Media ethics

Media ethics is the subdivision of applied ethics dealing with the specific ethical principles and
standards of media, including broadcast media, film, theatre, the arts, print media and the
internet. The field covers many varied and highly controversial topics, ranging from war
journalism to Benetton advertising.

Contents
 1 Areas of media ethics
o 1.1 Ethics of journalism
o 1.2 Ethics of entertainment media
o 1.3 Media and democracy
 2 Contexts of media ethics
o 2.1 Media ethics and the law
o 2.2 Media ethics and media economics
o 2.3 Intercultural dimensions of media ethics
 3 Meta-issues in media ethics
o 3.1 Similarities between media ethics and other fields of applied ethics
o 3.2 Differences between media ethics and other fields of applied ethics

Areas of media ethics

Ethics of journalism

Main article: Journalism ethics and standards

The ethics of journalism is one of the most well-defined branches of media ethics, primarily
because it is frequently taught in schools of journalism. Journalistic ethics tends to dominate
media ethics, sometimes almost to the exclusion of other areas. [1] Topics covered by journalism
ethics include:

 News manipulation. News can manipulate and be manipulated. Governments and

corporations may attempt to manipulate news media; governments, for example, by
censorship, and corporations by share ownership. The methods of manipulation are subtle
and many. Manipulation may be voluntary or involuntary. Those being manipulated may
not be aware of this. See: news propaganda.
Photographers crowd around a starlet at the Cannes Film Festival.

 Truth. Truth may conflict with many other values.

o Public interest. Revelation of military secrets and other sensitive government
information may be contrary to the public interest, even if it is true. The definition
of public interest is hard.
o Privacy. Salacious details of the lives of public figures is a central content element
in many media. Publication is not necessarily justified simply because the
information is true. Privacy is also a right, and one which conflicts with free
speech. See: paparazzi.
o Fantasy. Fantasy is an element of entertainment, which is a legitimate goal of
media content. Journalism may mix fantasy and truth, with resulting ethical
dilemmas. See: National Enquirer, Jayson Blair scandal, Adnan Hajj photographs
controversy.
o Taste. Photo journalists who cover war and disasters confront situations which
may shock the sensitivities of their audiences. For example, human remains are
rarely screened. The ethical issue is how far should one risk shocking an
audience's sensitivities in order to correctly and fully report the truth. See
photojournalism.
 Conflict with the law. Journalistic ethics may conflict with the law over issues such as the
protection of confidential news sources. There is also the question of the extent to which
it is ethically acceptable to break the law in order to obtain news. For example,
undercover reporters may be engaging in deception, trespass and similar torts and crimes.
See undercover journalism, investigative journalism. Ethics in journalism is an utopia,
can never be applied in practice.

[edit] Ethics of entertainment media

Issues in the ethics of entertainment media include:

 The depiction of violence and sex, and the presence of strong language. Ethical
guidelines and legislation in this area are common and many media (e.g. film, computer
games) are subject to ratings systems and supervision by agencies. An extensive guide to
international systems of enforcement can be found under motion picture rating system.
 Product placement. An increasingly common marketing tactic is the placement of
products in entertainment media. The producers of such media may be paid high sums to
display branded products. The practice is controversial and largely unregulated. Detailed
article: product placement.
  Stereotypes. Both advertising and entertainment media make heavy use of stereotypes.
Stereotypes may negatively affect people's perceptions of themselves or promote socially
undesirable behaviour. The stereotypical portrayals of men, affluence and ethnic groups
are examples of major areas of debate.
 Taste and taboos. Art is about the questioning of our values. Normative ethics is often
about the enforcement and protection of our values. In media ethics, these two sides come
into conflict. In the name of art, media may deliberately attempt to break with existing
norms and shock the audience. The extent to which this is acceptable is always a hotbed
of ethical controversy. See: Turner Prize, obscenity, freedom of speech, aesthetics.

Media and democracy

In democratic countries, a special relationship exists between media and government. Although
the freedom of the media may be constitutionally enshrined and have precise legal definition and
enforcement, the exercise of that freedom by individual journalists is a matter of personal choice
and ethics. Modern democratic government subsists in representation of millions by hundreds.
For the representatives to be accountable, and for the process of government to be transparent,
effective communication paths must exist to their constituents. Today these paths consist
primarily of the mass media, to the extent that if press freedom disappeared, so would most
political accountability. In this area, media ethics merges with issues of civil rights and politics.
Issues include:

 Subversion of media independence by financial interests. [2]

 Government monitoring of media for intelligence gathering against its own people. See,
for example, NSA call database.

See: freedom of information, media transparency Right to Information. L Mera

Contexts of media ethics

Media ethics and the law

Media ethics and media economics

Media ethics also deals with the relationship of media and media economics where things such
as -- deregulation of media, concentration of media ownership, FCC regulations in the U.S,
media trade unions and labor issues, and other such worldwide regulating bodies, citizen media
(low power FM, community radio) -- have ethical implications.

Intercultural dimensions of media ethics

If values differ interculturally, the issue arises of the extent to which behaviour should be
modified in the light of the values of specific cultures. Two examples of controversy from the
field of media ethics:
  Google's self-censorhip in China.
 The Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy in Denmark, and subsequently
worldwide.

