Discussion: Ethics and Mass Communication
The choices made by media organizations about what stories to cover, what images to show, who to interview, what sound bytes to air, and how to present information can change the way you perceive ethical issues. Media messages may stir conflicts with your own values or challenge you to think differently about information. In this Discussion, you will compare media messages about two ethical viewpoints.
To prepare for this Discussion:
Choose a discussion thread based on the topics available this week.
Choose two media events—one from a local source and one from an international source—covering your chosen topic. Examples of international sources include the BBC, British newspapers such as
The Guardian
, magazines such as
The Economist
, or newspapers with an international focus, such as
The Christian Science Monitor
.
Determine how cultural influences, personal morals, and ethics affect the way you perceive the events.
Examine whether your morals and ethics are, in turn, influenced by the media.
Consider how the two forms of media your examined could change your ethical perspective about your chosen topic.
For this Discussion, choose one thread from the choices listed this week. Each thread is limited to a maximum number of students, based on class size. A thread will close if the limit is reached. If a thread is closed to new posters, select from the open threads. You will post both your initial post and your response post in the same thread.
By Day 3
Thread 1: Economic Equality
Post
a 2- to 3-paragraph comparison of the how the two media events portrayed issues related to economic equality.
Thread 2:
Gender Issues
Post
a 2- to 3-paragraph comparison of the how the two media events portrayed issues related gender issues.
Thread 3: Human Rights Violations
Post
a 2- to 3-paragraph comparison of the how the two media events portrayed issues related to human rights violations.
Thread 4: Medical Research
Post
a 2- to 3-paragraph comparison of the how the two media events portrayed issues related medical research.
...
Discussion Ethics and Mass CommunicationThe choices made by med
1. Discussion: Ethics and Mass Communication
The choices made by media organizations about what stories to
cover, what images to show, who to interview, what sound bytes
to air, and how to present information can change the way you
perceive ethical issues. Media messages may stir conflicts with
your own values or challenge you to think differently about
information. In this Discussion, you will compare media
messages about two ethical viewpoints.
To prepare for this Discussion:
Choose a discussion thread based on the topics available this
week.
Choose two media events—one from a local source and one
from an international source—covering your chosen topic.
Examples of international sources include the BBC, British
newspapers such as
The Guardian
, magazines such as
The Economist
, or newspapers with an international focus, such as
The Christian Science Monitor
.
Determine how cultural influences, personal morals, and ethics
affect the way you perceive the events.
Examine whether your morals and ethics are, in turn, influenced
by the media.
2. Consider how the two forms of media your examined could
change your ethical perspective about your chosen topic.
For this Discussion, choose one thread from the choices listed
this week. Each thread is limited to a maximum number of
students, based on class size. A thread will close if the limit is
reached. If a thread is closed to new posters, select from the
open threads. You will post both your initial post and your
response post in the same thread.
By Day 3
Thread 1: Economic Equality
Post
a 2- to 3-paragraph comparison of the how the two media
events portrayed issues related to economic equality.
Thread 2:
Gender Issues
Post
a 2- to 3-paragraph comparison of the how the two media
events portrayed issues related gender issues.
Thread 3: Human Rights Violations
3. Post
a 2- to 3-paragraph comparison of the how the two media
events portrayed issues related to human rights violations.
Thread 4: Medical Research
Post
a 2- to 3-paragraph comparison of the how the two media
events portrayed issues related medical research.
