MMC 4203 Media Ethics Test 2 FSU

Plato

believed that real truth can be found only through enlightenment by study and reason

Aristotle

believed that truth can be found by observation and categorization and testing by others

paraphrasing

may cause problems with interpretation, some off-color words also become part of modern vernacular

the ban on freebies

may seem unfair because it mostly applies to journalists who are not making a lot of money (e.g. beginning reporters)

reasons for cheating

obsession with money, easy way of dealing with problems, fall prey to temptation of taking shortcuts, handle competitive pressures, norms of journalistic writing makes reporters' life too difficult

suspicions of the public

if a journalist accepts freebies, the public may suspect that their reporting is biased

intrusion, publicity of embarrassing private facts, false light, appropriation

legally:

reluctant

media is __________ to publish juvenile offenders

indifference

objectivity does NOT mean _____________, and it doesn't necessarily mean treating all sides equally

rationalists

posit that senses are fallible; one needs to use reason and experience

the first to deliver the bad news

prepare for the possibility that you will be:

freebies

rose in America through the 1930s and 40s and reached their height in the late 1950s and early 1960s, then dropped slowly through the 70s and 80s and into the 90s

ASNE (American Society of Newspaper Editors)

says it's essential for journalists to be compassionate

lazy journalism

simply reporting different sides of a story without sorting through the evidence

advertisers' materials

small newspaper journalists can be asked to write stories using ______________ _____________

decline, increase

the __________ in freebies was promoted by the ______________ of professionalism among journalists

acceptability

the ability to manipulate sound and video made broadcast journalists look for new standards of ___________________

space, time

the amount of ______ and _________ allocated to different political candidates can be driven by the tactic chosen by the candidates

images

the audience often relies on images to see events as they are, but photographers often engage in benign staging of the news

Internet

these factors acquire new importance with the importance with the emergence of the ______________ with its search opportunities and the indefinite time information stays online

look-lives

tv reporters sometimes simulate a live report by engaging in so-called "____________" to satisfy the public's preference for live coverage

truth-telling and fair, balanced, and objective reporting

two commitments of the American media:

Smith CH 11

Compassion, Privacy, and Ordinary Citizens

Smith CH 15

Freebies and financial concerns

Kowlton and Reader CH 7

How close is too close when the subject is a little girl?

large, concise

In modernism, news had to be produced quickly and transformed to _______ distances in a _________ form

public relations

In the 1920s, with the rise of ______________ ___________________, government and businesses were advised to seek publicity in the media

Knowlton and Reader CH 8

Keeping cool when you get a hot quote

Knowlton and Reader CH 17

Sex in the elevator: legitimate news or sophomoric titillation

pretend

TV reporters may pretend to be at a scene when they are not

exact words

a journalistic norm is to put source's ______ ______ in quotation marks or paraphrase them

time constraints

_____ ___________ often stay in the way of thorough fact checking

media consumers

_______ ____________ may blame media for biases if the stories do not correspond to their views- liberals accuse media of conservative bias, conservatives- of liberal

competitive pressures

_____________ ______________ may prevent showing compassion

immediate, long-term

______________ and ____________________ embarrassment of those involved in the story is also a factor because they all have friends and families

compassion

_______________ can make reporters weak-willed and make them forget about responsibility to inform the public

bargaining

_______________ usually applies to politicians, entertainers, athletes and other public figures

compassion

________________ runs counter to objective reporting because reporters are considered spectators not participants

judges and police

_____________________________ often push journalists to publish names of juvenile offenders

are public officials entitled to private lives? celebrities? private citizens who voluntarily enter the public spotlight? private citizens who involuntarily enter the public spotlight?

a key question: is the information in the public interest and essential for democratic life?

experience, expertise

a common newsroom policy is to rotate journalists from beat to beat because they become too friendly with sources, the downside of this policy is that it sacrifices __________________ and ____________- it takes time to learn about a beat

don't publish names or pictures of suspects before they are convicted

a common rule when naming people suspected of crimes

balanced

a problem with _____________ stories is that they tend to present all sides as equally credible, which is not the fact in climate change discourse, for example

plagiarism

a surprisingly widespread problem among journalists

the appearance of hypocrisy

accepting gifts from the people in power will make reporters look like a certain type of person who exposes corrupt politicians but accepts bribes themselves

direct pressure from gift givers

accepting gifts may lead to direct pressure from givers to provide favorable coverage

encourage

acknowledge that reports on suicide may ______________ people at risk to make an attempt

subjective, active, neutral

after McCarthy's situation, journalism became more ____________ and _________ instead of being ______________

