
• Process you’ll follow in ethical-decision making
• Evidence of research you’ve done on others’
guidelines in the course of developing your own

34. 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

35. YOUR BLOG
• In addition to your weekly posts, consider:
• A blog roll
• A Twitter list
• Other tools to make your blog a useful center of
conversation about journalism ethics

36. UPCOMING ASSIGNMENTS
• 7 a.m. Friday July 17: First steps on Operation Correct
That Error
• 7 a.m. Sunday July 19: Weekly post published on your
blog
• 3 p.m. Monday July 20: Comment posted to a
classmate’s blog
• 5:30 p.m. Monday July 20: Read Chapters 7, 8, 12 in
The Ethical Journalist

37. ETHICS IN THE NEWS…
• The media as Bill Cosby’s accomplice
• Meaningless numbers presented as real news
• Google’s alternative revenue stream: Contributor