Ethics

Question 1

privacy

Answer 1

is evasion of privacy justified by the content?
-public figures accept a little bit more evasion of privacy
ex/ Kate Middleton sunbathing topless
-public figure but had expectation of privacy and not doing anything corrupt

Question 2

basic obligation to human beings

Answer 2

reporting on person or phenomenon, justified in not helping a person in danger of getting hurt
ex/footage from Vietnam war

Question 3

taste

Answer 3

something that is in poor taste
-some argue that media sacrifices good taste for ratings
ex/ showing body of dead son of Bill Cosby - no investigation; knew who did it

Question 4

stereotypes

Answer 4

obligation to avoid stereotypes?
-based on imagine or observed trait for a general group, assigned general characteristics
-easier to lean on stereotypes
-should generalize even if positive?
-reinforces power structure
ex/ 2 Little Pigs - wolf disguises a Jewish peddler

Question 5

undercover reporting

Answer 5

valuable but ethical?
-lying to get information
ex/ exposing prisons and mental institutions
-doesn’t need to be upheld in court

Question 6

conflict of interests

Answer 6

reporter or company putting out mews; may withhold information to protect interests of parent company or conglomerates
-swayed by profit
-harder to remain neutral if applies directly to us
ex/ GE owns NBC - manufactures weapons, was NBC pursuing softer stories to allow war to continue to make a profit?

Question 7

accuracy of information

Answer 7

• fact-checking, making sure a story is true before running it
• maybe skip to beat delines

Question 8

checkbook journalism

Answer 8

journalist paying for a story
ex/ Monica Lewinsky was given lots of money for her story, could have fabricated
-maybe to get an exclusive story
-encourages people to lie
ex/ ABC paid friend of Columbine shooter to give home video

Question 9

Payola

Answer 9

reporter is paid to give favorable coverage

-doesn’t happen in the open today

Question 10

cameras in court

Answer 10

or in trials

-does this bias the general public; people involved in trial, bias a potential jury pool

Question 11

reporting on risks

Answer 11

should the media be responsible to give an accurate picture of risks in the world? in the things it covers? making us scared of the wrong things?

• amount of coverage on something is related to the risk but not the probability of it happening to you
• focus on sensational controversy (shark attack, plane crash)
• more dangerous things get under-reported
• more coverage on plane crashes than car crashes even though you are much more likely to die in a car crash