blogs

an important part of online media that are evolving and changing in nature, from personal diaries to original reporting; best ones are limited to niche expertise, open about their motives, transparent about their sources, and willing to admit mistakes

protect

another rule is to _________ the names of accused in sex crimes if they haven't been convicted

empiricists

argue that one can find truth by using senses

permission

ask ___________________

benign staging

asking people to pretend to talk on the phone

alert, impact

be __________ to the special __________ of photos, graphics, and overall presentation

accurate

be ________________

sensitive

be especially ________________ in placing blame

adhere to the public's right to know

but the media are in the information business:

objectivity

came into being after WWI as a possible cure for problems besieging journalism: life and government were becoming complex, birth of PR, psychiatry taught us that people were not nearly as rational as had been believed, reaction to yellow journalism

bloggers

can faster respond to events because they are not required by editors to verify facts

cash awards

can only be accepted from journalism organizations, foundations, or universities

moonlighting

can present ethical problems for journalists

Joe McCarthy, civil rights movement

challenges to objectivity

less sensitive

college audiences are usually ______ ______________ to seeing such stories and student reporters feel encouraged by this attitude

community newspaper

college newspapers are a brand of a _________________________________ with more relaxed rules that may depend on who their student editors are

freebie problem

comparatively new in American Journalism

considerations that may prevent journalists from showing humanness

compassion runs counter to objective reporting because reporters are considered spectators not participants, compassion can make reporters weak-willed and make them forget about responsibility to inform the public, competitive pressures may prevent showing compassion, some reporters want to get a good story to advance their careers

freebies

considered a serious threat to journalistic integrity

balanced reporting

controversies over ___________ ___________ often occur in regard to the coverage of military operations or politicians running for office

Jack Kelley

correspondent of USA Today, wrote a lot of captivating stories about Palestinian terrorists, Kosovo Liberation Army, a school for suicide bombers, etc that won him 5 Pulitzer Prize nominations and a wide respect among fellow reporters, a lot of his stories ended up being exaggerated or fabricated

power, control

grant victims and their families a sense of ________ and _________

continued

demand that vital sources of information about suicides (autopsies and official statistics) are ________________ and study them

violation of privacy

detailed reports are seen as a:

logical positivism (aka modernism)

developed from the development of technology and science in the 19th century and early 20th century

reasonable, unreasonable

dilemma: where to draw the line between ____________ and ________________ conduct

privacy, confidentiality

discuss issues of ____________ and ________________________ at the beginning of the interview

entertainment

don't report suicide as __________________, glamorizing or glorifying suicide as the ultimate flight from life, the great getaway

"I know how you feel"

don't say __________________________________

Hutchins Commission on Freedom of Press (1947)

established that it was "not enough to report facts truthfully," it was necessary to "report truth about the fact"

asking the right questions

ethical decision-making means:

not all cases fall neatly into these categories

ethically:

media organization

experienced journalists insist that a ________ _________________ must know their audience before making a decision to cover suicides

Smith CH 6

faking the news

balanced reporting

following the principle of __________ _____________, journalists created confusion about the risks of smoking by equally covering both scientific research and the information supplied by smoking industry PR experts

names were news

for a long time, reporters assumed that:

the motives of givers

freebies are offered to influence the coverage

early American newspapers

frequently funded by political parties and therefore opinionated and partisan

a privileged class

getting a privileged treatment in-debts reporters and antagonizes the public

The Victims and Media Center gave the following advice to reporters interviewing victims and their families:

grant victims and their families a sense of power and control, discuss issues of privacy and confidentiality at the beginning of the interview, prepare for the possibility that you will be the first to deliver the bad news, ask permission, keep your remarks simple, don't say "I know how you feel," be accurate, be especially sensitive in placing blame, be alert to the special impact of photos, graphics, and overall presentation

moonlighting

holding a second full- or part-time job, has become common in modern society

public's interest

how to balance the individual's interest in privacy against the __________ ____________ in accessing information about others

nationally, local

if the crime is _____________ known, the victim's name is more likely to be published than when the crime is ________

more than 3/4ths of suicides still went unreported, readers resented the paper's new policy, there were concerns that reports on suicide could encourage those who were suicidal, reporters were selective in reporting suicides missing important trends

in 1976, a New England paper, The News, decided to tell the full truth and publish information about suicides based on coroner's reports, the policy failed because:

frequency, quantity

in a society fixated on the young, don't suggest by the ____________ and __________ of prominent coverage that suicide almost exclusively happens to bright teens and tweens

prominence

in making decision on whether to include profanities in a quote, reporters may consider the prominence of a person who say them

different

in modernism, it was accepted that truth and facts are:

the unthinking reporter

in the early 1950s, sen. McCarthy started a campaign to expose communist spies in American politics and media, used media to make reported publicize his accusations

manufacturing

in the early days of American journalism, newspapers liked ____________________ news

truth-telling

included in the code of ethics of the SPJ, what does truth mean in the context of journalism?