Meta-issues in media ethics

One theoretical question for media ethics is the extent to which media ethics is just another
topical subdivision of applied ethics, differing only in terms of case applications and raising no
theoretical issues peculiar to itself. The oldest subdivisions of applied ethics are medical ethics
and business ethics. Does media ethics have anything new to add other than interesting cases?

Similarities between media ethics and other fields of applied ethics

Privacy and honesty are issues extensively covered in medical ethical literature, as is the
principle of harm-avoidance. The trade-offs between economic goals and social values has been
covered extensively in business ethics (as well as medical and environmental ethics).

Differences between media ethics and other fields of applied ethics

The issues of freedom of speech and aesthetic values (taste) are primarily at home in media
ethics. However a number of further issues distinguish media ethics as a field in its own right.

A theoretical issue peculiar to media ethics is the identity of observer and observed. The press is
one of the primary guardians in a democratic society of many of the freedoms, rights and duties
discussed by other fields of applied ethics. In media ethics the ethical obligations of the
guardians themselves comes more strongly into the foreground. Who guards the guardians? This
question also arises in the field of legal ethics.

A further self-referentiality or circular characteristic in media ethics is the questioning of its own
values. Meta-issues can become identical with the subject matter of media ethics. This is most
strongly seen when artistic elements are considered. Benetton advertisements and Turner prize
candidates are both examples of ethically questionable media uses which question their own
questioner.

Another characteristic of media ethics is the disparate nature of its goals. Ethical dilemmas
emerge when goals conflict. The goals of media usage diverge sharply. Expressed in a
consequentialist manner, media usage may be subject to pressures to maximize: economic
profits, entertainment value, information provision, the upholding of democratic freedoms, the
development of art and culture, fame and vanity.

MEDIA ETHICS or journalism ethics is a branch of philosophy concerned with actions that are
morally permissible and those that are not. Media ethics assist media workers in determining
what is right, and how to choose the best from several alternatives. Media ethics constitutes a
normative science of conduct and must therefore be applied voluntarily.
Ethics should set guidelines, rules, norms, codes and principles that will lead journalists and all
other media workers to make moral decisions. They should not be forced to do so because ethics
is applied voluntarily.

There are teleological ethics and deontological ethics. Teleological ethics is the acceptability of
an action is measured in terms of its consequences - only after consequences have been noted is
the rightness or wrongness determined. While deontological ethics is when the rightness or
wrongness of an action is dependent on the action itself and not on the results or consequences it
produces.

The media ethics are so broad but this site will mainly focus on normative media ethics.
Normative ethics is concerned with what people and institutions ought to do and how they
should conduct themselves. Media workers are part of society and therefore, function within the
parameters set by the expectations prevalent in a society at a particular time. Apart from society,
the government of the country also informs expectations of what the media ought to do.
Consequently, a nation’s media, more than any other kind of institution is shaped by the
prevailing political power.

There are four normative media ethics theory but I will only touch two theories and you will
decide the theory that your country practices at the moment

Authoritarian Theory

In this theory, the press was seen as a very powerful tool, and those in power used it to convey
only information they wanted the public to have. In this theory, the rulers controlled the press
and reserved the right to license publications and censor content. The emphasis here is on the
control of the press to ensure the promotion of the interests of those in power.

According to this theory; media is expected 1. Not to undermine the interests of the vested
power. 2. Not to contravene the prevailing moral and political values because deviation could
lead to censorship, formulation of stricter laws if the media contravene regulations. 3. License is
provided on conditions that must be adhered to as well as criminal charges against the media that
criticise the authority.

Social Responsibility Theory

The emphasis of this theory is evidently on self-control. Due to development of the media, policy
makers had to ensure that the media optimally contributed to the democratic process, while
simultaneously providing the envisaged social benefits to media users. Apart from ensuring press
freedom, social theory had to make provision for obligations of the media.

These obligations led to formulation of the social responsibility theory. In terms of this theory
the media should: 1. Accept responsibilities towards society including setting professional
standards for supply of information i.e. truth, accuracy, objectivity, privacy and balance of their
reporting. 2. Avoid publishing information that could lead to violence or social disruption.3.
Expect societal intervention if the media fail to meet professional standard. 4. Collectively reflect
a diversity of content to ensure public access to a variety of viewpoints, and their right to react to
these viewpoints.

Media Ethics in the Future

Over time, the free market based Libertarian model has resulted in a number of problems, from
corporate and political censorship, to media bias. Stories, that would logically be important are
not always reported, and are in fact substituted with more entertaining news. For example, major
world issues, such as the ongoing conflict in Somalia, are seldom covered in the news, while
media outlets become saturated with sensationalist news such as the death of Michael Jackson.
Also, without the requirement of social responsibility, the Western media tends to cover only the
political candidates that can afford advertisements, limiting the coverage of various political
movements.

These tendencies result in a lack of media ethics and a deluge of entertaining information, but
not necessarily the most important information. Major humanitarian issues can go unnoticed for
years, environmental problems are covered intermittently, and many voices remain unheard.
Media continues to change however. With the internet, there are new opportunities for
information to be spread and knowledge to be shared.

