A meta-analysis of “When entertainment trumps morality”
The AV Club asked its contributors and readers a question that’s worth asking yourself: What mass media and/or practitioners do you like despite your moral qualms? Answers to “When entertainment trumps morality” boiled down to categories of: fare produced by actors, musicians, and athletes with questionable ethics. individual movies, shows, or songs with overtones of […]
How student editors use ethics codes
Newly published research shows that the value of ethics codes “seems to be lost on student journalists.” Penn State’s Kirstie E. Hettinga and Marie Hardin, writing in Media Ethics magazine, compare codes of ethics hanging on college newsroom walls to signs that point to fire exits: “It’s there if they need it, but it’s not […]
I wouldn’t eat that if I were you
Why does that hamburger on TV not look like the one you just bought? National Public Radio tells the story of how “food stylists” do their magic to make food look appetizing in video and photography. It’s an art, complete with plenty of books on the subject. Below the story, several people at the NPR […]
An ethical PR response to research?
There’s a saying among lawyers: “When you have the law on your side, pound the law. When you have the facts on your side, pound the facts. When you have neither, pound the table.” With that in mind, consider the late 2010 study that said people who watch TV news were were more likely to […]
Dutch reporter oversteps boundaries when interviewing 9-year-old orphan
Nov. 20, 2010 Ruben van Assouw, a 9-year-old boy and the only survivor of a plane crash in Libya, was interviewed from his hospital bed by the the Dutch daily newspaper, De Telegraaf. This is the original piece, and here is the translated copy. It was reported that Assouw couldn’t remember anything from the accident. […]
Video of teen’s beating sheds light on gang violence in Chicago
Nov. 20, 2010 In 2009, 16-year-old honor student Derrion Albert was beaten to death two blocks from his high school in one of Chicago’s roughest neighborhoods. Albert appeared to have been at the wrong place at the wrong time and gotten caught in between two fighting rival gangs. The next day, a reporter from Chicago’s […]
Favre’s “sexting” scandal: Worth paying for?
Nov. 20, 2010 What’s your problem? Deadspin website editor A.J. Daulerio paid an unnamed person an undisclosed amount of money to receive materials connecting Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brett Favre to former New York Jets game day hostess Jenn Sterger. The materials included voicemails allegedly left on Sterger’s cell phone, which Favre has since confirmed, and […]
Bomb victims compared to zombies
Nov. 20, 2010 Several British newspapers used a quote inspired by Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” video to describe the looks and actions of victims following the July 7, 2005 bombing of a London subway. The exact quote from a police officer on scene reads, “It was like Michael Jackson’s Thriller video. They were just covered in […]
A medal for fear
Nov. 4, 2010 On the days leading up to the “Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Keep Fear Alive” on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., the Internet and media outlets were buzzing with anticipation. The rally, which was being thrown on Oct. 31 by Jon Stewart, host of “The Daily Show,” and Steven Colbert, host […]