Jeff Jarvis on why ‘sponsored content,’ advertorials and other blurrings between news and ads are a bad thing
Worth a read today is Jeff Jarvis writing about the blurring between news and advertising content. He argues that advertising that looks like news content is bad because of: Inconsistency in the ethics of news organizations that do this. Conflicts of interest between advertisers and news. Brand value losses for news organizations. His bottom line: […]
On watching a media student steal from a restaurant (or, ‘How can I successfully teach media ethics when they don’t have much to start with?’)
The boy wanted sushi, so we ended up sitting next to a pair of university students around the grills of a Japanese restaurant where the chef puts on a show whether you want it or not. The chef was clearly enamored of the two girls, who ended up with much more food than me and […]
Spongebob Squarepants episode teaches journalism ethics, sort of
Some say the journalism business is so bad that reporters have to work a fast-food job to make ends meet. It’s just the opposite for Spongebob Squarepants, the fry cook turned reporter in “Krabby Kronicle,” a 2008 episode that raises a semi-serious ethical dilemma. (Jim Romenesko highlighted the episode after seeing a Tweet from Hollywood […]
‘Media’ professor asks students to lie to journalists
It would be easy to pile on Peter Chen, the government professor at the University of Sydney who created an assignment that involved pitching made-up stories to the Tharunka student newspaper. Here’s the assignment, according to the paper’s “USYD media assignment not big on ethics” editorial: Project 2: Prank Tharunka Using your understanding of the […]
The case of the cursing anchor: AJ Clemente, virtue ethics, and consistency
It’s easy to feel bad for AJ Clemente, the West Virginia University graduate who uttered two words you’re not allowed to say on broadcast television just as his first anchoring shift began on Sunday, April 20, on KFYR-TV in Bismarck, North Dakota. The NBC affiliate quickly fired him, but cited “personnel issues” in saying little […]
Fox News says GOP politicians say sequestration is just hype, but fails to notice GOP politicians worried about sequestration
FoxNews.com’s top story is a think piece that quotes plenty of GOP folks saying that the Obama administration is making too much out of the impending mandatory cuts to federal spending. The headline: “Economic Armageddon? Republicans call sequester warnings hype.” (Or, a sexier hed from the site’s front page: Chicken Little Tactics? GOP Points to […]
This is why we love TV news.
From an anchor on WBRC-TV’s morning show. The show airs from 4:30 to 9 a.m. Too bad there’s not enough time in 3.5 hours to do any rebuttal.
Walking away for ethical reasons pays off in case of CNET reporter
We recently wrote of CNET News’ problems with its parent CBS, in which the network told its tech news company to remove Dish’s “Hopper with Sling” device as a “Best of CES” product because CBS is suing Dish over the device. CBS hasn’t backed down much, and among the fallout is that Consumer Electronics Show […]
How responsible are journalists for catching liars Lance Armstrong, Manti Te’o and others?
The world’s most famous cyclist, Lance Armstrong, lied and lied and lied, and even sued a news organization who called out his lies. (He may have even lied while backpedaling for Oprah.) Notre Dame defensive player Manti Te’o, whether he meant to or not, lied about what turned to be an imaginary girlfriend. The result […]