- Educates aspiring journalists on ethical decision-making, with coverage of key applied issues such as the principles of fairness and accuracy, the duty of verification, the role of social media, the problems of plagiarism, fabrication, and conflicts of interest, business issues that affect journalism ethics, and questions relating to source relationships, privacy, and deception in reporting
- Includes extensive revisions to the majority of chapters, as well as six new “Point of View” essays, eight new case studies, and a full glossary
- Brings together the authoritative, engaging voice of a veteran journalist, the viewpoints of distinguished scholars and print, broadcast, and digital practitioners, and insights from complex, real-world case studies
- Supplemented by an annually updated companion website with resources for teachers and students, including: links to current articles discussing the subjects covered in each of the book’s chapters, and a teachers’ guide that offers sample syllabi, discussion guides, PowerPoint slides, sample quiz and exam questions, and links to audiovisual material
Preface xix
Acknowledgments xxi
Part I: A Foundation for Making Ethical Decisions 1
1 Why Ethics Matters in Journalism 3
2 Ethics, the Bedrock of a Society 15
3 The News Media’s Role in Society 23
4 For Journalists, a Clash of Moral Duties 39
5 The Public and the Media: Love and Hate 58
6 Applying Four Classic Theories of Ethics 78
7 Using a Code of Ethics as a Decision Tool 89
8 Making Moral Decisions You Can Defend 116
Part II: Exploring Themes of Ethics Issues in Journalism 131
9 Stolen Words, Invented Facts … or Worse 133
10 Conflicts of Interest: Appearances Count 151
11 The Business of Producing Journalism 174
12 Getting the Story Right and Being Fair 194
13 Dealing with Sources of Information 223
14 Making News Decisions about Privacy 241
15 Making News Decisions about Taste 268
16 Deception, a Controversial Reporting Tool 284
17 Covering a Diverse, Multicultural Society 306
18 Ethics Issues Specific to Digital Journalism 329
19 Ethics Issues Specific to Visual Journalism 349
20 Some Thoughts to Take with You 374
Glossary 377
Index 382
