Communication Studies: Journalism Ethics

Media expert Silvio Waisbord argues that "professional journalism" is both a normative and analytical notion. It refers to reporting that observes certain ethical standards as well as to collective efforts by journalists to exercise control over the news. This engaging and insightful book critically examines the meanings, expectations, and critiques of professional journalism in a global context.

This ebook is the first comprehensive cross-cultural exploration of the conceptual and practical issues facing media ethics in a global world. A team of leading journalism experts investigate the impact of major global trends on responsible journalism.

This ebook uncovers the forces which distort and limit public debate in the media. Establishment corruption has never been more in the headlines. Yet amidst the din of scandal, there have been seismic silences. Justin Schlosberg interrogates these silences - for example, why did a plea bargain which allowed Britain's biggest arms company to escape bribery prosecution, go almost entirely unchallenged in television news? Schlosberg addresses these questions and explains the nature of public debate in the digital age.

The media today are frequently in conflict with politicians and celebrities over the disclosure of private information and behavior. However, when the media spotlight is shone on legal personal behavior involving ordinary people, many question whether such matters are really in the 'public interest'. In this book, leading academics, commentators and journalists from a variety of different cultures, consider the extent to which the media are entitled to reveal details of people's private lives, the laws and regulations which govern such revelations, and whether these are still relevant in the age of social media. Also available online.

While it may seem paradoxical, much of the valuable journalism in the past century and a half has emerged from undercover investigations that employed subterfuge or deception to expose wrong. Kroeger asserts that undercover work embodies a central discipline of good reporting; the ability to extract significant information or to create indelible, real-time descriptions of hard-to-penetrate institutions or social situations that deserve the public's attention.

Focusing on one historic episode per chapter, this book is divided into three parts that represent the three major functions of the media within democratic societies:news, persuasion, and entertainment. Blending classic and contemporary cases, these three very well known authors discuss media ethics with a thorough grounding in theory, particularly communitarian theory, an antidote to the more widely discussed libertarian theory.

Matt Carlson confronts the promise and perils of unnamed sources in this exhaustive analysis of controversial episodes in American journalism during the George W. Bush administration. Weaving a narrative thread that stretches from the uncritical post-9/11 era to the spectacle of the Scooter Libby trial, Carlson reveals new insights about high-profile cases involving confidential sources, and he highlights contextual and structural features of the era, including pressure from the right, scrutiny from new media and citizen journalists, and the struggles of traditional media to survive amid increased competition and decreased resources. Also available online.

In The Invention of Journalism Ethics, Stephen Ward argues that given the current emphasis on interpretation, analysis, and perspective, journalists and the public need a new theory of objectivity. He explores the varied ethical assertions of journalists over the past few centuries, focusing on the changing relationship between journalist and audience. Ward also addresses important developments that have occurred in the last decade, including the emergence of digital journalism ethics and global journalism ethics.