Do journalists work for readers — or their (bosses’) bosses? A CNET and CBS vs. Dish example
Journalists running afoul of the real-or-imagined business interests of their bosses is nothing new. As a technology columnist for The Birmingham News and Newhouse Newspapers in the 1990s, I remember being told I couldn’t mention AT&T’s debut of its online, searchable Yellow Pages because they competed for ads with the newspaper. (Seems quaint now, doesn’t […]
The Chicago Sun-Times shows “The Mirage” series again
If you’re into media ethics history — or just like to see power-chord journalism with a slice of ethical quandries — then take a look at The Chicago Sun-Times online publication of The Mirage series. In 1977, The Chicago Sun-Times went undercover with the non-profit Better Government Administration and CBS to show rampant corruption among […]
When is it right to break a law for a greater good?
British regulators are starting an inquiry into Sky News, which acknowledged that it hacked into email accounts in search of information about a canoeist who faked his own death and an alleged pedophile who later died in prison. As The Independent newspaper reported on April 13: John Ryley, head of Sky News, told the Leveson […]
What if the First Amendment and Second Amendment were treated the same?
A bill before the Alabama Legislature would make it easier for people to store hidden weapons in their vehicle. The bill would, among other things, “prohibit a public or private employer, property owner, or business from establishing a policy against transporting or possessing a firearm or ammunition if the person is in compliance with other […]
Some celebrity dietary supplement endorsers won’t talk to Consumer Reports
Consumer Reports is a rarity among magazines: It accepts no advertising and generally buys the products it tests. Its credibility tends to demand the respect of the companies it writes about. Consider, then, the magazine’s March 2012 story about dietary supplements and the celebrities who endorse them. Noting that the Federal Trade Commission requires that […]
Poynter asks: What to do when the mayor says “asshole?”
Poynter’s Al Tompkins offers a real-live ethics question: When Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter says “asshole” during a TV interview about another shooting in his town, do you run it? Trim it? Do something different online? My extra credit: Why does The Daily Show bleep the “hole” and not the “ass?”
Eric Deggans discusses the humanity of ‘Celebrity Wife Swap,’ reality television
Eric Deggans, TV/media critic for Tampa Bay Times, started the new year by asking questions about Celebrity Wife Swap, the ABC “reality show” in which famous people swap partners while the cameras roll. In a Jan. 3 commentary for National Public Radio, he points out some practical and ethical concerns about the program. The show, […]
‘Doing Media Ethics’ highlighted at iMediaEthics.org
iMediaEthics.org has a new name, new look, and an interview with a co-author of Doing Media Ethics: Theories and Practical Applications. A hat tip to Sidney Smith, a key writer at the site and a former student of mine with the University of South Carolina’s senior-semester Carolina Reporter. –Chris Roberts
Don’t want to be called bad names? Then don’t go on entertainment shows, Mrs. Bachmann (or other politicians)
Yes, the Late Night with Jimmy Fallon house band should not have played Fishbone’s Lyin’ Ass Bitch when U.S. representative and GOP presidential candidate Michelle Bachmann came onto the set on November 21. Yes, NBC was right to apologize, even though Bachmann said it should have come from NBC’s president, not a vice president. She […]