Ethical Issues in Journalism and the Media

Ethical Issues in Journalism and the Media All over the world codes of conduct have been proposed for journalists. In fact ethics is inseparable from journalism, because the practice of journalism is centred on a set of essentially ethical concepts: freedom, democracy, truth, objectivity, honesty, privacy. If the proper role of journalism is seen as providing information, then the ethical questions focus on one issue: maintaining the quality of the information. This issue has become a matter of political controversy and public concern. Many people think the media are inaccurate and biased. The Robert Maxwell case has reopened the issue of media owner-ship. Questions of censorship and freedom of information have arisen in connection with Spycatcher, the fight against terrorism in Northern Ireland and the wars in the Falklands and the Gulf. Parliament has threatened statutory controls if the voluntary partner-ship of the Press Complaints Commission and the newspaper industry cannot curb gross invasions of privacy and other malpractices by the tabloid press. There is much concern about the trivialising and exploitative representation of women in the media. This book addresses issues such as these in ways that are both philosophical and practical, critical and constructive, perennial and topical. Accessible in approach, it is ideal for student use in journalism, media studies and applied philosophy courses, and will appeal to the general reader. Professional Ethics General editors: Andrew Belsey and Ruth Chadwick Centre for Applied Ethics, University of Wales College of Cardiff Professionalism is a subject of interest to academics, the general public and would-be professional groups. Traditional ideas of professions and professional conduct have been challenged by recent social, political and technological changes. One result has been the development for almost every profession of an ethical code of conduct which attempts to formalise its values and standards. These codes of conduct raise a number of questions about the status of a ‘profession’ and the consequent moral implications for behaviour. This series, edited from the Centre for Applied Ethics in Cardiff, seeks to examine these questions both critically and constructively. Individual volumes will consider issues relevant to particular professions, including nursing, genetics counselling and law. Other volumes will address issues relevant to all professional groups such as the function and value of a code of ethics and the demands of confidentiality. Also available in this series: Ethical Issues in Nursing Edited by Geoffrey Hunt Ethical Issues in Social Work Edited by Richard Hugman and David Smith Genetic Counselling Edited by Angus Clarke The Ground of Professional Ethics Daryl Koehn Ethical Issues in Journalism and the Media Edited by Andrew Belsey and Ruth Chadwick London and New York First published 1992 by Routledge 11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2006. “To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s collection of thousands of eBooks please go to http://www.ebookstore.tandf.co.uk/.” Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001 This collection © 1992 Routledge individual chapters © 1992 individual contributors All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress ISBN 0-203-00588-0 Master e-book ISBN ISBN 0-203-31327-5 (Adobe e-Reader Format) ISBN 0-415-06926-2 (hbk) ISBN 0-415-06927-0 (pbk) ... - slideshare.vn