Ethics Exam 3

Truth and deception Step No. 4: What's it worth? -> Personal and professional values (7) -> Now, we move to specific key values in communication starting with truth and deception! Truth is the m... im... m... v... in communications! *But some real life situations (obstacles) challenge the a... or w.../desire to always communicate the truth! 1) G... d... *Misinformation is information that is unintentionally wrong. D... is information that is intentionally wrong. *It is common for g... (U.S. and elsewhere) to want to spread d... and use media to do that! Sometimes communicators (most of the time) do not even know it's happening. Which is why it is hard to tell the truth all the time! *Examples: -Iraq war: TV analysts [the war was supported by military contractors, making money off the war]. WHY these analysts would say the US' strategy was on the money and the war was a good thing. Analysts received 'special insight information' from the Pentagon. -Russian government puting videos on state news, saying 'Look at these fake videos made by Ukraine!' But these fake videos are made by Russia and not Ukraine. -Typically, how much we know the information is b... l... or not we're unsure of, but there are times when it is just b... l.... US lied on the situation in Afghanistan during the war in Afghanistan for example. B... l...! Dealing with d... (with anyone) -D... often isn't r..., but what should media do when they know they are getting d...? We have three options... a) P... it but b... it with a different view: This seems inadequate - we're not labeling it AS IT IS (as d...). There is some false o... b) 'K... it d...' on their own using f...: Present it but present one's own research and reporting to make it clear this is d... c) Ig... it: What if the person spreading this is a prominent person (like Trump, Biden, someone running for office) or a news maker? *K... it d...: Senator Ron Johnson wrote an op-ed, which the Wisconsin State Journal did publish. And it was loaded with d..., but they presented it with foonotes/annotations/commentary to provide context (essentially, this is wrong and here are the facts) *Ig... it: Cleveland Plain Dealer ig... Republican Josh Mandel (running in the Senate primary in Ohio at the time) 2) S... m... s... -False news spreads more rapidly than truth. According to real research, falsehoods fly faster than facts and social media companies make money regardless of v... of what the user posts. *Accelerated by a..., not just people. *P... f... of news (true or false) keep you online longer (= more ads) (attention = more money, regardless if true or false content). *Im... (and lack of d...) for social media channels to m... (in U.S.) *We don't want to m... [some false info can be dangerous] - according to one Facebook whistleblower. *Profit over public safety

-Most important moral value -Ability, will -Government disinformation -Blatant lies -Recognizable -Present it but balance it with a different view: objectivity -Knocking it down on their own using facts -Ignore it -Social media spread -Veracity -Algorithms -Personalized feeds -Impossibility [and lack of desire], moderate

Truth is the most important moral value in communications! *But some real life situations (obstacles) challenge the ability or will/desire to always communicate the truth! *The first two categories (government disinformation and social media spread) contained falsehoods perpetrated by others. Communicators didn't know or didn't care if the info was false, but it wasn't created by them. These next 3 falsehoods originate in media themselves/communicators decision not to tell the truth. 3) P... m... *Newsweek vs. Time magazine, OJ Simpson mugshot manipulated on Times cover to make him look more sinister. Times argued, try to portrary and convey the sense of 'tragedy' *There are instances when p... m... can seem harmless: removing blemishes or manipulating the weather (removing clouds, faking sunny weather) So, there are reasons to not tell the truth in p... *Daily News doctoring front page from Boston bombing, remove gore but still not the truth. Why not just pick another photo? *Fashion magazines show photos of untrue models, great damage to esteem of young girls. This is proven in research! 4) J... d... *U... r..., m... yourself [lying about who you are as a j...], falling out of favor. A small role now but not gone! *Food Lion vs. ABC, 1996 -Reporters for Prime Time live faked resumes to get jobs at supermarket, Food Lion. -Used hidden cameras to take video of unsanitary practices. -Sued ABC for f..., claimed employees misrepresented themselves. -Sued for t..., ABC employees came on to Food Lion property without permission; and sued for b... of l... for videotaping in non-public areas of the store and revealing internal company info. -DID NOT SUE for libel. F... charge was thrown out, won on b... of l... and t... claims. Received total of $2. -Point is... you cannot just break the law because you're a journalist (like the First Amendment may want you to believe). 5) J... n... *O... can prevent journalists from telling the whole truth [intentionally not writing the whole truth] *Does n... language misrepresent truth? -Tiptoeing around Trump's racism: goal of im... should never translate into euphemism or avoiding reality! -Washington Post ombudsmen: call some statements Trump makes lies and as racist! If you don't call them lies or racist language, is that the truth?

-Photo manipulation -Journalistic deception -Undercover reporting, misrepresenting yourself -Journalistic neutrality -Objectivity -Neutral language -Impartiality

Working through our model... *Step No. 4: What's it worth? Chapters 8-10 specific key values in communications. Chapter 9: Persuasion and propaganda Persuasion Occurs in ... ...! *Intent is to affect b.../a... *If ethically done: r... or e... a... based on f... *If unethically done: use of in... c... (Note it doesn't say in... information) *Examples of persuasion include commentaries, letters to editors, targeted ads, product placement, commercials, true or false online reviews, social media campaigns, films and shows that promote a POV Persuasion *In ..., you must label persuasion! Not so in other fields. (So viewers and readers know what they are viewing/reading, label opinion if opinion) Not true for PR releases or ads, these are understood as persuasion by nature. *In ..., government regulates persuasion. Why? Because of potential harm caused by false claims! *Political speech is protected, but ... is not political speech it is commercial speech, which doesn't enjoy as much protection. Because false commercial speech can be dangerous. Example: Match.com used false ads to swindle users. 'Someone interested in you - pay subscription to find out. Juul paying NC $40M for 'marketing vaping products' to young people Persuasion *Advertising, PR; special moral dilemma: M... p... at odds with c... t... *So, we lean on s... t... Why we mentioned not "incomplete information" earlier because ST is incomplete truth! It's not lying, just leaving out pieces of the truth that do not serve your product/organization/client. Considered ethical in advertising, PR. Pros of ST: adds to k..., consumers recognize b..., others a... other views, no different from l... *Advocacy or opposing truth (put other perspective). So, you have advertising/PR + advocates = complete truth Cons of ST: Not always other a..., hidden b... *In the legal field it is required to have other a... (l...) not so here Example of not always other a...: *Corporation wants to place an industrial plant in a community, so they choose a neighborhood. Neighborhood is usually low income, cheap to buy land - not infringing on nice but moderate homes. There is no advocate for this neighborhood, against this corporation. Most of these residents have two or more jobs, multiple children, maybe not educated - no time to be advocates. This is why corporations choose these locations. Example of h... b...: *People stop drinking Corona beer because of coronavirus. Pollster who did poll was PR firm with list of clients including Busch (rival beer company). Not a valid, truthful survey. No one knew but they spread it. Pros and cons of ST. Persuasion According to our book, a) M... p... and b) O... to s... will prevent deceptive persuasion (persuasion that strays from the truth) Really? *17/20 PR practitioners interviewed acknowledged l... r... to reporters. *PR pros often think going into the m... of id... means going to w..., goal is to w..., and truth is often the f... c... *Examples of maybe this isn't true... (maybe MP and O to S doesn't prevent deceptive persuasion) *Astros win AL championship with player guilty of domestic violence. Female reporters written criticism. Astros assistant general manager yell at female reporters they were wrong, it was a great thing we signed him. GM attacks reporters, calling story made up (they proceeded to report on it). But there with 50 others in locker room, went public and said the story was 100% accurate. Sometimes persuaders go on the attack - sometimes not selective truth in a civil manner. *So, MP and O to S don't prevent attack dogs. *Former UAB basketball player and state legislature, Robertson, represented low income neighborhood. No need for government to clean up their soil (allegedly contaminated from industrial plant). Corporation was paying him under the table. *So, MP and O to so doesn't prevent this either. *Big Tobacco - decades of research showing how cigarettes were addictive and killers. But MP and O to S didn't prevent this. All of these examples are how deceptive persuasion occurred anyways.

*All fields *Beliefs, actions *Rational or emotional appeals, facts *Inaccurate claims, incomplete info *Journalism *Advertising *Maximum persuasion at odds with complete truth *Lean on selective truth *Adds to knowledge; consumers recognize bias; others advocate other views; no different from lawyers *Not always other advocates; hidden bias *Advocates (lawyers) *1) Moral principle *2) Obligation to society Really? Lying regularly Marketplace of ideas, war, win, first casualty

Propaganda *An e... v... of persuasion. *The d... and s... attempt to shape p..., manipulate c..., and direct b... to achieve a response that furthers the d... in... of the propagandist. We are now getting away from the truth and into unethical territory. Arenberg disagrees with where propaganda is placed on the continuum of truth (chapter 8), where it is placed in the second group (located in the truth but selective/not the whole truth). Should be moved to the fourth box (falseness with intent to deceive). Characteristics of propaganda 1) No concern for t.../f... p... 2) A... l.../g... g... 3) N... c... 4) Reliance of e... a... [this isn't inherently unethical but it depends on whether there is use of truth or not. In this case no truth] 5) Use of v... [feeds back into #4] 6) Use of a... f... 7) Use of "u... v... t..." n... [our group against outsider, enemy, other] 8) Intended to c... (or interrupt) c... t... [Ability to look at truth and make a decision, like the selective truth vs. selective truth we discussed earlier] It starts in grade school (I pledge allegiance to the flag...) The most famous or infamous use of propaganda *Nazi propaganda "Long Live Germany!" Use of a... f..., v..., e... a..., a... l... Hitler's first job was a propagandist for the German army. His main point, Jews were the enemy. *We did it too (U.S.) "Don't let that shadow touch them. Buy war bonds." Swastika shadow over children. Idea of if you don't buy war bonds, these children will grow up in Nazi America. Use of a... l..., e... a..., v... In war time, there is always propaganda. Look today Russia: "Special military operation" not a war, if Russians believe this Putin stays in power. "De-nazify Ukraine" Ukraine doing it too: Anti-Putin dissent (gory online campaign). At least though this is dealing in truth, argues a righteous cause you could argue. (Why Ukraine propaganda may be different than Russia propaganda) Is some propaganda justified? Maybe necessary for the situation. Propaganda Modern propaganda caters to e... c... *WORKS BEST on c... people! Doesn't expose themselves to different ideas (e... c...). Especially if they believe in the coherence theory of truth (will definitely affect their beliefs, behavior) *Can be t... e..., un... *Can involve m... and/or d... If we don't kknow it is propaganda, we are more likely to fall for it! Example of false Uighyur video (really the Chinese) and fake Facebook pages targeting Biden created by Russia during election season. Propaganda The most dangerous form of propaganda is that which is d... as ... *We associate n... with truth, credibility. Supposed to be truthful, objective, factual. Hitler: Believed newspapers should be replaced by propaganda organs to play on our emotions. He acquires a newspaper to spread this emotion (very powerful if it looks like n...) *"Local n... outlets" algorithmic stories and conservative talking points (Metric Media) This is good for the propagandist but not everyone else, especially the public. A milder form: PR representatives, advertisers love when ... present their persuasion/propaganda *If the ... presents it, people will think it's news, truthful, credible. Example: Fox News and propaganda spread (opinion shows). Jan. 6 riots, attempt to overturn election (BIG LIE Fox News has been all over) Propaganda The authors defend propaganda on the same basis as persuasion (People are smart/rational): *"It is probably desirable that there are o... r... and c... propagandas in a d... s... People who define propaganda as inherently evil or unethical appear to be coming from the "society as v..." school. Authors tend to hold society as r... b... perspective." BUT it's often not o... r... *Not always c... propagandas especially if the authority figure controls the media. Will Russia have c... propaganda? No! Would they say the same today? Yes, though they added a key line: But it must be done f...! Yes but it isn't done f... either! We've seen a crumble of civic discourse, fake news, conspiracy theories, Russian interference, they still said the same 10 yrs. later but they added a line. *Propaganda is often deceitful and manipulated, untruthful. Long way from selective truth vs. selective truth here.

*Extreme variation *Deliberate, systematic, perceptions, cognitions, behavior, desired intent *Truth, false premises *Abstract language, glittering generalities *Name calling *Emotional appeal *Visuals *Authority figures *Us vs. them narrative *Circumvent critical thinking *Echo chambers *Close-minded people *Technically elaborate, unrecognizable *Involve manipulation and/or deceit *Disguised as news *Journalists *Openly recognizable, competing, democratic society. *Society as victim, society as rational beings *Fairly!

