On Lamar Odom: Is constant celebrity news coverage ethical?
By Leila Beem Núñez When Lamar Odom was found unconscious in a Nevada brothel last Tuesday, bedlam ensued. News outlets across the nation seized immediately and persistently on the story, and there has been little rest from it since. The former NBA star and reality television celebrity became the constant focal point across national news […]
Frank Sinatra, Gay Talese, and why journalists should practice the theory of pragmatism
By Laura D. Testino In 1964, Frank Sinatra covered a Frank Loesser tune called “I Believe in You” from Loesser’s Pulitzer-snagging Broadway smash “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.” In the song, Sinatra croons, “You have the cool, clear eyes of a seeker of wisdom and truth.” Writer, journalist (and 1953 University of […]
Sexism remains an issue in sports journalism in 2015
By Kevin Connell If you think you have it better off than me, there’s a good chance you’re wrong. Ask yourself, are you a male? Yes? No? If it’s the latter, then I don’t think it’s up for discussion. While I could probably use this test in most areas of our masculine culture and get […]
Does Charlie Hebdo’s Syrian satire go too far?
By Leila Beem Núñez Charlie Hebdo is no stranger to controversy. In 2006, the French satirical magazine enraged many in the Muslim world when it republished cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. In 2011, its offices were firebombed and damaged after publishing content of a similar nature. In January of this year, the consequences for its […]
It’s legal to defame a dead person, but that does not make it ethical
By Kevin Connell When Vladlen Putistin took his case to court, his claim was clear: He wanted the information rectified and he wanted compensation for the damages. In his view, he believed the journalist’s statements in her published newspaper article defamed his father, thus justifying his decision to sue. In July 2001, Putistin sued the […]
In defense of the photos of the lifeless Syrian boy
By Layton Dudley The cliché saying goes that ‘a picture is worth a thousand words.’ The question in journalism is, in regards to ethics, when should the photo do the talking? Recently, an international photo surfaced that has caused controversy within the media. The photograph depicts a lifeless Syrian boy, named Aylan, only three years […]
Journalism schools should have a standard code of ethics
By Laura Testino In Walt Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast,” the cartoon candlestick character, Lumière, leads a musical number featuring the other anthropomorphic kitchenware. Soon after the song, “Be Our Guest” begins, Lumière exclaims to “Try the grey stuff, it’s delicious!” But some journalists would do no such thing: the black and white stuff is […]
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 […]
Knoxville News correctly balanced loyalties, matters of taste in coverage of deadly bus crash
By Anna Ramia Overview On October 2, 2013, a church bus traveling near Knoxville, Tenn. collided with an SUV and a tractor-trailer, killing eight people and injuring 14. The bus’s front-left tire blew out, sending the bus across the median, clipping a car before T-boning the semi-truck. The bus flipped over, and the semi caught […]