Should drug companies sponsor journalism seminars?

Aug. 30, 2010 Any introduction to journalism class will tell you that a conflict of interest is a cardinal sin of journalism. It seems that a few of today’s journalists skipped that lecture. The drug-manufacturer Pfizer is paying for 15 journalists to attend a four-day cancer seminar this October, according to an NPR report. The […]

Isn’t this a Fox show?

Aug. 23, 2010 Foxnews.com via Sodahead asks whether Kings of Leon are ethical or pompous for turning down the chance to appear on Glee. Should the story have mentioned that Glee is a Fox show? Should it have linked to the original story that points out the band’s decision? (Fox won’t tell you, but it’s […]

There’s illegal, there’s unethical…

…and there’s illegal and unethical. Such is the case of Reverb Communications, whose employees in late August 2010 posed as consumers who just happened to love Rock Band so much that they gave it great reviews on iTunes. The company told The New York Times it did no wrong, but MobileCrunch.com said its investigation and […]

Gork, Gators, Arkansas: Put on your ethics hat

Aug. 19, 2010 It’s common knowledge that it’s a mistake to take a knife to a gunfight. The same is true for reporters who wear a Gator hat to an Hog event. Renee Gork made that mistake – and killed her job as a radio sports reporter –after she wore a Florida Gators hat to […]