1. 1 Ethics and Other Informal Controls Chapter 17 © 2009, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

2. 2 CHAPTER OUTLINE Personal Ethics Performance Codes Internal Controls Outside Influences

3. 3 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

4. 4 Ethical Principles Principle of the Golden Mean Categorical Imperative Principle of Utility Veil of Ignorance Principle of Self-Determination

5. 5 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?

6. 6 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

7. 7 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

8. 8 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

9. 9 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

10. 10 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

11. 11 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

12. 12 INTERNAL CONTROLS Most media organizations have their own internal self-regulatory guidelines

13. 13 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

14. 14 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

15. 15 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

16. 16 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

17. 17 OUTSIDE INFLUENCES Media organizations can be influenced by the environments in which they operate

18. 18 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

19. 19 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

20. 20 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

21. 21 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