76ers, Redskins and Wells Fargo: On the ethics of not calling things by names that others use
From Philadelphia comes news that the 76ers basketball team refuses to say “Wells Fargo” when referring to the arena where it plays. Wells Fargo, which bought the bank that bought the bank that made the original deal in 1996, owns naming rights until the 29-year, $40 million deal ends in 2025. But that money went […]
Is there an ethical difference in reporting the ‘chemical-related’ deaths of Philip Seymour Hoffman and another person?
Had it not been Super Bowl Sunday, the world might have taken even more notice about the death of Philip Seymour Hoffman, found dead on Feb. 2 wit h a needle in his arm and 70 bags of heroin in his apartment. A quick Google News search this morning showed more than 5,300 articles about […]
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, […]
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 […]
New Chrome extension means never having to read what you don’t want to read
Silence of the Celebs, a new extension for Google’s Chrome Web browser, lets you “add any celebrity to the Celebrity Gag List.” Reviews have been mostly positive. As the extension’s site notes, people who are “tired of Charlie Sheen” can block his name from Twitter, the New York Times, CNN, Huffington Post, Google News, Gawker, […]
Now that Blagojevich has been convicted, will entertainment shows steer clear of indicted celebrities and politicians?
Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich lasted four weeks in the Spring 2010 season of Celebrity Apprentice. He was fired four months before a federal jury found him guilty of lying. Last week’s conviction of former Illinois Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich on 17 criminal counts reminds us of how TV found a way to turn a […]
Do TV station owners have the ethical duty to not broadcast network programs they don’t think are ethical?
KSL-TV, the NBC affiliate in Salt Lake City, is owned by a corporation owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. But that doesn’t mean you’ll see all of NBC’s fare when you tune in. For years it has not shown Saturday Night Live — and this week it said it would not […]
Is it ethical for journalists to keep interviewing Charlie Sheen?
Jeff Jarvis of Buzzville asks whether it’s right for journalists to continue interviewing actor Charlie Sheen, calling him a mentally ill man who doesn’t need the attention: What Sheen does may be news. What his network didn’t do is also news — when he abused women, they kept him on the air to keep the […]
A meta-analysis of “When entertainment trumps morality”
The AV Club asked its contributors and readers a question that’s worth asking yourself: What mass media and/or practitioners do you like despite your moral qualms? Answers to “When entertainment trumps morality” boiled down to categories of: fare produced by actors, musicians, and athletes with questionable ethics. individual movies, shows, or songs with overtones of […]