Some media values may cause harm -Journalism desire for a... leads to distortion, senstantionalism. Desire for s... leads to errors. -PR desire to w... e... prompts campaigns that play upon public fears. -Ad, quest for s... brings ads for ineffective or detrimental products (tobacco) -Entertainment, intent to b... c... b... exposes young audiences to inappropriate content -Social media, p... a... creates divisiveness, echo chambers, misrepresentation *Any value can be taken to an extreme, too far can be harmful. Good, desirable values that CAN be taken too far. The Special Case for Journalism Journalism claims to be 'v... f...' but it ain't! N... j... is a manifestation of values (Journalists have values and apply them everyday! Deciding whether a story is important or not) News isn't v... f...! Journalists and institutions constantly make value choices, many of which are fundamentally m... in nature. The public is better served when journalists recognize and openly deal with matters of values than when journalists pretend few if any values in news businesses. Journalism value of objectivity under attack Objectivity in its extreme form can lead to... (Remember, any value can go too far!) -> N... toward clearly w... situations -> A... b... (AKA f... e...) when there aren't two sides or facts weigh heavily to one side *The incident between Russia and Ukraine is NOT a balanced reality. You cannot present both Russia and Ukraine equally. -> Granting s..., t... for u... views -> Defense to o... s..., p..., and s... q... *If a scientist says climate change is hoax (we know to be not true, not reality), but we still air them because they're authority who should be followed. *Minneapolis police, George Floyd died of medical condition. For three days this was reported - Trust and write on police! Tension between journalism values and public values 2021 study, American Press Institute *5 journalism values: Oversight, transparency, factuality, finding wrongdoing, voice for voiceless *Only ... supported by majority of public *1 in 10 supported all five *People who prize values of l..., a... were less likely to endorse ... *Democrats, Black Americans, college educated more likely than others to endorse each journalism value. *Why we see trust issues. Journalism ranks so low in trust surveys. Do not meet on the same values. Milton Rokeach, believed we all had the same values but to different degrees. Two categories of 18 values each (36 total) -> Instrumental values: Follow or practice during life/career to achieve terminal values -> Terminal values

-Audience, speed -Win elections -Sales -Break creative barriers -Political advocacy -Value free -News judgments -Value free -Moral -Neutrality toward clearly wrong situations -Artificial balanace (false equivalency) -Space, time for undeserving views -Official sources, power, status quo -Factuality -Loyal, authority, oversight

A Truth Continuum One problem in understanding truth is tied to the general semantics concern about t...-v... orientations. While it may be accurate to say some things are absolutely true and others false, it is also accurate to say that truth comes in v... s... -Deaver, helpful way to understand these v... s... of truth. Sketched a c... of truth telling that ranged from C... T-Truth at the top to b... l... at the bottom. -Divided the c... in four broad categories each which necessitated a different type of ethical j... The in... of the communicator - whether to present info ethically or mislead unethically - is what matters. Deaver's Continuum: Top item in continuum At the top of the list are conscientious attempts to present info c..., a..., f... and without b... - as far is humanly possible. This is the goal of communicators who gather/process facts and info. Distinguished between e... Truth and s... t-truth, acknowledging that pragmatists' view that the best we can do is perceive, view, and describe honestly and do to the best of our ability. -Drawing from Plato's allegory of the cave (prisoners confuse shadows on the wall with objective reality) and Lippmann's Public Opinion, D observed that we should make a clear distinction between n... and t... F... and in... are not the same as t... At best, a collection of f... can lead to a body of in... but that is not necessarily the same as truth Second item in continuum Some aspects of p... -Ethical p... doesn't permit the telling of u... -PR copy, editorials, columns, ad, even propaganda are intended to persuade, but do so via s... truth-telling, b..., and expression of o... -Propaganda at the BOTTOM of this category because some types stretch the truth beyond the breaking point. Third item in continuum U... not intended to d... people -Parables, allegories by tribal and religious leaders actually intend to tell 'g... truths' than might be produced by o... writers of non-fiction. Info shared to illustrate or entertain, simply erroneous even if thought to be true. -Some that said their memoirs contained some a... u... But the uproar over these cooked autobiographies makes it clear we're bothered by f... posing as n... By definition, fiction is u... We're looking to be entertained when we go to the fiction section, so we are not being deceived. But we're less tolerant of non-fiction authors whose works are 'r... b...' and we don't accept faker's arguments that they committed h... e... -We expect fact checkers too and copy editors to keep h... e... out of news reports. Fourth and bottom item in continuum Conscious efforts to d... by communicating f... info -> Two of these three may be rationalized as justifiable for a defined purpose (d..., w... l...) but b... l... by definition have no redeeming value. 1) D...: Broad category of misinformation that may be communicated without culpably t... a ... However, d... broaches ethical justification in that it is in... d... communication. Nevertheless, may loudly proclaim that a message contained no specific untruths, no outright lies. -Many categories of d...: D... by omission, by generalization, by over-specificity or card stacking. -When journalists do not identify themselves as journalists to obtain info they couldn't obtain any other way, they sometimes justify such d... as for the 'greater good' 2) W... l...: Untruths that are justified as being for a g... p... like not hurting someone's feelings. Philosophers who insist we follow moral rules and duties regardless of c... - deontologists - would not excuse these. -Utilitarians and others who focus on o... would conclude there are times when the e... may justify the m... -Media ethicists distinguish between p... d... (letting someone assume you are something that you aren't) and a... d... (when you tell a w... l... to gain admission to some event, actively misrepresent yourself, fib to get a good story) 3) B... l...: Untruths with no r... p... We find the occasional b... l... in the media ethics environment, but once exposed, the consequences are swift/severe/usually very public. -In media, list of such sins would include outright in... of f... for journalists and persuaders, p... (pretending you crated something that you kidnapped form another creator) for all communicators.

A Truth Continuum One problem in understanding truth is tied to the general semantics concern about two-value orientations. While it may be accurate to say that some things are absolutely true and others false, it is also accurate to say that truth comes in various shades. Deaver provided a helpful way to understand these varying shades of truth. Sketched a continuum of truth telling that ranged from Capital T-Truth at the top to blatant lies at the bottom. He divided the continuum into four broad categories each which necessitated a different type of ethical justification. The intention of the communicator - whether to present info ethically or mislead unethically - is what matters. 1. At the top of the list are conscientious attempts to present info correctly, accurately, fully, and without bias - as far as is humanly possible. This is the goal of communicators who gather and process facts and info. Deaver distinguished between elusive Truth and small-t truth, acknowledging the pragmatists' view that the best we can do is perceive, view, and describe honestly and to the best of our ability. Drawing from Plato's allegory of the cave (prisoners confuse shadows on the wall with objective reality) and Lippmann's Public Opinion, Deaver observed that we should make a clear distinction b/t 'news' and 'truth.' Facts and info are not the same as truth. At best, a collection of facts can lead to a body of info, but that is not necessarily the same as truth. 2. The second group of items along the continuum entails some aspects of persuasion. Deaver said ethical persuasion does not permit the telling of untruths. PR copy, editorials and columns, ad, and even propaganda are intended to persuade, but do so via selective truth telling, bias, and expression of opinions. Propaganda is at the BOTTOM of this second category in Deaver's continuum because some types of P stretch the truth beyond breaking point. 3. The third group of items deals with untruths not intended to deceive people. Parables and allegories by tribal and religious leaders actually intend to tell 'greater truths' than might be produced by 'objective' writers of non-fiction. Info is shared to illustrate or entertain, or is simply erroneous even if thought to be true. Some that said their memoirs contained some accidental untruths fall here. But the uproar over these cooked autobiographies makes it clear we're bothered by fiction posing as non-fiction. By definition, fiction is untruthful. We're looking to be entertained when we go to the fiction section, so we are not being deceived. But we're less tolerant of non-fiction authors whose works are 'reality based' and we don't accept faker's arguments that they committed honest errors. We expect fact checkers too and copy editors to keep honest errors out of news reports. Hope bloggers who claim to be reporting truths are not inventing facts. We hope people using SM do more than mindlessly resend info they believe or hope is true but have not checked a/g facts of their own bias. 4. The fourth group of items represents conscious efforts to deceive by communicating false info. Two of the three items may be rationalized as justifiable for a defined purpose (deceit and white lies) but BLATANT LIES by definition have no redeeming value. 'Deceit is a broad category of misinfo that may be communicated w/o culpably 'telling a lie.' However, deceit broaches ethical justification in that it is intentionally deceptive communication. Nevertheless, a communicator may loudly proclaim that a message contained no specific untruths, no outright lies. Several categories of deceit: Deceit by omission, deceit by generalization, deceit by over-specificity or card stacking. When j d/n identify themselves as j to obtain info they could not obtain any other way, they sometimes justify such deceit for a 'greater good.' Next, find white lies or untruths that are justified as being for a good purpose, such as not hurting someone's feelings. Philosophers who insist we follow moral rules and duties regardless of consequences - deontologists - would not excuse white lies. Utilitarians and others who focus on outcomes would conclude that there are times when the ends may justify the means. Media ethicists clearly distinguish b/t passive deception (letting someone assume you are s't that you are not) and the kind of active deception that occurs when you tell a white lie to gain admission to some event, or actively misrepresent yourself, or fib a bit in order to get a good story. At the bottom of the heap are blatant lies, untruths with no redeeming purpose. We find the occasional blatant lie in the media ethics environment, but once exposed, the consequences are swift, severe, usually very public. In media, list of such sins would include outright invention of facts by j and persuasive communicators, and plagiarism (pretending you created s't that you actually kidnapped from another creator) for all communicators.

Advocacy Model Debates over persuasion ethics seldom include baseline argument that persuasion isn't only s... a... but perhaps s... n... in a democratic, participatory society. Practitioners play important role in distributing important info - selective or not - that consumers may/may not accept. Some place persuasion practitioners in similar role to l..., l..., other special p... who provide s... in... that the judiciary, legislatures, or courts of p... o... rely upon to make decisions. Most persuasive description of their role means recognizing American public philosophy is founded on a... and a... r... We seem to have decided that social benefits emerge when peple debate r... and o... to reach c... j... about public issues. Likely more goods or truths peddled through techniques of d... and a... than through calm, rational, o... discourse in the open m-place of public opinion. *In the m-place of ideas, there is ample evidence that a... prevails: Imagine salespeople who praise c... p... as better than the products off which they m... their l... A search for truth b/t the salesperson and customer is undermined to the sales mandate - the language of commerce. Likewise, it is a rare marriage proposal when someone lists s...-d... in a't more than a s... way (To what extent are relationships a 'buyer beware' thing?) The advocacy system encourages the a... (opponents) to find and present their most persuasive e... L... are advocates for their clients - with an overriding obligation to the interests of that client in an a... s... An advocate arguing a r... p... (prosecutor, defense attorney) must identify and disclose the w... in the opposition's case. Each in the process has a specific argument. *The task isn't easy. Creates serious stress between the advocate and society, because an advocate must relegate society's im... in... to a s... p... behind that of the c... Just as a lawyer serving a client has conflicting duties imposed by s... and p..., so does A/PR confront conflict between s... and c... Choosing one's p... and p... l... is sometimes complicated. But making good choices about l... is essential to become an ethical advocate/persuader. Parsons, the public can rightly assume that a practitioner who c... a... with a particular c... implies they s... what that client r... PR practitioners in roles of advocates accept roughly same obligations to clients as lawyers do. Bernays and Lee both claimed PR should serve as lawyers in court of p... o... Lawyers are adversaries/advocates in the f... c... of l..., and PR people argue their cases as advocates/adversaries in the in... c... of p... o... S/n have to apologize for playing this role in society - until/unless they violate their role-related m... e... Selective Truth: A Moral Stickler Under the adversary system, selective telling of truth generally acceptable behavior. But raises serious ethical Qs relating to fairness, equity, justice. Pressing when n... a... is g... in the arena of p... o..., as is in a court of l... An adversarial society assumes the spokespeople with a... v... will emerge to b... the advocate. If that doesn't work, some argue journalists, independent bloggers, some other c... a... motivated by o... and st... ethic would step in to assure b... *The lawyer analogy fails. D... rules require lawyers to provide evidence to their opponents; no such rule in PR. But court of p... o... has no guarantee that adversaries will square off f..., or exchange c... t... with an im... j... Just a lawyer has no obligation to be considerate of the w... of their opponents, the PR person can claim it is another's o... to provide c... m... Egoistic professional cherish situations where opposition is silent; socially conscious will welcome fair competition. Persuaders are serving both themselves and society, these two things don't often mix. Some would create ethical or legal obligations of b... p... for journalists and persuaders. When they do they condemn the persuasive arts as u... on their face. Yet under 1A m... p... is only tool available for those who cry for b... 1A only makes possible f... d..., it does not guarantee it! Only makes it possible for the adversary to emerge in a given case; doesn't guarantee the open m-place of p...-c... info and persuasion. *Such a position calls on relevant parties to provide their own a... to b... the message. Also suggest consumers must exercise d... d... when sifting through persuasive messages, do their own di... in ga.../ev... info, become active ad... to counter uno... views themselves. *An advocacy culture both assumes caveat emptor (let the b... beware) and caveat venditor (let the seller beware). B... beware may be more important than ever in a SM age, less clear whether message is designed to persuade. Lipschultz, anyone using SM and networking sites should have a mastery of m... l...: Users need to learn how to d... media storytelling content and the m... of commercial interests. *Must be moral limits! Under an injunction that one has a m... o... to s... that sometimes t... one's c..., reasonable to suggest practitioners will avoid doing harm by omitting c... t... or f... truth claims. Tough balancing act to employ s... t... t... that incorporates c... im... truths while avoiding truths/un-truths that could h... v... p... More Sticklers: Transparency, Accountability, Social Response-Ability, Loyalty To en... public fully and ensure m-place is level playing field, communicators must treat people with r... Most ethicists argue each person should be treated as an e... in/of themselves than m... to somebody else's e... Applies to all audiences, clients and sponsors, fellow professionals. *To encourage r... for one another, m-place should provide way for all s-holders to be held a... for their communications. If a persuader unjustly manipulates the public, all those affected should have the m... and c... to r... - social response-ability. System needs to be t... to en... all participants. *SM provides ways to 'talk about' people/companies we believe are doing wrong, but ethical communicators are ones who listen and respond appropriately. In the world of persuasion, t... and a... are in dynamic tension with practitioners' in... and l... to c... When they think in these terms, advocates pushed to think beyond their 'p...' l... and expand sense of 'g...' l... *T... is not a simple solution to the media credibility problem. While helping revise SPJ code in 96, one author suggested that asking journalists to hold selves accountable by explaining how news is gathered probably would have short-term negative consequences. Airing their dirty laundry, running corrections columns, and opening themselves up to public criticism, wouldn't this confirm skeptics' prejudices that the media are b... f... institutions? SPJ, it might hurt c... in the short but in the long it would improve p... u... and t... *Doesn't lead to boosts in c... though! Even in Internet age (news orgs more transparent than ever) Could be argued ethical journalism is t... by definition, since its messages d... s... and provide b... Can the same be said about ethical advocacy? Can advocates be ethical w/o id... their s..., p..., or providing b...? Bivins, we do not expect o... from persuaders, but taking an advocacy role still requires A/PR to r... their audiences and give them the a... they need to make informed decisions.

