Project Voco, a new voice editing technology, raises ethical questions
By Peyton Shepherd Media outlets have faced mounting discontent from some of their readership concerned about biased reporting, and the continued development of editing software has the potential to fan the “fake news” flames. In November, computer software company Adobe premiered an add-on to its audio editing program that has the capability to accurately replicate […]
Lying for the sake of truth is still a lie
By Cokie Thompson When I tell people I’m studying journalism, they have one of two reactions. Their eyes light up and they comment on how this is an incredible time to be in the field, or their eyes narrow and they ask whether I want to work for Fox or MSNBC. I’m also studying political […]
‘S-town’ podcast raises an s-load of ethical questions
By Mary Shannon Wells Even if you didn’t listen to it yourself, the murder mystery podcast “Serial,” which was monumental for both investigative journalism and the podcast platform, got a lot of media attention. Despite its popularity, “Serial” brought with it some ethical issues for the field of investigative journalism, which often hangs out in the […]
Lying in the name of faith (and politics) is always wrong
The New York Times reports about the Davidson College graduate who bought the expired ChristianTimesNewspaperDotCom domain (which we won’t link to here) and posted this story: “BREAKING: ‘Tens of thousands’ of fraudulent Clinton votes found in Ohio warehouse.” It wasn’t true. He made it up, including stealing a photo published by a real newspaper. He […]
Going undercover-ish to report that athletes have sex while at the Olympics?
Apparently, The Daily Beast thinks it’s newsworthy enough to go undercover and find out whether athletes not only have sex with athletes while at the Games, and whether athletes will meet non-athletes, too. A reporter used social media tools to see who might meet up with him. Most of the respondents are gay, which when […]
Why is ethics compliance training a waste of time? Mostly, because it’s not about ethics
Slate says corporate ethics training is generally stupid — a waste of time with case studies designed to cover the boss’ backsides while not really dealing with real issues. Its key takeaway: Regulators pressure companies to implement training programs in hopes of reducing corporate crime and malfeasance. Executives implement training programs in hopes of protecting […]
Cartoonist fired for biting the hand that feeds his publication
A herd of media are writing about Rick Friday, who was fired from Farm News, a weekly publication of The Fort Dodge (Iowa) Messenger, after it published this cartoon pointing out that the CEOs of three men who run major farming-focused corporations earned a combined $53 million in 2015, as much as 2,129 Iowa farmers. […]
AppSumo and Michael J. Fox: An online marketer makes a solid apology
If you’re in mass media or sales or nearly any other activity involving humans, write this down: Don’t make fun of sick people. AppSumo, an online selling company that relies on emails and clever writing, learned that lesson this week. Its April 25 email peddling a product included a joke involving Michael J. Fox, who […]
The pathos of Taylor Swift
By Cara Walker One of the oldest phenomena regarding entertainment and advertising is the humor in other people falling down. Successful shows such as America’s Funniest Home Videos and Tosh.0 are evidence of that, but why does it seem to be universally appealing for pain to be humorous? Diana Mahony, a psychologist and humor researcher […]