This document discusses ethical decision making and provides guidance on using Potter's Box, a framework for analyzing ethical dilemmas. It presents five principles of ethical journalism, explains the components of Potter's Box including definition, values, principles, and loyalties, and provides examples of ethical dilemmas a journalist may face along with questions for consideration.

1. D O I N G T H E R I G H T T H I N G A T T H E R I G H T T I M E
ETHICAL DECISION
MAKING
Michelle Balmeo
@michellebalmeo
michellebalmeo.wordpress.com

2. DOES IT DO MORE HARM
THAN GOOD?
A SIMPLE QUESTION WITH A COMPLEX ANSWER

3. FIVE NEARLY ABSOLUTE
PRINCIPLES
1. Be a humane truth-teller.
2. Be heedful of the rights of others.
3. Do your work fairly.
4. Promote justice wherever possible within the limits
of your craft/profession.
5. Be mindful that independence and freedom are
possible only if journalism itself acts as a steward of
free expression.
From University of Missouri professor Edmund Lambeth's book, Committed
Journalism

4. SPJ CODE OF ETHICS
• Post in your
newsroom.
• Ask, “Which of
these apply?”
• Explain Ed. Board
decisions to the
entire staff.

5. POTTER’S BOX

6. WHAT IT IS (AND ISN’T)
• IT IS a method of analyzing an ethical dilemma
• IT IS based on the idea that there are four key
components to every decision: definition, values,
principles, loyalties
• IT IS a process, not a solution
• IT IS NOT going to lead all individuals to the same
solution

7. DEFINITION
• In this box, you need to give a summary of the
situation. This should include all known facts. Do not
include unverified rumors or suspicions. Just the
facts!
• Do this in the form of a bulleted list.

8. VALUES
• State the values involved for you as a member of the
press and for others involved in the situation.
• Professional values (e.g. truth seeking, public’s right to
know, transparency in government, person’s right to
privacy)
• Legal values (e.g. law supersedes emotion, all persons
deserve equal treatment under the law)
• Patriotic values (e.g. love thy country, respect the flag,
uphold constitutional rights)
• Religious values (e.g. do unto others, thou shalt not kill)
• Freedom-based values (e.g. freedom of speech, right to
a trial by jury, right to not incriminate oneself)

9. PRINCIPLES
Aristotle’s Mean
“Moral virtue is a middle
state determined by
practical
wisdom.” Virtuous
people will arrive at a fair
and reasonable
agreement for the
legitimate claims of both
sides in the middle of two
extreme claims.
Kant’s Categorical
Imperative
“Act on that maxim
which will become a
universal law.” It implies
what is right for one is
right for all, which
establishes precedent,
universality of an
underlying principle.

10. PRINCIPLES
Mill’s Principle of Utility
“Seek the greatest
happiness for the
greatest
number.” Consider the
consequences, produce
the greatest possible
balance of good over
evil, and distribute this as
widely as possible. Act
with the greater good in
mind.
Rawl’s Veil of Ignorance
“Justice emerges when
negotiating without
social
differentiations.” Step
away from real
circumstances into an
“original position” behind
a barrier where roles and
social differences are
eliminated. Place
yourself in the position of
those your decisions
may influence.

11. PRINCIPLES
Judeo-Christian Persons as
Ends
“Love they neighbor as
yourself.” Unselfish,
cooperative. The
“Golden Rule.”

12. LOYALTIES
• Determine to whom your primary loyalty belongs in this
situation. Begin by listing out all of your loyalties and then
prioritize them.
• Evaluate how each of those loyalties comes into play in
this decision. For this, you should consider:
Duty to self
Duty to audience
Duty to organization
Duty to the profession
Duty to promiseholders
Duty to society

13. POTTER’S BOX
• How does this
process influence
your thinking? Does
it change your
decision? Does it
help in justifying the
decision made?

14. WHAT SHOULD YOU DO?
A parent of a student at your school is very vocally
taking on a teacher in the science department for
alleged incompetence. The parent has filed suit
against the district and sent various emails and a
survey about the teacher to other students and
parents.
Do you cover the story?
Do you use the teacher’s name, which is very widely
known?

15. WHAT SHOULD YOU DO?
A reporter has learned, on the eve of the
playoffs, that your championship football team is
involved in serious incidents of hazing during the
pre-season overnight football camp held on
campus.
Should you print the story? What should the
reporters/editors consider? What's the ethical
thing to do?

16. HANDLING MANAGEMENT ISSUES
A reporter on staff submits the first draft of a story late.
It’s incomplete, but he has had an interview with the
main subject. While you are editing the draft, the
subject of the story comes into the newsroom and
happens to see it on the computer. She says that the
reporter has not yet interviewed her and that the
quotations attributed to her are fabricated. You
confront the reporter who admits to submitting a
fabricated story, but says he has an interview
scheduled and had planned to swap out the real
information before the final draft. What do you do?

17. WHAT SHOULD YOU DO?
In a story about abortion, a sophomore girl admits to
having had an abortion as a freshman. She is willing
to go on the record, but you suspect it's in part
because she wants to get back at her parents, with
whom she does not get along.
Should you print her name? Should you print the
story? What caveats do you have for the reporters
and editors working on this story? What's the ethical
thing to do?

18. WHAT SHOULD YOU DO?
For a story about teenage pregnancy, a teenage
mother identifies the father, who is still a student. He
doesn't want his name in the story and is officially
denying paternity.
Should you print his name? What should the
reporters/editors consider? What's the ethical thing to
do?

19. WHAT SHOULD YOU DO?
A teacher tells you something in an interview that she
later asks you not to print because of her concern
that her comments will result in her perhaps being
fired from her job. She knows the comments were on
the record, but she has since decided that the
comments were inappropriate and inflammatory.
Should you print her comments? What should the
reporters/editors consider? What's the ethical thing to
do?

20. HANDLING MANAGEMENT ISSUES
You are in the final week of production, and you
notice that one reporter’s page has an alternative
copy on it that quotes four sources who you know
are all friends. It’s late in the process and re-doing the
page would take considerable time. However, you
feel strongly that the staff loses credibility with the
obviously biased content.
What do you do?