Advocacy Model Debates over persuasion ethics seldom include baseline argument that persuasion isn't only socially acceptable, but perhaps socially necessary in a democratic, participatory society. A/PR practitioners play important roles in distributing important info - highly selective or not - which consumers can choose to accept/reject. Some place persuasion practitioners in roles somewhat similar to lawyers, lobbyists, other special pleaders who provide selective info that the judiciary, legislatures, and courts of public opinion rely upon to make decisions. Most persuasive description of their role means recognizing that American public philosophy is founded on advocacy and adversarial relationships. We seem to have decided that social benefits emerge when people debate rationally and openly to reach collective judgments about public issues. Likely that more goods or truths peddled through techniques of debate and advocacy than through calm, rational, objective discourse in the open m-place of public opinion. Not to say e't is debatable, and we live in an increasingly polarized era when we argue vehemently for our side and demonize the opponents. On the contrary, we should applaud calm, rational discourse when considering human progress. In the m-place of ideas, however, there is ample evidence that advocacy prevails: Imagine salespeople who praise competing products as better than the products off which they make their living. A search for truth b/t the salesperson and customer is subverted to the sales mandate - the language of commerce. Likewise, it is a rare marriage proposal when someone lists self-deficiencies in a't more than a sympathetic way (To what extent are relationships a 'buyer beware' thing?) The advocacy system encourages the adversaries [one's opponent] to find and present their most persuasive evidence. Lawyers are advocates for their clients - with an overriding obligation to the interests of that client in an adversary society. An advocate arguing a reverse position (prosecutor, defense attorney) must identify and disclose the weaknesses in the opposition's case. Each participant in the process has a specific argument. The task of participants in an adversarial climate is not easy. Creates serious stresses b/t the advocate and society, because an advocate must relegate society's immediate interest to a secondary position behind that of the client. Just as a lawyer serving a client has conflicting duties imposed by society and profession, so does an A/PR practitioner confront conflict b/t society and client. Choosing one's personal and professional loyalties is sometimes complicated. Making good choices about loyalty is essential to become an ethical advocate/persuader. Parsons, the public can rightly assume that a practitioner who continues an association with a particular client or cause implies, by association, that they support what that client represents. PR practitioners in role of advocates accept roughly same obligations to their clients as lawyers. Analogy is not original. Bernays and Lee both claimed that PR practitioners should serve as lawyers in the court of public opinion. Lawyers are adversaries/advocates in the formalized courts of law, and PR people argue their cases as advocates/adversaries in the informal courts of public opinion. Can do this at a high level of moral development as they endeavor to keep a participatory democracy viable. S/n have to apologize for playing this role in society - until or unless they violate their role-related moral expectations, which point they w/n be principled advocates. Selective Truth: A Moral Stickler Under the adversary system, selective telling of truth is generally acceptable behavior. At same time, intuitively raises serious ethics ?s relating to fairness, equity, and justice. This is particularly pressing when no adversary is guaranteed in the arena of public opinion, as it is in court of law. An adversarial society assumes that spokespeople with alternative views will emerge to balance the advocate. If that d/n work, some will argue that the journalist, the independent blogger, or some other consumer advocate, motivated by an objectivity and stewardship ethic, will assure some balance in the public messages. The PR-practitioners-are-like-lawyers comparison ultimately fails, however. Discovery rules require lawyers to provide evidence to their opponents; no such rule exists in PR. But the court of public opinion has no guarantee that adversaries will square off fairly, or exchange comprehensive truths with an impartial judge looking on. Just as a lawyer has no obligation to be considerate of the weaknesses of his courtroom opponents, so the PR person can clearly claim it is another's obligation to provide countering messages. The egoistic PR professional will likely cherish the situation in which opposition remains silent; the more socially conscious one will welcome fair competition. Persuaders may be serving society, but they are also serving themselves. These two things d/n always mix, as Bivins noted. Some would create ethical and even legal obligations of balanced presentation for both journalists and persuasive communication professionals. When they do, they intuitively condemn the persuasive arts as unethical on their face. Yet under the First Amendment, moral persuasion is the only tool available to those who cry out for balance. Stewart (SupCo), the First Amendment only makes possible free discussion; it does not guarantee the discussion. The 1A only makes it possible for the adversary to emerge in a given cause; it doesn't necessarily guarantee an open m-place of price-controlled info and persuasion. Such a position calls on relevant parties to provide their own advocates to balance the message. It would also suggest that consumers must exercise due diligence when sifting through persuasive messages, to do their own discovery in gathering and evaluating of info, and even to become active adversaries to counter unopposed views. In short, an advocacy culture both assumes caveat emptor (let the buyer beware) and caveat venditor (let the seller beware). And 'buyer beware' may be more important than ever in a SM age, when it is less clear whether the message is designed to persuade. Lipschultz, anyone using SM and networking sites should have a mastery of media literacy: Users need to learn how to deconstruct media storytelling content and the motivation of commercial interests. Clearly, must be moral limits. Under an injunction that one has a moral obligation to society that sometimes transcends obligation to one's client, it is reasonable to suggest A/PR practitioners will avoid doing harm by omitting critical truths or fabricating truth claims. It is a tough balancing act to employ selective truth telling that incorporates critically important truths, while avoiding truths or un-truths that could harm vulnerable populations. Demands moral maturity and competence. We should expect our persuaders to be truthful and avoid unnecessary harm, particularly to vulnerable populations. More Moral Sticklers: Transparency, Accountability, Social Response-Ability, Loyalty To enfranchise public fully and ensure that the m-place is a level playing field, communicators must treat people with respect. Most ethicists argue each person should be treated as an END in and of themselves and not as MEANS to somebody else's ends. This applies to vulnerable and fully alert audiences, to clients and sponsors, and fellow professionals. To encourage respect for one another, m-place should provide way for all s-holders to be held accountable for their communications. If a persuader unjustly manipulates the public, all those affected should have the motivation and capacity to respond - social response-ability. System needs to be transparent to enfranchise all participants in the communications chain. SM provide ways to 'talk about' people and companies we believe are doing wrong, but ethical communicators are ones who listen and respond appropriately. Sort of communication treats people as an end unto themselves and not as means to end of communicator's goal. In the world of persuasion, transparency and accountability are in dynamic tension with practitioners' independence and loyalty to their clients. When they think in these terms, advocates are pushed to think beyond their 'particular' loyalties and expand sense of 'general' loyalties. Transparency is not a simple solution to the media credibility problem. While helping revise SPJ code in 96, one of authors suggested that asking journalists to hold themselves accountable (fourth principle) by explaining how news is gathered probably would have short-term negative consequences. If skeptical audiences see more media airing their dirty laundry, running corrections columns, and opening themselves up to public criticism, wouldn't this confirm their prejudices that the media are badly flawed institutions? SPJ ethics committee countered, that it might hurt credibility in the short run but in the long run it would improve public understanding and trust. Internet has made many news orgs more transparent than ever, but it may not be leading to boosts in credibility. It could be argued that ethical journalism is transparent by definition, since its messages almost always define sources and provide balance. Can the same be said about ethical advocacy? Can advocates be ethical w/o identifying their sources, paymasters, or providing balance? Bivins, we do not expect objectivity from persuaders, but taking an advocacy role still requires PR and ad practitioners to respect their audiences and give them the autonomy they need to make informed decisions.

Are Values Relative or Universal? Despite the different definitions, social scientists agree that people share the ... values - to d... d... -The debate over 'c... values' is far from settled. Perhaps more importantly evidence demonstrates that we may say we value something but not always ... our ... *Consider the UN's Universal Declaration of Human Rights drafted when UN was founded (1948). 'To belong to the world community, a nation-state had to defend c... values of li..., li..., f... from p... a..., f... from sl..., recognition before the law and presumption of i... u... p... g..., f... from t..., f... of conscious and r..., f... of e..., the right to pri..., family and correspondence, f... to participate fr... in co... lif..., ed..., and a standard living adequate for maintaining h... and w...-b... Our attitudes and behaviors as mass media practitioners are based on their value of f... of e... Kidder concluded that when thoughtful people were asked about values they should include in a global code of ethics, there was a consensus about lo..., t..., f..., f..., uni..., to..., re..., respect for l... -An analysis of 'citizen ethics' in a global context by Christians and Nordenstreng led to a short list of protonorms or universal values that emerge from the s... of h... l...: respect for human dignity, respect for truth telling, and respect for nonviolence. All communications media codes of ethics should reflect those values and be used by critics to hold media accountable. The ultimate test of socially responsible media... Does it sustain l..., enhance it l...-t..., contribute to human w...-b... as a whole? Social scientists have described American/national values as a ... of universal values. -Christenson and Yang, 'dominant values in American society.' Rank-ordered list consisted of m... integrity, personal f..., pa..., wo..., being practical and e..., political de..., h... others, ac..., rational pro..., ma... comfort, le..., r... equality, i... (nonconformity), and s... equality. -Sociologist Bellah in their analysis 'Habits of the Heart' worried that a self-defined American v... s... is typified by emphasis on s..., f..., and j... - what they call se...-ce..., r... set of motivations. (Motivation for communitarian movement, civic/public journalism to include public participation in defining issues for journalists) -Lappé offered rebuttal to Bellah. American values as defined as the foundation for a c... id... The common language of our commonwealth, wtithout which we could not talk to each other and be u... *America's fundamental and enduring values include f..., de..., fa..., r..., prod..., co..., fam..., and wo... itself. Many scholars have tried to describe universal, national, institutional, and personal values. Some lists are + (Reflect an ideal world), others are -. Some are descriptive (simple compilation of what people say they believe), others are normative (what we OUGHT to value so we can live well/flourish). Some based on rigorous social science/philosophical inquiry, others are impressionistic and popularized.