euphemisms

it is common to use ____________________ for sex crimes, like "criminally assaulted" or "molested"

broadcasting

it is hard for broadcast journalists to keep two jobs related to ____________________

behave

it is hard to predict how people would _________ if tragedy happened- some want to be alone, some want to talk

credit

it is important to give ______ to the sources of information

hard news reporters

it is sometimes believed that the ban on freebies is only written for _______ ______ _______________

rely first and foremost on verifiable fact

journalism and scientific method:

decisions

journalists and their editors and news directors make dozens of ____________ about every story they publish and broadcast

consequences

journalists cannot just report different sides without putting their words in context because of how important ________________ of their reporting can be

objectivity

journalists disagree about its meaning, SPJ dropped the word from their codes of ethics, editors and journalists consider that is means avoiding your personal biases in reporting which can be an ideal goal

ethical dilemma

journalists face an ethical dilemma of whether they can clean up such comments and still put them in quotation marks

becoming

journalists usually try to stay away from ______________ part of the stories they cover because they should be as honest as possible

simple

keep your remarks ___________

rules

many large newspapers now have ________ that limit the types of contests their writers can join

policies

many news organizations try to establish ___________ to deal with the ethics of photo-imaging technology

Does compassion improve journalism?

many reporters want to humanize social issues and provoke sympathetic response from readers, journalists must show they have feelings

pay their own meals and travel

most American news reporters:

fair, balanced, and objective reporting

most Americans want this, journalists are expected to right the wrongs of society (i.e. pass judgment)

pick up checks for their sources

most news organizations encourage reporters to:

advertising departments

most newspapers and news magazines keep journalists away from ______________ _________________ of their organizations

objectivity

mostly a North American ideal, many European papers are allowed to take political sides

free samples

music, wine, or dental product critics may be expected by their organizations to get _____ _________ of products from the industries

fair, honest, consistent

news outlets not only need to be fair, they need to be perceived as _____, __________, and ___________

hyphens, euphemisms

newspapers may use ___________ or ____________ instead of vulgarities

conservative

newspapers remain _____________ in their protection of readers' modesty- they can change words, pictures, and even offensive facts

Jason Blair (The New York Times), Stephen Glass (The New Republic)

notorious deceitful journalists

technology

now ______________ can be used to quickly access and copy stories or quotes from other outlets

commit suicide

now news media usually do not include the cause of death if people:

sports reporters

often found to violate codes of ethics by accepting tickets

the right to be left alone or to control unwanted publicity about one's personal affairs

one common view:

reporters cannot be bought

one of the common justifications for accepting freebies:

contests

organized by industry sponsors as a rule seek articles that would favorably cover the industry

"the scientists of the news"

over time journalists began to see themselves as _________________________________________________________________ - they had to observe, collect and report only facts

freelancers

particularly vulnerable to pressures from the givers of freebies because of low earnings, have no editors to turn to in problematic situations

their names in the news

people often don't want:

freebies

problem in other industries like pharmaceuticals and lobbying

different

public's view of what should be public is very ____________ from that of reporters

influence news decisions

recognizing the principle of banning freebies is important because free gifts are ways to __________ _____ ____________

modernism (aka logical positivism)

reliance on science and facts

Janet Cooke

reporter for the Washington Post, wrote a story about an 8 year old heroin addict Jimmy, was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for the article, a local paper found out she lied about her education and this exposed a number of lies including her confession that Jimmy's story was fabricated

information, secret

reporters are in the _______________ business, not _____________ business so they must appear fair and open

vultures

reporters as ____________

true

reporters in other countries see nothing wrong with accepting gifts from companies, political parties, or governments

freebies

reporters saw it as compensation for notoriously low salaries

rational, assisted

reporting suicide, don't try to sell so-called _______________ suicide or _____________ suicide as ultimate civil rights appropriate for all

living

reporting suicide, make emphasis on the _____________ who might be able to help a suicidal person or those who struggle with the loss

more inclined

research finds that journalists who received freebies were ______ _____________ to publishing favorable coverage of the givers

judging panels

should be dominated by respected journalists or journalist educators

contests

should not imply favorable treatment of a cause or subject

why don't some things make it into the story?