The media system of the future may not fall into either the social responsibility or Libertarian
model, as the public is no longer dependent on mass media sources for news. What role media
ethics will play in the new system only the future can tell.

There are many books on media law and communication ethics, but today journalism and
communication studies are being transformed by new media and communication convergence. This
book tries to unravel the complication
and updates the curriculum on communication regulations. This book is designed keeping in mind the
UGC Core Curriculum for the course Media Law and Ethics offered at the Masters Degree for students of
Journalism, Mass Communication, Electronic Media, Public Relations and Advertising Studies in the
Indian Universities.

Every journalist and journalism student - from the traditional print media to the modern convergent
media - should know the legal and ethical aspects of publishing a story. There are two main aspects of
media regulations: 1) media laws about the publication of a story which may relate to libel and
defamation; and 2) media laws about permissible comments on legal proceedings which include
contempt of court.

A journalist must also make ethical choices about each story apart from its possible legal implications.
This book examines not only the laws governing the media but also ethical issues in everyday journalism.
The chapters in the book have focused on the existing challenges in communication regulations and also
throw light on the emerging ethical concerns in the global media environment.

BACK Home

Content

Preface
Editor and Contributors

Theoretical Foundations of Communication Regulations

1. Freedom, Regulation and Ethics: Market, State and Media Accountability System - Claude-Jean
Bertrand
2. Communication and Values - Kiran Prasad
3. A Theory of Media Ethics: Foundation and Key Issues - Kiran Prasad
4. Satellite Broadcasting Regulation and Cultural Exception: An Arab Islamic View of Communication
- Basyouni Ibrahim Hamada

Press and Broadcasting Regulations

5. Laws and Regulations Governing Press Freedom in India

- P. E. Thomas
6. Laws and Regulations in Indian Broadcasting
- G. Nagamallika
7. Foreign Direct Investment in Print Media: Legal and Ethical Issues –
- Roy Mathew
8. Freedom, Individualism and Ethical Behaviour: A Comparative Study of Print and Electronic Media
Journalists
- Kiran Prasad
9. Electronic News Media and Emerging Ethical Issues - Bhavya Srivastava

New Media and Content Regulations

10. The Legal Capture of New Media Technology

- Lawrence Liang
11. Indian Cyber Laws
- Umesh Arya
12. Cyber Journalism: Legal and Ethical Issues
- Pradeep Nair
13. All Rights Reserved?: Cultural Monopoly and the Troubles with Copyright in the Age of the Internet
- Michael Geist
14. Pornography and Women’s Sexuality in the Legal Web
- Kamayani Bali Mahabal
15. Protecting Minors against Harmful New Media Content: Perspectives on Content Regulation in the
Digital Media
- Eva Lievens

Regulations in Functional Communication

16. Emergency and Censorship: The dark side

of Indian Democracy
- Shaju P.P
17. Media and Legislative Privileges: A Case
Study
- Nirmaldasan
18. Regulatory Challenges and Ethical Issues
in Public Relations and Advertising
- Waheeda Sultana
19. Right to Information and Communication
Regulations in India
- Kiran Prasad

About the Editor: Kiran Prasad is Associate Professor in Communication and Journalism, Sri Padmavati
Mahila University, Tirupati, India. Recently she was awarded the Commonwealth Academic Staff
Fellowship and was Visiting Research Fellow at the Institute of Communication Studies, University of
Leeds, UK. She was Canadian Studies Research Fellow at the School of Journalism and Communication,
Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada. She is also the youngest ever recipient of the ‘State Best Teacher
Award’ for university teachers from the Government of Andhra Pradesh, India. A prolific writer and well
known Indian communication philosopher, she is author/editor of over fifteen books. Her theoretical
contributions include a conceptual model of Ethics Affecting Variables (EAV) in Communication; an
analytical framework and conceptual model on Media Policy Affecting Variables for the implementation
of media policy in the developing countries; and a conceptual model on Voting Behaviour Affecting
Variables in Political Communication Campaign. She has specialized in several branches of
communication and has successfully guided doctoral degrees in communication and journalism. She can
be reached at kiranrn_prasad@hotmail.com; kiranrn.prasad@gmail.com
Jessica Lall (1965–1999) was a model in New Delhi, who was working as a celebrity barmaid at
a crowded socialite party when she was shot dead on April 29, 1999 [1]. Dozens of witnesses
pointed to Siddharth Vashisht, a.k.a. Manu Sharma, the son of Venod Sharma, a wealthy
Congress politician in Haryana, as the murderer. The surname "Lall" is sometimes spelled "Lal"
in the media.

In the ensuing trial over seven years, Manu Sharma and a number of others were acquitted on
February 21, 2006.

Following intense media and public pressure, the prosecution appealed and the Delhi High Court
conducted proceedings on a fast track with daily hearings over 25 days. The lower court
judgment was found faulty in law, and Manu Sharma was found guilty of having murdered
Jessica Lall. He was sentenced to life imprisonment on December 20, 2006.