Are Values Relative or Universal? Despite the different definitions of values, social scientists over the past half century generally agree that people share the same values - to different degrees. The debate over 'core values' is far from settled. And perhaps more importantly, evidence demonstrates that we may say we value something but not always walk our talk. Still this debate provides interesting fodder for discussions about media ethics. Considering the UN's Universal Declaration of Human Rights, drafted when UN was founded in 1948. UN said that to belong to the world community, a nation-state had to defend the core values of life, liberty, freedom from personal attack, freedom from slavery, recognition before the law and the presumption of innocence until proven guilty, freedom from torture, freedom of conscience and religion, freedom of expression, the right to privacy, family and correspondence, freedom to participate freely in community life, education, and a standard living adequate for maintaining health and well-being. The 'freedom of expression' value is particularly important for mass media practitioners, because our attitudes and behaviors are often based upon that value. Rushworth Kidder concluded that when thoughtful people were asked about values they would include in a global code of ethics, there was consensus about love, truth, fairness, freedom, unity, tolerance, responsibility, respect for life. An analysis of 'citizen ethics' in a global context by Christians and Nordenstreng led to a short list of 'protonorms' or universal values, that emerge from the sacredness of human life: respect for human dignity, respect for truth telling, and respect for nonviolence (or non-maleficence/no harm to the innocent). They said all communications media codes of ethics should reflect those universals and be used by critics to hold media accountable. The ultimate test (of socially responsible media): Does it sustain life, enhance it long term, contribute to human well-being as a whole? Closer to home, social scientists have described American or national values as a subset of universal values. Christenson and Yang listed the 'dominant values in American society.' Rank-ordered list consisted of moral integrity, personal freedom, patriotism, work, being practical and efficient, political democracy, helping others, achievement, rational progress, material comfort, leisure, racial equality, individualism (nonconformity) and sexual equality. Sociologist Robert Bellah and colleagues in their analysis 'Habits of the Heart,' worried that a self-defined American value system is typified by emphasis on success, freedom, and justice - what they called a self-centered, relativistic set of motivations. Motivation for the communitarian movement of the 90s, which in turn led to 'civic' or 'public' journalism efforts sought o include public participation in defining issues for journalists. Francis Lappé offered a rebuttal to Bellah's pessimism. Rediscovering American Values defined values as the foundation for a common identity - in America's case, the common language of our commonwealth, without which we could not talk to each other and be understood. Suggested that Americans' fundamental and enduring values include freedom, democracy, fairness, responsibility, productivity, community, family, and work itself. Many other scholars have tried to describe universal, national, institutional, and personal values. Some lists are more positive, seemingly reflecting an ideal world; others less so even bordering on the pessimistic. Some lists are descriptive, a simple compilation of what people say they value; others are normative, telling us what we ought to value so we can live well and flourish. Some are based on rigorous social science or philosophic inquiry; others are impressionistic and popularized. 'A society or nation cannot survive and progress without some common basic values and common moral principles' (Sichel).

Is it ever OK to lie and deceive? Deception is broadly defined to include conceptions of in..., co..., and o... *Sissela Bok: Defines a lie as any in... d... message which is stated. She said deception occurs when we undertake to d... others in..., we communicate messages meant to m... them, meant to make them b... what we ourselves do not. Can do so through gesture, disguise, means of action or inaction, even through silence. *Hodges: Deceit refers to acts that in... seek to make others b... what we ourselves do not. May be lying, concealment, or misrepresentation. Others, casting a broader net, refer to deception as any action/inaction that is intended to m... the receiver of the communication - and to stretch the issue even more, some have argued deception can be u... and occur in the mind of people who feel themselves d..., regardless of the in... of the communicator. Deception in mass media practice -Journalists may mislead in attempting to induce sources to p... with in..., or they may pose as people they aren't in hopes that sources will r... their g... Deception often seems a useful and easy strategy to obtain info that journalists think readers/viewers have a right to receive. At the same time, journalist's sources - including PR practitioners serving as a spokesperson for a politician, celebrity, organization - may lie or obfuscate about whether they have info, or what info exists. -PR and ad practitioners are admonished against deception, but a candid appraisal of their daily practice would have us conclude they often deceive. When acting as a..., engage in s... t...-... as they pick and choose which characteristics of a product, service, client to emphasize and which to overlook. Deception innocent or egregious seems to go with territory. -Yet by its very nature, deception is a destructive force to both individuals and society. Should be rare! It is recognized that situations arise in which other moral rules or goals should override reluctance to deceive. "Deceit is sometimes justifiable if it is required to achieve important goals or to obey moral rules that are EVEN MORE important than the rule a/g deception (to s... a l... or p... someone from certain/serious h...)" ?s are: When do we j... deceit, and by what manner, so we have some confidence the justification is valid? Journalists for example, have codes that say t... is essential, but that sometimes these guidelines might be set aside to gain access to info. It's easy to raise Qs about departing from normal reporting guidelines to reach a greater societal good. In such cases, it seems OK to break the rules. To rephrase this rationalization, it's OK to break a rule if we are willing to p... the c... and/or if we can j... doing so by citing some greater or more important rule. -Ad and PR are fields in which the temptation always exists to make products, services, individuals something b... or b... than r... An ad department tries to make its products look as good as possible on TV. Unfortunately, TV lights ruin such things as ice cream. So is it OK to use mashed potatoes instead of ice cream, or put clear marbles at the bottom of a bowl of soup so the meat and vegetables show up better? -Should f... m... have absolutely flawless skin and tiny waistlines? -Is there any problem with 'p...' commercial products in Hollywood entertainment films, given that such products are used in daily life, and placing them in movies helps underwrite the e... p... c...? -In PR, is it justifiable to put w... in the m... of one's c...? For astute listeners, it is easy to tell when politicians are revealing their real thoughts and when they are reading a speech that others wrote, or when a spokesperson attributes a statement that the politician did not actually make. -Is it justifiable to man... da... and perhaps ov...-re... the amount of support for your particular cause, to engage in 'Astroturf' campaigns by artificially creating p... o...? -Is it appropriate to s... the press/public when they demand to know whether your football coach has decided to take another job? Is it OK for the coach to d... - up until the moment he departs for a greener gridiron? -Should an admin m... the public by saying, No member of the faculty has been arrested for a felony, when the answer would be different had the reporter thought to ask: Have any members of the faculty or staff been arrested for a felony? -Should entertainment media use the phrase 'r... s...' to fare that actually was based upon a script or coaching of participants? -Do b-casters, or SM practitioners, or any of us have the right to s... e... videos that may save viewing time but leave an incorrect impression about what actually occurred? Frankenbite: Way of editing video/audio to create a completely new meaning or heightened sense of drama and conflict. R... and a... often two different things. *Example

Is it ever OK to lie and deceive? Deception is broadly defined to include conceptions of intentionality, commission, and omission. Sissela Bok: Lying: Moral Choice in Public and Private Life defines a lie as any intentionally deceptive message which is stated. She said deception occurs when we undertake to deceive others intentionally, we communicate messages meant to mislead them, meant to make them believe what we ourselves do not believe. We can do so through gesture, through disguise, by means of action or inaction, even through silence. Hodges said deceit refers to acts that intentionally seek to make others believe what we ourselves do not believe. It may be lying, concealment, or misrepresentation. Others, casting a broader net, refer to deception as any action or inaction that is intended to mislead the receiver of the communication - and to stretch the issue even more, some have argued deception can be unintentional and occur in the mind of people who feel themselves deceived, regardless of the intent of the communicator or creator of the message so understood. Deception in mass media practices Deception frequently used in mass media - by j, advertisers, PR practitioners, and others. J may mislead in attempting to induce sources to part with info, or they may pose as people they are not in hopes that sources will relax their guard. Deception often seems a useful and easy strategy to obtain info that j think readers and/or viewers have a right to receive. And at same time, j's sources - including PR practitioners serving as a spokesperson for a politician, celebrity, org - may lie or obfuscate about whether they have info, or what info exists. PR and ad practitioners are admonished a/g deception, but a candid appraisal of their daily practice would have us conclude that they often deceive. When acting as advocates, they engage in selective truth telling as they pick and choose which characteristics of a product/service/client to emphasize and which to overlook/downplay. Deception, be it innocent or egregious, seems to go with the territory. Yet by its very nature, deception is a destructive force both for individuals and for society. It should be rare! Nevertheless, it is recognized that situations arise in which other moral rules/goals should override reluctance to deceive. "Deceit is sometimes justifiable if it is required to achieve important goals or to obey moral rules that are EVEN MORE important than the rule a/g deception (to save a life or protect someone from certain/serious harm) The Qs are: When do we justify deceit, and by what manner, so we have some confidence the justification is valid? J, for example, have codes that say transparency is essential, but that sometimes these guidelines might be set aside to gain access to info. It's easy to raise Qs about departing from normal reporting guidelines to reach a greater societal good. In such cases, it seems OK to break the rules. To rephrase this rationalization, it's OK to break a rule if we are willing to pay the consequences and/or if we can justify doing so by citing some greater or more important rule è Ad and PR are fields in which the temptation always exists to make products, services, individuals something bigger or better than reality. An ad department tries to make its products look as good as possible on TV. Unfortunately, TV lights ruin such things as ice cream. So is it OK to use mashed potatoes instead of ice cream, or put clear marbles at the bottom of a bowl of soup so the meat and vegetables show up better? è Should fashion models have absolutely flawless skin and tiny waistlines? è Is there any problem with 'planting' commercial products in Hollywood entertainment films, given that such products are used in daily life, and placing them in movies helps underwrite the expensive production costs? è In PR, is it justifiable to put words in the mouth of one's client? For astute listeners, it is easy to tell when politicians are revealing their real thoughts and when they are reading a speech that others wrote, or when a spokesperson attributes a statement that the politician did not actually make. è Is it justifiable to manipulate data and perhaps over-represent the amount of support for your particular cause, to engage in 'Astroturf' campaigns by artificially creating public opinion? è Is it appropriate to stonewall the press/public when they demand to know whether your football coach has decided to take another job? Is it OK for the coach to deny - up until the moment he departs for a greener gridiron? è Should an admin mislead the public by saying, No member of the faculty has been arrested for a felony, when the answer would be different had the reporter thought to ask: Have any members of the faculty or staff been arrested for a felony? è Should entertainment media use the phrase 'reality show' to fare that actually was based upon a script or coaching of participants? è Do b-casters, or SM practitioners, or any of us have the right to selectively edit videos that may save viewing time but leave an incorrect impression about what actually occurred? From Bok and others, we learn about the nature and consequences of lying, and some systematic 'justification models' or means of deciding whether such acts are ethically defensible or not. Frankenbite: Way of editing video and audio to create a completely new meaning or a heightened sense of drama and conflict. The result is that reality and authentic are often two different things. [Producer: Are you smarter than you look? Darcy: Yes Producer (Asking several more Qs before asking): Are you smarter than you look? Darcy: Yes . . . Producer (Asking several more Qs before asking): Are you smarter than you look? Darcy: Yes, I'm smarter than I look. This response used and in reference to a COMPLETELY different question.

Perplexing Truth-Telling Issues in Media 5. Entertainment -Nearly every movie comes with a disclaimer proclaiming itself as a work of fiction, if any resemblances to actual persons living or dead is purely c... -Century-old legal fig leaf - some movies hire real people from real events as actor/consultant and then at end of movie say no identification with actual persons is intended. -In some entertainment media, term 'b... on a t... s...' means what audiences see/read may not be 100% accurate. -> Richard Jewell (2019) - story of security guard the FBI briefly considered a suspect in the 1996 bombing that killed 1, injured 111 at Centennial Olympic Park in ATL. News orgs followed him for days, spotlight hot by int attention of Olympics. -Did not win every libel settlement he filed, but received settlements from CNN, ABC, NBC, NYPost, college he once worked. -The movie includes a scene of a newspaper reporter, whose real name was used, seeking to trade sex with an FBI agent for info. That did not happen, critics blasted moviemaker Eastwood for inventing a fictionalized scene of a journalist acting unethically in a movie designed to blast unethical journalism. -> The Post (2017) tells story of Washington Post's decision to publish the Pentagon Papers that showed US gov failures in Vietnam War. Whistleblower stole papers and gave them to news orgs, and the gov put a tremendous amount of legal and other pressure to stop publication. -One of advertisers, Parsons, deeply opposed running stories b/c of fears about what could do to company's finances. But Parsons does not exist. Invented to summarize the many people opposed to publication and holding sexist notions about a woman as a publisher. -> Saving Mr. Banks (2013) tells story of Disney wooing author Travers across 20 years before she sold rights that put her Mary Poppins character. After saying no and returning to London, Disney flying on next plane to see her again. In another scene, she giver her chauffeur a list of names includes Einstein, Roosevelt, painters Kahlo and Gogh. But Disney doesn't take the next flight to chase Travers. And the chauffeur and his daughter never existed. -Movie never showed Disney smoking and in reality died of lung cancer two years after Mary Poppins landed in theaters. Walt Disney Co. banned smoking in its own branded films in 2007, hops of discouraging those from smoking. Creators have many reasons for massaging actual events and people into f... d...: compress events to make story more interesting than real life, make easier for audiences to follow plot without keeping up with too many scenes/people, budget. -Making changes to reality can lead to l... t... about h... - even if audiences confuse fact with fiction. -Sorkin: The Social Network - What is the big deal about accuracy purely for a's sake, can we not have the true be the enemy of the good? What, if any, rules should creative media workers have about telling l... t... at the expense of a... e...? At what point should moviemakers not fictionalize a... e... that occurred or make changes to people who existed? What, if a't, should audiences be told about changes that were made? 6. Social media World's biggest SM companies do not create content. Make the f.... and take the ad money, leaving content creation to billions in general public who willingly shah their thoughts/images/arguments. In the US legally somewhere between co... car... that have no say over what is communicated on their equipment and pu... responsible for content. -Someone libeled on a SM platform can successfully sue person who posted, but not the platform. -In the EU, SM sites are required to remove posts that deny the ... and other content illegal there but legal elsewhere. The ethical ?s is what social media sites should take down, or at least not allow users to post. Sites like Facebook have t... of s... that forbid registered sex offenders and c... s... that forbid fake video that would mislead the avg person that a subject of the video said words that they d/n. -DOES NOT remove what it calls f... n... b/c it doesn't want to stifle productive p... d... and b/c of the fine line b/t f... n... and s... of opinion but will reduce distribution or note that third-party fact checkers have rated that info the be false. Does remove fake accounts. -Sites have MILLIONS of users and takes a lot of people or a smart algorithm to keep up. Leads to problems: 1) Govs using SM to tell l... and create r... c... about m... g... they didn't like, leading to deaths and systematic abuse. Sometimes moves from m... (in... s..., r...) to d... (deliberately d... p... and h...) designed to incite some, scare others. 2) R... people, orgs, govs created bots to spread untruth 3) Algorithms that give people what they w..., which typically is info that r... what they already believe. Sites do not usually distinguish among info that is accurate, exaggerated, or mixture of fact/opinion. 4) Decisions about dealing with i... i..., depending upon the s... -Trump active on Twitter sent messages that were factually incorrect. While others who tweeted T's words verbatim were briefly suspended for breaking its rules, Trump tweets remained. -T said blocking or removing a w... l...'s tweets would hide important info people should be able to see and debate. T removed him after his supporters stormed the Capitol in January 2021, claiming incitement of violence. 5) Decisions by i... c... that host blogs and web sites making decisions about the c... of those sites, and decisions by s... e... to decide where to place sites in the search results 6) Complaints about SM sites removing a... news storied that c... the sites What, if any, rules should SM companies have related to stopping f... spread on their platform? Should SM companies treat some users d... from other users? What obligation do users have to stop spreading m...? What role if any should g... play to ensure accuracy? How can sites ethically create computer tech that can slow or stop spread of f..., without infringing upon f... s... rights or f... some groups over others?

Entertainment Nearly every movie comes with a disclaimer proclaiming itself a work of fiction and any resemblance to actual persons, living/dead, is purely coincidental. Century-old legal fig leaf; some movies hire real person from real event as actor/consultant and then at end of movie say 'no ID with actual persons, living or deceased, is intended" In some entertainment media, term 'based on a true story' means what audiences see or read may not be 100% accurate. è 2019 movie, Richard Jewell told story of a security guard the FBI briefly considered a suspect in the 1996 bombing that killed 1, injured 111 at Centennial Olympic Park in ATL. News orgs followed and investigated him for days in a spotlight made hotter by int attention of an Olympics. Did not win every libel settlement he filed, but received settlements from CNN, ABC, NBC, NYPost, college he once worked. Treatment called by some a trial by media, cause celebre by people outraged by how some news orgs treat people who end up in their crosshairs. But the movie includes a scene of a now-dead newspaper reporter, whose real name was used, seeking to trade sex with an FBI agent for info. That did not happen, critics blasted moviemaker Eastwood for inventing a fictionalized scene of a journalist acting unethically in a movie designed to blast unethical journalism. No libel action is possible, dead cannot sue. è 2017 movie, The Post tells story of the Washington Post's decision to publish the Pentagon Papers that showed US gov failures in Vietnam War. Whistleblower stole papers and gave them to news orgs, and the gov put a tremendous amount of legal and other pressure to stop publication. At same time, the company seeking to raise money by selling stock for first time, new publisher Graham faced struggles in role after husband committed suicide. One of advertisers, Parsons, deeply opposed running stories b/c of fears about what could do to company's finances. But Parsons does not exist. Invented to summarize the many people opposed to publication and holding sexist notions about a woman as a publisher. è 2013 movie, Saving Mr. Banks tells story of Walt Disney wooing author Travers across 20 years before she sold rights that put her Mary Poppins character on the screen. Was a hard sell, and after saying no and returning to London, the movie shows Disney flying on next plane to see her again. In another scene, she giver her chauffeur a list of names includes Einstein, Roosevelt, painters Kahlo and Gogh. But Disney doesn't take the next flight to chase Travers. And the chauffer and his daughter never existed. Movie never showed Disney smoking and in reality died of lung cancer two years after Mary Poppins landed in theaters. Walt Disney Co. banned smoking in its own branded films in 2007, hops of discouraging those from smoking. Entertainment creators have many reasons for massaging actual events and people into fictionalized depictions: compress events and characters to make the story more interesting than real life, make it easier for audiences to follow the plot w/o having to keep up with too many scenes or people, and for budget reasons. And will argue making changes to reality can lead to a larger truth about humanity - even if audiences confuse fact with fiction. Playwright Sorkin, took great liberties in movie The Social Network about Fb and its founders asked 'What is the big deal about accuracy purely for accuracy's sake, and can we not have the true be the enemy of the good?' What, if any, rules should creative media workers have about telling larger truths at the expense of actual events and people? At what point should moviemakers not fictionalize actual events that occurred or make changes to people who existed? What, if a't, should audiences be told about changes that were made? Social media World's biggest social media companies d/n create content. Make the forum and take the ad money, leaving the content creation to billions in the general public who willingly share their thoughts, images, arguments. In the US they are legally somewhere between common carriers that have no say over what is communicated on their equipment and publishers responsible for content. Someone libeled on a social media platform can successfully sue the person who posted it, but usually not the platform. In the EU social media sites are required to remove posts that deny the Holocaust and other content that is illegal there but legal elsewhere. The ethical Q is what social media sites should take down, or at least not allow users to post. Sites such as FB have terms of service that forbid registered sex offenders for example and community standards that forbid fake video that would mislead an avg. person that a subject of the video said words that they did not say. It d/n remove what it calls false news b/c it does not want to stifle productive public discourse and b/c of the fine line b/t false news and satire of opinion but it will reduce its distribution or note that third-party fact checkers have rated the info to be false. It will also remove fake accounts. Problem, sites have millions of users and it takes a lot of people and smart algorithms to keep up. Leads to problems... è Govs using SM to tell lies and create racist campaigns about minority groups they did not like, leading to deaths and systematic abuse. Sometimes moves from misinformation (inaccurate statements, rumors) to disinformation (deliberately deceptive propaganda and hoaxes) designed to incite some and scare others. è Rogue people, orgs, govs creating bots that spread untruth è Algorithms that give people what they want, which typically is info that reinforces what they already believe. Sites d/ n usually distinguish among info that is accurate, exaggerated, or a mixture of fact and opinion è Decisions about dealing with inaccurate info, depending upon the sender. Former president Trump very active on Twitter sent messages that were factually incorrect or otherwise did not meet community standards. While others who tweeted T's words verbatim were briefly suspended by T for breaking its rules, Trump tweets remained. T said blocking or removing a world leader's tweets would hide important info people should be able to see and debate. T removed him after his supporters stormed the Capitol in January 2021, claiming incitement of violence. Previously SM sites removed the president's factually incorrect tweets, pointed out inaccuracies, or provided links to accurate info about the coronavirus or voting. è Decisions by internet companies that host blogs and web sites making decisions about the content of those sites, and decisions by search engines to decide where to place sites in the search results è Complaints about SM sites removing accurate news storied that criticize the sites What, if any, rules should SM companies have related to stopping falsehoods spread on their platform? Should SM companies treat some users different from other users? What obligation do users have to stop spreading misinfo? What role if any should gov play to ensure accuracy? How can sites ethically create computer tech that can slow or stop spread of falsehood, without infringing upon free speech rights or favoriting some groups over others?

Privacy: Media-Related Issues Entertainment Topic of privacy rarely explored in ethics books/writings related to entertainment. Some ways seems a... to the industry, as people persue fame and make money through fame despite accompanying loss of privacy. *Ethical ?s include how people in the industry - stars, entertainment companies, PR practitioners - exploit f... while also seeking c... over privacy. Also matters how n... o... and others cover stars, whether on the rise or way down. *While some stars rue loss of their privacy, others famous for being famous and blur lines of privacy. Grow rich through SM and entertainment programs that record their p... l... - whether it's parenting, personal relations, weight loss, other typically p... acts. Audiences are often curious about the private lives of the famous (or even not-so) and live their lives v... by watching stars. This matters because of 's... l...' the notion the public learns how to b... by watching stars and entertainment products. Unlike news creators, those who create non-news content often required by law to obtain p... from people who will appear in programming. Why you may see reality-based shows or other entertainment content blur the faces of those who didn't give OK to be included in video. How programs might e... people/situations in reality shows, including shows following law enforcement on the job also raises ethical ?s that include the privacy of b... and others. *Ethical ?s abound: Are these 'p... l...' real or invented for show? Are these privacy boundaries that should not be crossed? What power do participants have in c... their im...? And what good does the public (and the participants) get from such shows? *Documentaries and reality shows are a powerful force for s... c..., but if we are just gawking at freak shows, hardly paving the way for a more p... s... (Esch). Reality shows may be ethically OK to delve into private lives if b... for p... outweigh the loss of privacy, if participants understand the c... they s..., producers limit and explain p... in..., if participants can t... o... c... sometimes and explain their actions, and if privacy invasions involve topics that can improve p... u... of important issues. Finally worth remembering that entertainment privacy concerns are not just about who a... on c... The F... S... C...'s code applies to its members in the adult entertainment industry, promises to respect c... privacy related to who they are what they buy/watch. Companies can behave similarly to advertisers and marketers with their ability to t... what their c... w... *Questions about d... protection, using that info to provide suggested a... c... to view, began long ago. People seeking to embarrass others were known to find out what their targets checked out of libraries. Concerns continue today as content providers can use info about your v... p..., combined with other info, to send you suggestions to view similar content and buy products. Privacy: Media-Related Issues Social Media Late 2020: Former Congressional candidate posted Instagram photos of himself partying at then-president's private club at height of pandemic. Not wearing a mask. NYT linked to photos in its story, said maskless partiers appeared to violate specific guidelines about masks at indoor gatherings. Next day, man went on social media to say his fiance lost job and couple had to leave house because of nasty responses, thanks to the NYT for publishing the photos. *May be asking: What are the ethics of NYT linking to a SM post without the poster's permission (legal)? Or, it's foolish to think any of us have expectation of privacy on SM, where anyone from neighbor to NYT can link to or comment upon post. *As A... C... A...'s code of ethics says: As such always start with the assumption that anything you s... can be r... by a..., a..., at a... t..., and remember the Internet has a l... m... *The notion of how p... an online post is, or can remain, has both legal/ethical implications for SM companies and billions of users. Ethical issues of... -> The ability for a... to c... on a... e...'s post, putting yourself out there on SM means opening yourself to others offer fair/unfair c... on what others post. -> In... j..., where people type awful things about people/situations - often about topics they d/n f... u..., typing things they would not say to that person's face. A variation of that is 'n... and s...' - calling out someone by name to c... them, and hoping others will s... them too, easy way to try to punish people online. -> Internet 'tough guys,' the trolls and others who use the a... and im... of the internet to make t... and otherwise act in ways they would not in p... settings. -> Turning p... situations into p... ones, in order to shame or hurt others. Examples include online arguments that would best be taken offline, or 'r... p...' scorned lovers who post explicit images without the ex-partner's knowledge or consent. -> People who feel as if their lives are not real unless d... for o... to s..., and derive their s...-w... by how many views/likes/comments they receive. Research shows relationships between high SM use and higher levels of n... and l..., and low levels of s...-e.... -> Creating or highlighting in... in... that can harm individuals and the body politic, whether done for e... or out of ig.... Related to that is the power of SM companies to d... bad info and users who create or highlight it. -> The ability of SM companies to co... users. -> Duty of companies to make it clear how they c... and u... data. -> When, if ever, g... should be allowed to collect data kept by companies. Is a delicate balancing act! Sharing personal info with private businesses may seem a r... c... for receiving specific goods/services. But we don't want to be pawns in the hands of businesses that collectively know more on us than we may about ourselves - and use that data for their own ends. Christians: Integration of privacy with h... d... is the most pressing concern in this revolutionary era in media technologies. Facebook's Changing Privacy Standards 2005, had 5.5M members on college campuses. Privacy policy said, No personal info that you submit will be available to any user of the website who does not b... to at least one of the g... specified by you in your p... s... 2010: topped 400M members worldwide. Revenue = $2B. Two years before initial stock offering, privacy policy noted that connecting with an a... or w... it will give it access to g... info about you. The term general info includes you and your friends' names, profile pictures, gender, user IDs, connections, and any content shared using the 'E...' p... s... - the default privacy setting for certain types of info you post. 2020, had 2.8B monthly active users, 1B on Instagram. Revenue = $86B. Company continued reeling from another decade of privacy violations and concerns. Among biggest problems in 2014, when a third-party company Cambridge Analytica harvested up to 87M Facebook user profiles. Data policy ran 4,000 words, including how it uses your c... and l..., how other apps send info about you to Fb, and how you can control some info sent to Fb.

Entertainment Topic of privacy is rarely explored in ethics books and other writings related to entertainment. Some ways, p seems antithetical to the industry, as people pursue fame and make money through their fame despite the accompanying loss of privacy. Ethical Qs include how people in the industry - the stars, entertainment companies, and PR practitioners - exploit fame while also seeking control over privacy. Also matters how news orgs and others cover stars, whether on the rise or on their way down. While some stars rue their loss of privacy, others are famous for being famous and blur the lines of privacy. Grow rich through SM or entertainment programs that record their private lives - whether it's parenting, personal relations, weight loss, or other typically private acts. Audiences are often curious about the private lives of the famous (and not-so), and often live lives vicariously by watching stars. This matters because of 'social learning' the notion the public learns how to behave by watching stars and entertainment products. Unlike news creators, those who create non-news content often are required by law to obtain permission from people who will appear in programming. Why you might see reality-based shows, or other entertainment content, blur the faces of people who did not give their OK to be included in a video. How programs might exploit people and situations in reality shows, including shows that follow law enforcement on the job, also raises ethical Qs that include the privacy of bystanders and others. Ethical Qs abound - are these 'private lives' real or invented for show? Are these privacy boundaries that should not be crossed? What power do participants have in controlling their image? And what good does the public (and the participants) get from such shows? XXX Documentaries and reality shows are a powerful force for social change, but if we are just gawking at freak shows, that's hardly paving the way for a more perfect society, wrote Esch. Argued that reality shows may be ethically OK to delve into private lives if benefits for participants outweigh the losses of privacy, if participants understand the contracts they sign, if producers limit and explain privacy invasions, if participants can turn off cameras sometimes and explain their actions, and if the privacy invasions involve topics that can improve public understanding of important issues. Finally, worth remembering that entertainment privacy concerns are not just about who appear on camera. The Free Speech Coalition's code of ethics, applies to its members in the adult entertainment industry, promises to respect consumers' privacy related to who they are and what they buy and watch. Companies can behave similarly to advertisers and marketers with their ability to track what their customers watch. Qs about data protection, and using that info to provide suggested additional content to view, began long ago. People seeking to embarrass others were known to find out what their targets checked out of libraries. Those concerns continue today as content providers can use info about your viewing patterns, combined with other info, to send you suggestions to view similar content and buy products. Social Media In late 2020, at height of concerns about coronavirus, former Congressional candidate posted Instagram pictures of himself partying at then-president's private club in Florida. Man, like many others at the $1,000-a-guest event, not wearing a facemask. New York Times linked to the photos in its story, which said the mask-less partiers appeared to violate specific guidelines about masks at indoor gatherings. Next day, man went on to SM to say his fiancé lost his job and the couple had to leave their house because of nasty responses, thanks to the NYT for publishing the Instagram photos. May be asking self about the ethics of the NYT linking to a SM post without the poster's permission (is legal). Or may be thinking it foolish to think any of us have the expectation of privacy on SM, where anyone from your neighbor to the NYT can link to or comment upon your post. As Advertising Council Australia's code of ethics says: As such always start with the assumption that anything you say can be read by anyone, anywhere, at any time, and remember the Internet has a long memory. The notion of how private an online post is, or can remain, has both legal and ethical implications for SM companies and billions of people who use platforms. There are the ethical issues of... è The ability for anyone to comment on anyone else's post, as putting yourself out there on SM means opening yourself to others offer fair (and unfair) comment on what others post. è Instant judgment, where people type awful things about people and situations - often about topics they do not fully understand and typing things they would not say to that person's face. A variation of that is 'naming and shaming' - calling out someone by name to criticize them, and hoping others will shame them too - is an easy way to try to punish people online. è Internet 'tough guys,' the trolls and others who use the anonymity and impersonalization of the internet to make threats and otherwise act in ways they would not in personal settings. è Turning private situations into public ones, in order to shame or hurt others. Examples include online arguments that would best be taken offline, or 'revenge porn' created by scorned lovers who post explicit images without the ex-partner's knowledge or consent. è People who feel as if their lives are not real unless documented for others to see, and derive their self-worth by how many views/likes/comments they receive. Research shows relationships between high SM use and higher levels of narcissism and loneliness, and low levels of self-esteem. è Creating or highlighting inaccurate info that can harm individuals and the body politic, whether done for evil or out of ignorance. Related to that is the power of SM companies to delete bad info and users who create or highlight it. è The ability of SM companies to commodify users, as discussed in advertising. è Duty of companies to make it clear how they collect and use data. è When, if ever, govs should be allowed to collect data kept by companies. It is a delicate balance act. Sharing personal info with private businesses may seem a reasonable cost for receiving specific goods or services. But we don't want to be pawns in the hands of businesses that collectively know more about us than we may know about ourselves - and use that data for their own ends. No wonder Christians wrote, the integration of privacy with human dignity is the most pressing concern in this revolutionary era in media technologies. Facebook's Changing Privacy Standards In 2005, Fb had 5.5 million members on college campuses. Privacy policy said, No personal info that you submit to Fb will be available to any user of the website who does not belong to at least one of the groups specified by you in your privacy settings. In 2010, topped 400 million members worldwide. Revenue was $2B. Two years before its initial stock offering, Fb's privacy policy noted that connecting with an application or website it will give it access to general info about you. The term general info includes you and your friends' names, profile pictures, gender, user IDs, connections, and any content shared using the 'Everyone' privacy settings - the default privacy setting for certain types of info you post on Fb is set to 'Everyone.' In 2020, had 2.8 billion monthly active users, 1B on Instagram, which it bought in 2012. Revenue in 2020 was $86B. Company continued reeling from another decade of privacy violations and concerns. Among biggest problems began in 2014, when a third-party company Cambridge Analytica harvested up to 87 million Facebook user profiles. Data policy ran 4,000 words, including how it uses your cameras and location, how other apps send info about you to Fb, and how you can control some info sent to Fb.

Perplexing Truth-Telling Issues in Media Journalism and other non-fiction 1) Deception in reporting/writing -Two-part process in journalism: Reporting and writing. SPJ: Seek truth and report it, includes both parts of the job - deceiving s... of i... and ultimately deceiving the a... are both fundamental ethical issues. -Effort to seek truth provides j'lists opportunities to m... sources, which may be justifiable when sources h... i... or would act d... if they knew j'lists were on the scene. J'lists have gone u... to show: a) University workers trading sex for grades b) Grocery store chain sold food in unsanitary conditions (Food Lion vs. ABC-TV, primetime news show 1990s). Didn't claim l... but claimed j'lists broke the law by t... and t... j... without saying they were reporters. Awarded $5.5M but reduced by appeals court to $2. c) Prisons are operated. Ted Conover worked as corrections officer at Sing Sing Prison in NY (Newjack). Shane Bauer six months as officer in 2015 for an LA prison for-profit company. It remains unclear the ethics for going u... to seek truth. Chicago Tribune (1970) expose problems with private ambulance company. Chicago Sun-Times operated a tavern (The Mirage) to catch public employees seeking bribes to allow bar to open/operate. -Critics of u... i... worry about the deceptive nature of u... work and excessive use of technique. Suggested in many situations (nursing homes, mental institutions, prisons, businesses) going u... is often the only effective way to discover what's going on behind closed doors, document in a way that eliminates d... by wrongdoers. The effort to report it comes with ethical dilemmas. Ability to separate truth from falsehood in reporting process, requires time/skill. Legitimate news orgs d/n make up facts/stretch them, recognize facts sometimes get in the way of a good story. News orgs promptly c... m... J'lists who are CONSISTENTLY i... may find themselves out of work, regardless of m... or not. If you m... u... s..., regardless of closeness to a political party, will be without a job in any legitimate news org. All journalists who p... will also be out of work. The faster s... of reporting in the digital age causes problems, as j'lists report info that may later turn out to be untrue, or when using s... m... whose limitations do not allow space for d.../c... -They can update as new info becomes available, and because the competition for eyeballs means must be the f... in order to capture a... and m... of audiences/advertisers. Some see changing considerations of ethics in face of s... m...'s f... pace, as public expects hastily reported info to change as new info becomes available. -T... and q... u... with new info are key. Other ethicists consider s... m... no different than w... s... and b... r..., and accuracy has a higher ethical value than s... Still related to this is the world of s...-r..., or m..., whether they be written by j'lists or non. Literature has a long and mostly honorable history of blending h... f... with f..., in a genre known as h... f... -Most readers KNOW when reading f...; but they expect to read n...-f... when they pick up a personal m... or a... -Lines blurring and sometimes crossed. Go Ask Alice (fake diary of a teenage girl who died of an overdose, Irving went to prison for confessing to invent Howard Hughes' auto). Some newspapers fooled by fake Hitler diaries in 83. 2003, A Million Little Pieces (James Frey). These topics lead to many questions: When if ever should j'lists go u... to find info? How much should j'lists 'know' or think they know before publishing info? Where should m... draw their ethical line? 2) Photo manipulation First photographs developed in late 1830s, phrase 'the camera cannot lie.' -The phrase has always been untrue: neither c... nor p... always tell an absolute truth. Photos become m... of r... when p..., d... and b... in the darkroom, c..., p..., and d... -Famous photo of Abe Lincoln (1865), grafted head onto John C. Calhoun's body -People added to/deleted from parades and staged events: Stalin, Hitler, Mussolini, Tse-Tung, Castro [moving friends/enemies out of sight] BUT the f... n... made it easy to catch liars. -Photoshop, 1987. D... p... becomes common in the 90s. Media orgs first to move to d... p..., it saved time and money but brought temptations to manipulate images. -Nat Geo, pyramids, 1982. TV Guide - Oprah's herd onto Ann-Margaret's body, 1989. Time darkened OJ Simpson's face in 94. National Press P'graphers released Ethics in Age of D... P... report (99), 2015 World Press Photo Competition disqualified 20% of finalists for unethical manipulations of entries. -Seems to be little consensus among pg, editors, public about ethics of the matter. -Wheeler: C... r... as the most perplexing topic in photojournalism ethics. May be especially true in f... j..., from physical to now electronic airbrushing and inventing flawless skin, smiles, bodies now expected of models. -Practice has been correlated to low self-esteem and dangerous ED's in young women. Problem of v... c... aided by new tech: Artistic freedom and right to make profit VS. probability of harm to consumers. -Several studies and commentaries argued when magazines electronically distort model bodies to make them unnaturally thin, youthful readers of magazines grow d... with their own and go to lengths to e... the thin, ideal models. Vicious cycle including degree of a... to mags/sits. Doesn't matter if readers know the photos are c.../not. -So troublesome Adobe added in 2019 'content authenticity initiative' to ensure essential info about a pg remains attached to image file. So, is it ethical to digitally manipulate photos? Should different standards by applied to news photos and ad photos? Must news photos appear precisely as event would have been perceived by an impartial onlooker, or permissible to do minor re-touching like removing a distracting sign or pole from photo? What should fashion mags and websites do if anything about evidence that digitizing models contribute as health hazards?

