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Ethics and Other Informal Controls

Chapter 17

© 2009, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

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CHAPTER OUTLINE

• Personal Ethics

• Performance Codes

• Internal Controls

• Outside Influences

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PERSONAL ETHICS

• Ethics: rules of conduct or principles of morality guiding us to proper behavior

• Ethical principles do not provide magic answers to all ethical dilemmas

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Ethical Principles

• Principle of the Golden Mean

• Categorical Imperative

• Principle of Utility

• Veil of Ignorance

• Principle of Self-Determination

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A Model for Individual Ethical Decisions

• Potter’s Model:– Definitions Values Principles

Loyalties Action– Before taking action, consider the following:

• Define the situation• What values are involved?• What ethical principles apply?• Where do our loyalties lie?

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Acculturation

• Acculturation is accepting the ideas, attitudes, and options of the people whose story you’re covering– Not necessarily bad, but can affect journalistic

judgment

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PERFORMANCE CODES

• Many media have codes of conduct or ethics.

• Codes help professionals make ethical decisions more quickly and with more uniformity.

• Media systems have no review boards, so few disciplinary sanctions result from poor performance

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The Print Media

• American Society of Newspaper Editors (ASNE)– Canons of Journalism

• Responsibility, freedom of the press, independence, accuracy, impartiality, fair play, decency

• Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ)– Codes of conduct

• See the truth and report it• Minimize harm• Act independently• Be accountable

• Other associations or organizations have adopted their own ethical codes

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Broadcasting

• Several broadcast organizations have tried to codify ethical systems, but none have survived with specificity or enforceability

• V-Chip is compromise between formal and informal controls

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Motion Pictures

• Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America (MPPDA)– MPPDA had a highly specific code; films

sought MPPDA seal of approval

• Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA)– Simple rating system

• As revised: G, PG, PG-13, R, NC-17

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The Advertising Industry

• The advertising industry also has professional organizations with professional codes of conduct– Membership in organizations is voluntary, as

is adherence to codes– Industry believes self-regulation is preferable

to government censorship

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INTERNAL CONTROLS

• Most media organizations have their own internal self-regulatory guidelines

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Organizational Policy: Television Networks’ Standards

and Practices• Standards and practices departments review

content aired on the network • Monitoring of content differs at different

broadcast and cable networks.– Some monitor everything, including ads.– Networks are relying more on program producers to

follow accepted guidelines– Content not acceptable for broadcast may appear on

Internet• Individual stations self regulate (policy book);

may air a network program later, or not at all

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Organizational Policy: Newspapers and Magazines

• Newspapers and magazines have two forms of policy statements– Operating policies– Editorial policies

• Boosterism– Consumers should seek multiple media to get

more complete view

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Self-Criticism

• Self-criticism in media industry is the exception, not the rule

• Internet opens new channel for media self-criticism

• Ombudsperson concept has been tried but has not caught on

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Professional Self-Regulation in Advertising

• National Advertising Review Council– National Advertising Division– National Advertising Review Board– Can forward case to Federal Trade

Commission

• Industry groups exert control over advertising for their products

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OUTSIDE INFLUENCES

• Media organizations can be influenced by the environments in which they operate

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Economic Pressures

• Economic controls can take many forms– Pressure from advertisers

• Product placement• Some media more vulnerable to advertiser

pressure than others

– Business policies• Revenue-related reading matter

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Pressure Groups

• Audience segments can band together to pressure media– Economic pressures (boycotts)– Publicity pressures– Legal pressures

• Action for Children’s Television (disbanded 1992)

• There are both positive and negative aspects of citizen groups

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Press Councils

• Press councils, or news councils, are independent agencies monitoring media performance on day-to-day basis

• No enforcement powers

• Began in Europe, not very popular in US

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Education

• Teaching ethical media practices at universities is very popular– May have direct impact on media

performance in the future

• Most experts agree that it’s better to teach a systematic way to think about ethical issues than to teach specific codes of ethics