some details are unimportant, irrelevant (e.g. weather); there is a legitimate reason to keep it out (e.g. SSN); the source tells something newsworthy but doesn't want to be identified as a source or doesn't want the information to be public (e.g. corruption)

impractical

some editors found bans on gifts for all journalists ____________

subjective

some experts in journalistic ethics argue that photographers manipulate the reality by the very act of taking a photograph from their __________________ perspective

do some policies reinforce the stigma of rape?

some journalists and activists think so, others say that the policy is right because rape is an intimate humiliation

agendas

some media in the U.S. also admit to pursuing political _____________ like the Washington Post or Fox News

crediting

some reporters can use others' work without ___________ the source

direct

some reporters create "_______" quotes that a person never said or combine sentences said at different times

advance

some reporters want to get a good story to ______________ their careers

difficult to prove

some say it's not right because rape crimes are:

acknowledging them

some small tv and radio stations have been known to read the news directly from local newspapers without:

direct

sometimes a person's _______ words are grammatically clumsy or accompanied by gestures that explain them

the real deal

special treatment prevents getting accurate information

less believeable

stories without names are:

Knowlton and Reader CH 18

suicide: important news or a grotesque invasion of privacy?

don't report suicide as entertainment, glamorizing or glorifying suicide as the ultimate flight from life, the great getaway for eternity; in a society fixated on the young don't suggest by the frequency and quantity of prominent coverage that suicide almost exclusively happens to bright teens and tweens; reporting suicide, don't try to sell so-called rational suicide as ultimate civil rights appropriate for all; demand that vital sources of information about suicides (autopsies and official statistics) are continued and study them; reporting suicide, make emphasis on the living who might be able to help a suicidal person or those who struggle with the loss; acknowledge that reports on suicide may encourage people at risk to make an attempt

the 6 rules The News and others suggest regarding reporting suicide

reasons why freebies are bad

the motives of givers, suspicions of the public, a privileged class, appearance of hypocrisy, the real deal, direct pressure from gift givers

benefits of less objectivity in journalism

the news media might attract a larger audience, interest in politics and voter turnouts are higher in countries with more partisan media and were higher in the US before the principle of objectivity was introduced in reporting, if journalists admitted their views openly and were trying to pretend to be "objective" it would decrease criticism of the media

relying on the written record still important but no longer enough, truth in human affairs can never be nailed down

the notion of objectivity had to be redefined:

sex/rape victims

the policy is not to print names of:

before

the reporter and the source have to agree that the information is off the record ___________ the information is passed to the reporter.

seriousness of the crime

the use of names often depends on __________________________________ or whether it is moved to the adult court

35

there has been an increase of ____% in cheating in colleges

one of the greatest journalistic sins

to get too close to a source or become friendly with a news source which can result in playing down a negative aspect of a story out of personal friendship

computer software

today, images can be completely altered with _____________ ______________ without indication that it is a fake image

truth-telling, trust

today, this attitude of manufacturing news changed as news organizations realize that lying violates the principle of _______________________ and undermines ________ between reporters and their audience

Smith CH 3

truth and objectivity

philosophers

understood truth differently

manipulate

unlike in the past, newspaper photographers are not supposed to __________________ scenes anymore, but occasionally they may rearrange props or recreate scenes

suicide

until early 20th century, _____________ would have been considered prime news, but then it was reversed for religious and reputation reasons

"off the record"

used by journalists and experienced sources in the meaning that the source doesn't want their words to go public, BUT only if the reporter agrees

treat victims as human beings, respect their dignity, honor their feelings and requests

what is the key to covering tragedy?

intrusion

what public sees as _______________ on the life or tragedy of others, reporters often see as news

objectivity

when comments are inflammatory and deal with high-profile situation, journalist's ______________ is challenged in many ways

freebies

when journalists are offered all kinds of gifts for covering services and products by manufacturer companies and owners

what Dillon learned from the custody case

when moral right or wrong comes into conflict with a journalist's professional right or wrong (i.e. staying away from a case), it is the moral right that should always prevail; media have a power to serve as a court of last appeal; reporters are responsible for how they depict people in their stories

because something is interesting does not mean it is important

whether the story was newsworthy at all is a big part of the debate

convenience, to improve quality, or change the readers' understanding of the story

why photographers manipulate photos

public figures

with ________ ____________ who know how to interact with journalists, striking a deal beforehand is very important

conflict of interests

writing promotional materials or acting as a photographer for companies or businesses can be viewed as: