Chapter 14 Flashcards

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Accountability

Definition

To be morally responsible for an act regardless of one’s choice to act or full knowledge of the decision’s ramifications. Account giving, blameworthiness, and responsibility are associated with the term.

Blameworthiness

Definition

Deciding whether people deserve censure for their actions.

Cognitive dissonance

Definition

The discomfort that occurs when your beliefs don’t match your actions or when your brain has two competing thoughts.

Communitarian

Definition

Emphasizes the need to balance individual rights and interests with that of the community as a whole, and says that citizens are shaped by the cultures and values of their communities and individuals need to lead freely chosen lives. Source: Standard Encyclopedia of Philosophy

Credibility

Definition

What people think of you; your image or reputation.

Ethos

Definition

A term from Aristotle’s Rhetoric that helps define credibility, saying that ethos depends on the personal character of the speaker.

Hostile media effect

Definition

A theory that says people with strong opinion about a topic are more likely to believe that media coverage on that topic is biased against them. In some instances, both sides of an issue may believe the same media coverage was biased against them.

Logos

Definition

A term from Aristotle’s Rhetoric that helps define credibility, saying that logos considers the proof, or apparent proof, provided by the words of the speech.

Media accountability systems

Definition

Claude-Jean Bertrand described 60 kinds of accountability systems for journalism, which are categorized as text-based, individuals/groups, and processes. Some are internal, others are external, and still others are co-operative. Similar systems are proposed for other media arenas.

Ombudsmen

Definition

Media personnel charged with representing the interests of the public by investigating and addressing complaints about the medium reported by individual citizens. They fulfill accountability and public relations roles.

Pathos

Definition

A term from Aristotle’s Rhetoric that helps define credibility, saying that pathos depends on putting the audience into a certain frame of mind.

Transparency

Definition

To allow decision-making processes be available for others to see; to be open, frank, candid. It implies accountability.

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Dr. Chris Roberts

Associate Professor