How Immanuel Kant would kill trolls: A deontological approach to dealing with online comments
By Emily Williams The word “troll” used to refer to monsters in fairy tales living under bridges, but in the new age of the internet, troll has taken on a whole new meaning, as the monsters that live behind keyboards and terrorize comment sections on virtually every website. Dealing with trolls, and other maliciously inclined […]
What I learned from working on the Society of Professional Journalists’ new Code of Ethics
This month’s biggest personal and professional success may not make it on my tombstone, but it is a thrill to note that words I wrote are included in the Society of Professional Journalists’ new code of ethics. Delegates of the nation’s largest journalism association approved the code on Sept. 6, 2014, nearly 18 years after […]
Washington Post column on Redskins name change uses different standards for in-print, online publication
By Caroline Meintzer On Oct. 7, 2013, The Washington Post ran an article in their printed newspaper that included an editorial by Dana Milbank. Milbank’s editorial called out the Washington Redskins’ team name for being racist, and he further illustrated his point by asking people to compare the Redskins name to other racial epithets. In […]
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: […]
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 […]
‘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
Can campaigning, commentating mix yet still be fair and balanced?
Oct. 7, 2010 As objectivity continues to be a concern and controversial issue among media outlets across the nation, Fox News has entered the center of the discussion. Fox News has formed a contract with four candidates that are potentially running for the presidential election. The problem for many is that the contract states that […]
CNN’s Sanchez runs his mouth, loses his job: Is that ethical?
October 5, 2010 CNN news anchor Rick Sanchez was fired on Friday after making some controversial comments about the network and comedian Jon Stewart, the New York Times reported. Appearing for an interview on Pete Dominick’s satellite radio show on Sept. 30, Sanchez said his network, like the rest of the media, was run by […]
Online lies, different results
Sept. 1, 2010 The early August story of Jenny, the girl who quit her job by using a dry erase board to post a series of nasty comments about her boss, lasted less than a day before it was revealed to be a hoax. (Jenny is actually an actress.) It’s not the first time the […]