Journalism and other Non-Fiction: Deception in Reporting/Writing Two-part process in journalism: Reporting and writing. SPJ code of ethics 'seek truth and report it.' Both parts of the job, deceiving sources of info and ultimately deceiving the audience fundamental ethical issues. Effort to seek truth provides journalists opportunities to mislead sources, which may be justifiable when sources hide info or would act differently if they knew j were on the scene. Journalists have gone undercover to show è Some workers at universities traded sex for grades è Grocery chain sold food in unsanitary conditions. Food Lion fought back a/g ABC-TV Primetime news show (1990s) not by claiming libel, claiming journalists broke law by trespassing and taking jobs w/o saying they were reporters. Awarded FL $5.5M judgment (jury), reduced by appeals court to $2. Only winners lawyers on both sides. è Prisons are actually operated. Ted Conover worked as corrections officer at famous Sing Sing Prison in NY to write Newjack in 2000. Shane Bauer worked six months as officer in 2015, sometimes guarding 350 prisoners by self, LA prison for-profit company. Did not conceal his identity or employment history saying prison company never asked. Remains unclear about ethics of going undercover to seek truth. Chicago Tribune (1970) undercover to expose problems with private ambulance companies. Chicago Sun-Times opened a tavern (The Mirage) to catch public employees and others seeking bribes to allow the bar to open/operate. The paper set a trap through its deception. Critics of undercover investigations worry about the deceptive nature of undercover work and excessive use of the technique. Suggest in many situations - nursing homes, mental institutions, prisons, businesses - going undercover is often the only effective way to discover what is going on behind closed doors, document a way that eliminate deniability by wrongdoers. The effort to 'report it' also comes with tricky ethical dilemmas. Ability to separate truth from falsehood in the reporting process, which requires time and skill. Legitimate news orgs do not make up facts/stretch them, recognize that facts sometimes get in the way of a good story. News orgs promptly correct mistakes. Journalists who are consistently inaccurate, even without malice, may find themselves out of work. Caught making up stories will find themselves out of work in legitimate news orgs, even orgs that purposely hew closer to one political party than another. And nearly all journalists who plagiarize will find themselves looking for work elsewhere. The faster speed of reporting in the digital age causes problems, as journalists report info that may later turn out to be incorrect, or when using social media whose limitations do not allow space for depth/context. They know they can update as new info becomes available, and because the competition for eyeballs means must be first in order to capture attention and money of the audiences and advertisers. Some see changing considerations of ethics in face of social media's fast pace, as the public expects hastily reported info to change as new info becomes available. Transparency, and quick updates with new info are the key. Other ethicists though consider social media no different from wire service and broadcast reporting, and accuracy has a higher ethical value than speed. Related to this is the world of self-reporting, or memoirs, whether they be written by j or non-j. Literature has a long and mostly honorable history of blending historical facts with fiction, in a genre known as 'historical fiction.' Most readers know when reading fiction. But they expect to read non-fiction when they pick up a personal memoir or autobiography. Lines blurring - and sometimes crossed. 70s, some readers fooled by Go Ask Alice fake diary of a teenage girl who died of an overdose, and Clifford Irving went to prison confessing he invented Howard Hughes' autobiography. Some newspapers fooled by faked Hitler Diaries in 1983. 2003, James Frey A Million Little Pieces landed spot on the Oprah Show as one of book club selections, back on show for a scolding national audience after revealed he made up stories. These topics lead to many questions: When if ever should journalists go undercover to find info? How much should journalists 'know' - or think they know - before publishing info? Where should memoirists draw their ethical line? Journalism: Photo Manipulation First photographs developed in late 1830s, phrase 'the camera cannot lie' published before end of that. Phrase was untrue both then and now, neither cameras nor photographers always tell an absolute truth. Photos become manipulations of reality when posed, dodged and burned in the darkroom, cropped, printed, and distributed. Famous 1865 photo of Abe Lincoln - VISUAL LIE (someone in a darkroom grafted L's head atop the body of John C. Calhoun, former VP who died a decade before L took office. Words on the doc were changed too.) Photo manipulation continued into next century, when people were added to or deleted from parades and staged events depending on the whims of those in power. Stalin, Hitler, Mussolini, Tse-tung, Castro are among leaders who moved friends into and enemies out of sight. Those manipulations and many others, film negative of the original photo made it easy to catch the liars. Then came 1987, debut of Photoshop software. Digital photography becoming common in the 90s. Media orgs were among first to move to digital photograph, as it saved time and money but brought temptations to manipulate images. Nat Geo moved pyramids closer together in a 1982 cover to meet its design needs. TV Guide slapped Oprah's head atop Ann-Margaret's body in 89. Time magazine in 94 darkened face of murder suspect OJ Simpson, same undoctored photo in Newsweek. 99, National Press P'graphers Association released Ethics in the Age of Digital P'graphy report; in 2015 World Press Photo competition disqualified 20% of finalists for unethical manipulations of their contest entries. Seems to be little consensus among p'graphers, editors, and public about ethics of the matter. Tom Wheeler described cosmetic retouching as the most perplexing topic in photojournalism ethics. This may be especially true in fashion journalism, whether magazine or online, moved from using physical airbrushing to electronic and invent flawless skin, smiles, bodies public unfortunately expect of models. Practice of manipulating such photos has been correlated to low self-esteem and dangerous ED's in young women. Problem another of those values clashes, aided by new tech: artistic freedom and right to make profit vs. probability of harm to consumers Several studies and commentaries argued when magazines electronically distort model bodies to make them unnaturally thin, youthful readrs of magazine grow dissatisfied with own bodies and go to lengths to emulate the thin ideal models. Vicious cycle even includes degree of addiction to magazines and sites, doesn't matter whether readers know photos are highly contrived. Potential abuses of photo manipulation so troublesome, Adobe the maker of P'shop and others in 2019, 'content authenticity initiative' to ensure essential info about a p'graph remains attached to image file. People with media literacy skills learn to compare pics they see with others online, determine whether images have been manipulated or used in wrong context. Is it ethical to digitally manipulate p'graphs? Should different standards be applied for news photos and ad photos? Must news photos appear precisely as the event would have been perceived by an impartial onlooker, or permissible to do minor re-touching like removing a distracting sign or pole from photo? What should fashion mags and websites do if anything about evidence that digitizing models contributes as a health hazard?

Privacy: Media-Related Issues Journaism: What the SPJ Code Says The 'M... H...' portion of the SPJ code follows the 'S... T... and R... I...' portion, reminder these two key values often come in conflict. Most of the h... section focuses on privacy, beginning with argument that ethical journalism treats people with r..., specifically saying... a) Journalists should w... the c... of publishing/b-casting personal information against other considerations. b) P... and non-p... people may be treated differently. SPJ says non-p... figures have a greater r... to c... info about themselves than p... figures and others who seek power, influence, attention. c) Important to avoid 'undue intrusiveness' and to balance the p...'s n... for info against potential h... or d..., would include invasion of privacy. d) There's a difference b/t the r... to publish info and the e... n... to publish. e) J have a special duty when reporting on c... s... before they face ch..., and to balance the right to know a/g the right to a fair t... (RTDNA code notes that privacy and fair-trial concerns are not the p... m... of a journalist but still should be balanced against the importance or urgency of reporting). f) Online info can be problematic o... t... Consider the l...-term implications of the extended r... and p... of publication. Provide updated and more complete info. In pre-internet days, info often traveled only as far as the farthest copy of the newspaper traveled, or as far as a b-cast signal would reach. Today, info is easily obtainable worldwide, and may stay online far longer than it should. Visual journalists have special considerations about privacy... The N... P... P... A... code says members should intrude on private moments of g... only when the public has an o... and j... n... to see. Group also has special privacy concerns about using d... or other un-crewed devices which can fly cameras anywhere. Drones are intrusive when they a... events, and asks: If you would not peer over a fence, look into a window, or enter private property, how would you justify capturing the same image because you are airborne? Garry Bryant, created checklist that can help. Within seconds, he would ask and answer 4 simples questions: 1) Does the private moment of p... and s... I find myself watching n... to be seen? Should this moment become p...? If so, does it tell the story or part of the story of this event? 2) Are the people involved in such shambles over the moment that being p-graphed will send them into gr... t...? 3) Am I at a d..., trying to be as un... as possible? 4) Am I acting with c... and s...? Questions seem relevant for photojournalists and even anyone with a camera thinking of posting images/video on SM. Privacy: Media-Related Issues Digital Media Traditional news values have changed some as blogging and online-only news orgs took off in the past few decades, as people who aren't trained in journalism commit acts of journalism. Led to privacy-related issues! *2008: Blogging was first 's... medium' writer worried bloggers might hurt others by bringing the 'p...' into the p... realm despite the inherent privacy risks they face in writing about lives of themselves/children/others. Most famous privacy case this millennium so far involves Terry Bollea (Hulk Hogan) and Gawker Media. GM posted a sex tape of Hogen having sex with the wife of radio shock jock Todd Clem. Billionare venture capitlist Peter Thiel was angry with GM for previously releasing he was gay and secretly paid for H's lawsuit. *GM claimed the tape was newsworthy as H was a p... figure who bragged on his sex life. Jury decided his privacy was invaded because he didn't know the act was taped and that even c... have some right to privacy. Jury awarded $140M, but he settled for 31, GM closed. Verdict may have served as warning shot to non-traditional news orgs about the balance of privacy with other values. Most-blogging focused codes echo traditional journalism codes. One exception is the A... of B..., began as a code for food writers who granted themselves anonymity so restaurants wouldn't treat them differently from other patrons. 'But at the same time we still agree not to publish anything we wouldn't feel completely comfortable adding our o... n..." And others are worried that bloggers open themselves up to others invading their privacy, so they recommend bloggers take precautions to limit being attacked by hackers or doxers.

Journalism: What the SPJ Code Says The 'Minimize Harm' portion of the Society of Professional Journalists' code follows the 'Seek Truth and Report It' portion, reminder these two key values often come into conflict. Most of the harm section focuses on privacy, beginning with argument that ethical journalism treats people with respect. Specifically, its code says... è Journalists should weigh the consequences of publishing or broadcasting personal information against other considerations è Private and non-private people may be treated differently. SPJ says non-public figures have a greater right to control info about themselves than public figures and others who seek power, influence, attention. è Important to avoid 'undue intrusiveness' and to balance the public's need for info against potential harm or discomfort, which would include invasion of privacy. è There's a difference b/t the right to publish info and the ethical need to publish. è J have a special duty when reporting on criminal suspects before they face charges, and to balance the right to know a/g the right to a fair trial. (RTDNA code notes that privacy and fair-trial concerns are not the primary mission of a journalist but still should be balanced against the importance or urgency of reporting). è Online info can be problematic over time. Consider the long-term implications of the extended reach and permanence of publication. Provide updated and more complete info. In pre-internet days, info often traveled only as far as the farthest copy of the newspaper traveled, or as far as a b-cast signal would reach. Today, info is easily obtainable worldwide, and may stay online far longer than it should. Visual journalists have special considerations about privacy. The National Press Photographers Association's code says its members should intrude on private moments of grief only when the public has an overriding and justifiable need to see. The group also has special privacy concerns about using drones or other un-crewed devices that can fly cameras nearly anywhere. Code says drones are intrusive when they alter events, and asks: If you would not peer over a fence, look into a window, or enter private property, how would you justify capturing the same image because you are airborne? Garry Bryant, retired national award winning news p-grapher created checklist that can help. His soul-searching took place at the moment he came upon a news story with his camera. Within seconds, he would ask and answer 4 simples questions: 1) Does the private moment of pain and suffering I find myself watching need to be seen? Should this moment become public? If so, does it tell the story or part of the story of this event? 2) Are the people involved in such shambles over the moment that being p-graphed will send them into greater trauma? 3) Am I at a distance, trying to be as unobtrusive as possible? 4) Am I acting with compassion and sensitivity? His questions seem relevant for photojournalists and even anyone with a camera and thinking about posting images/video on SM or elsewhere. Digital Media Traditional news values may have changed some as blogging and online-only news orgs took off in the past few decades, and as people who are not necessarily trained in journalism commit acts of journalism. This has led to some serious privacy-related issues. In 2008, when blogging was the first 'social medium' a writer worried that bloggers might hurt others by bringing the 'private' into the public realm, despite the inherent privacy risks they face in writing about the lives of themselves, their children, and others. That remains problematic as people write about themselves and others. The most famous privacy case so far this millennium involves Terry Bollea, better known as wrestler Hulk Hogan. Gawker Media posted a sex tape of him having sex with the wife of radio shock jock Todd Clem, better known as Bubba the Love Sponge. Billionaire venture capitalist Peter Thiel, angry after Gawker previously revealed that he is gay, secretly paid for Hogan's lawsuit. Gawker claimed the tape was newsworthy, because Hogan was a public figure who bragged about his sex life. A jury decided that his privacy was invaded because he did not know the rendezvous was taped and that even celebrities have some right to privacy. Jury awarded $140M but he settled for $31M, and Gawker closed. Verdict may have served as a warning shot to non-traditional news orgs about the balance of privacy with other values. Most blogging-focused codes echo traditional journalism codes. One exception is the Association of Bloggers, which began as a code for food writers who granted themselves anonymity so restaurants would not treat them differently than other patrons. 'But at the same time we still agree not to publish anything that we wouldn't feel completely comfortable adding our own name' And others are worried that bloggers open themselves up to others invading their privacy, so they recommend that bloggers take precautions to limit being attacked by hackers or doxers.

Measuring Values The two researchers with the most impact in values research (trying to systematically analyze or even quantify values), have been Rokeach and Schwartz. Rokeach: Everyone possesses the s... values to d... d...! Values underlie b, a, and b, and values are easier to uncover and study than other variables ('because an adult has tens/hundreds of thousands of b, thousands of a, but only ... of values). *Values are id... c... and measurable in relation to o... a... as a part of a value system, which he defined as an e... organization of belief concerning preferable m... of c... or e... s... of e... along a continuum of relative importance. They help individuals choose between alternatives, resolve conflicts, and make decisions. *36 values - two parallel lists of values that people were asked to rank in order of importance to them. a) I... values that help us reach our d... g... being ambitious, broadminded, capable, cheerful, clean, courageous, forgiving, helpful, honest, imaginative, independent, intellectual, logical, loving, obedient, polite, responsible, and self-controlled. b) T... values we would like to reach during our life A comfortable life, an exciting life, a sense of accomplishment, a world at peace, a world of beauty, equality, family security, freedom, happiness, inner harmony, mature love, national security, pleasure, salvation, self-respect, social recognition, true friendship, wisdom. The Rokeach inventory has been faulted for being Rokeach's own i... assessment of what we value. Does not include values pertaining to individual rights for example (privacy, dignity), which may be more important than ever in the internet age. Rohan concluded that because R offered no t... about the u... value s..., the inventory is just a Lise of unconnected value words. -R anticipated criticism and suggested the framework of our values systems and how those values are formed in more interesting than the concept of such values. BUT we need to study both the s... and the c... of values systems because we are interested in 1) w... our values come from and those of c/s/s/a/various institutions, 2) how these values c... over t..., 3) how to use our communications skills to deal with values c... Schwartz worked to resolve some of the concerns raised. Looked at the o... of values - what motivates us to p... one over another - and how our values systems are s... -He and Bilsky concluded that values emerge from our need to resolve f... c... between 1) Either being o to c/o OR holding fast to the sq/o AND 2) Either being motivated by s-I OR the I of o Schwartz says these two conflicts are captured in ten broad value types: po..., ac..., he..., st..., self-d..., un..., be..., tr..., co..., and se... Each value type is represented by specific values. -Example: Achievement is reflected in the values of success, capability, ambition, influence. -Universalism: Broadminded, wisdom, SJ, equality, world at peace, world of beauty, unity with nature, protecting environment. -Conformity: politeness, obedience, self-discipline, showing respect These 10 values and 44 specific values c... in meaningful ways. *If we think self-direction, stimulation, and thinking outside the box (change/opportunity) are important, we probably place less value on c, t, and s (o/c values). *If we think achievement, power, and ambition (self-interest/self-enhancement) are important, we likely place less value on sj, e, being h, h, and l (sc/u/b). -These choices show what a person is PREPARED TO LOSE a little of to gain a little more of something else. -Our values may influence the line of work we enter, including the myriad jobs in the mass media business. An advertising executive, social media worker, os someone in entertainment may place a high value on a, p, and a (self-interest/self-enhancement) but place lower value on SJ, e, being h, h, l (sc/u/b). A journalist might be more likely to place high values on SJ, e, being h. Merely stating our values is not the same as living them! (Rest - moral character and implementation)

Measuring Values Many researchers have tried to systematically analyze and even quantify values, tricky. The social scientists making the biggest impact in values research have Rokeach and Schwartz. Rokeach's research concluded that all people 'everywhere possess the same values to different degrees' Reminding us that values underlie beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors, he concluded that values are easier to uncover and study than other variables because an adult probably has tens or hundreds of thousands of beliefs, thousands of attitudes, but only dozens of values. Values are identifiable components and measurable in relation to one another as part of a 'value system' which he defined as an enduring organization of beliefs concerning preferable modes of conduct or end states of existence along a continuum of relative importance. Helps individuals choose between alternatives, resolve conflicts, and make decisions. Rokeach's research tool consisted of 36 values - two parallel lists of values that people were asked to rank in order of relative importance to themselves. è Instrumental values that help us reach our desired goals: being ambitious, broadminded, capable, cheerful, clean, courageous, forgiving, helpful, honest, imaginative, independent, intellectual, logical, loving, obedient, polite, responsible, and self-controlled. è Terminal values, or goals we would like to reach during our life: A comfortable life, an exciting life, a sense of accomplishment, a world at peace, a world of beauty, equality, family security, freedom, happiness, inner harmony, mature love, national security, pleasure, salvation, self-respect, social recognition, true friendship, wisdom. The Rokeach inventory has been used to study hundreds of thousands of people. Has been faulted for being R's own intuitive assessment of what we value. It does not include values pertaining to individual rights such as privacy and dignity, which are perhaps more important than ever in the internet age. Rohan concluded that because R offered no theory about the underlying value system, the inventory is essentially a list of unconnected value words. R anticipated the criticism and suggested that the framework of our values systems, and how those values are formed, is a more interesting research Q than the actual content of such values. However, we need to study BOTH the structure and content of values sytems because a course exploring professional ethics is interested in (1) where our values and those of clients/sources/subjects/audiences/various institutions come from, (2) how these values change over time, and (3) how to use our communications skills to effectively deal with values clashes. Schwartz worked to resolve some of the concerns raised about R. S looked at the origination of values - what motivates us to prioritize one value over another - and how our value systems are structured. He and colleague Bilsky concluded that values emerge from our need to resolve fundamental conflicts between (1) either being open to change/opportunity OR holding fast to the status quo/organization, and (2) either being motivated by self-interest OR the interests of others. These two conflicts are captured in ten broad value types: power, achievement, hedonism, stimulation, self-direction, universalism, benevolence, tradition, conformity, and security. Each value type is represented by specific values. For example, 'achievement' is reflected in the values of success, capability, ambition, and influence. Universalism is seen in broadminded, wisdom, social justice, equality, a world at peace, a world of beauty, unity with nature, and protecting the environment. Conformity is founded in politeness, obedience, self-discipline, and showing respct. The ten value types and 44 specific values cluster in meaningful ways. If we think self-direction, stimulation, and thinking outside the box (change/opportunity) are important, for example, we probably place less value on conformity, tradition, and security (organizational/conservative values). Another example: If we think achievement, power, and ambition (self-interest/self-enhancement) are important, then we likely place less value on SJ, equality, being helpful, honesty, and loyalty (social context/universalism/benevolence). As Rohan noted, these choices show what a person is prepared to lose a little of to gain a little more of something else. Our values may influence the line of work we enter, including the myriad jobs in the mass media business. An advertising executive, social media worker, or someone in the entertainment business may place a high value on achievement, power, and ambition (self-interest/self-enhancement), but place lower value on SJ, equality, being helpful, honesty, and loyalty (social context/universalism/benevolence). A journalist might be more likely to place a high value on SJ, equality, and being helpful. And finally, it is worth reminding ourselves that merely stating our values is not the same as living them. Rest - moral character and implementation - walking the talk - are ultimately what waters.

Moral Confusion in Persuasion Outsiders often misunderstand fields of A/PR, seems some persuasion practitioners remain unsettled about their significant role in society. Given widespread criticism (public, special interest groups, gov watchdogs, scholars) practitioners struggle to explain the moral/pragmatic foundations of enterprises. *Traditionally had k... d... b/t A and PR, lines have b... by new era of electronic media and 'integrated marketing communication.' Both fields engage in s... t... t... and appear torn b/t competing l... to c... and a... Some ethicists find it difficult to apply an o... m... t... to enterprises that rely upon n... l... and s... t... t... (Kant, Bok, Gert - suggest d... and n... l... are inherently troublesome in enterprises founded to tell only o... s... of the s...) The act of persuasion through the mass media only v... vulnerable innocents, left with a diminished capacity to te... for and ba... ac... on truth. From this perspective, A/PR seem little more than m... u..., 'u... or be u...' enterprises valuing individuals primarily as m... to selfish ends than ends in and of themselves. *BUT most practitioners don't m... or d... a... by merely providing persuasive messaging. Some see Kant's d...-based approach can work for persuaders, especially PR who must advise bosses on ethics. Classical liberal markets have supposedly s...-c... 'n... l...' that come to play to deal with defeciences/inequities. -> One is that people are in... w... to trade, barter, persuade -> Another is s...-in... can lead to a sense of j...: People follow rules because each person knows that every other person is also s...-in... -> Yet another argues for l...-f..., that the market is a self-c..., self-r..., complex mechanism that must be left alone to follow its n... c... ***Theory doesn't always work. Some people aren't competent at t, b, p. Advertisers can be more effective appealing to e... than in... Bad actors can d... or use c... Self-seekers manipulate the system to benefit themselves, or b... the r... would hold them back. In... hand that supposedly guides an open marketplace may not be firm. If the classical liberal m-place doesn't work, what is the alternative? *Calls for s... r... arose when the l... model fell short. Some saw advertising not merely as means to beneficial self-fulfillment but as reinforcing ma..., cy..., ir..., sel..., anxiety, social competitiveness, powerlessness, and/or loss of self-respect. *Govs stepped in and courts say commercial speech deserves less p... than political, news, artistic speech (US). FDA, FTC, SEC, dozens of other agencies serve as o... w... *Industry also seeks to p... itself through non-gov w... like the Better Business Bureau, National Advertising Review Board, AAAA, AAF, other trade/institutional groups. Such groups have ethics codes to guide practitioners. Most of these interventions have occurred in name of s... r... but also s...-a...: If the business won't p... itself, gov may step in with more punitive law Meanwhile PR industry has its own growing pains. Practitioners engage in wide range of activities like conducting opinion research, press agentry, product promotion, publicity, lobbying, public affairs, fundraising, membership drives, special event management. Traditionally several of these acts are a... or u... in c...'s f...: PR 'sells' org's POV or activities to carefully selected 'target' audiences. The a... model has little expectation that the org/client will c... Use data to improve clients' p... a... (public opinion and behavioral research) *An alternative to that model (Grunig) advocate t...-w... s... c... PR uses research to n... and ma... co... among org and strategic publics. Goal is not merely to persuade but to assist public/orgs in being more r... and r... 'C... model' seeks w...-w... resolutions in PR process. *Will not fit goals of many orgs and clients: Those who enter m-place of ideas with goals of persuading v... p... *Or those who think they need no r... to help plan events/develop VNRs/launch viral marketing campaign *T...-w... s... is ethical when it is seen as a d... not as a m... to an e... only when c... McBridge: Ethical challenges exist in PR b/c practitioners haven't decided whether they are heirs to j.../f... e... espoused for public info specialists/journalists in residence (Lee) OR the p.../a.../c... e... espoused by Bernays, people shouldn't know they are being m... *Most PR texts avoid o.../a... dilemma when describing moral goal of the practitioner by instead recommending some version of c... s... r... (CSR), voluntary business initiatives that benefit local communities like charitable donations, providing voluntary workers. To resolve confusion over A/PR moral heritage, suggest p... ethic is not only defensible but laudable in participatory democracy. Role of persuasion shouldn't be confused with client c... role that many undertake; each has its own special place in the environment.

Moral Confusion in Persuasion Outsiders often misunderstand fields of advertising and PR and seems some persuasion practitioners remain somewhat unsettled about their significant role in society. Given widespread criticism by public, special interest groups, gov watchdogs, and scholars, little wonder practitioners struggle to explain moral and pragmatic foundations of enterprises. Traditionally, there have been key distinctions b/t advertising and PR, although lines b/t two have blurred in era dominated by new era of electronic media and 'integrated marketing communication' Both fields engage in selective truth-telling and appear torn b/t competing loyalties to clients and audiences. Whether in your face or behind the scenes, work is often criticized by ethicists and public. Some ethicists find it difficult to apply an objective moral theory to enterprises that rely upon narrow loyalties and selective truth-telling. Deontologists like Kant, Bok, Gert, who suggest deception and narrow loyalties are inherently troublesome in enterprises that are founded to tell only one side of the story. By implication, the act of persuasion through the mass media victimizes vulnerable innocents, who are left with a diminished capacity to test for and base actions on truth. From this perspective, ad and PR seem to be little more than morally underdeveloped, use-and-be-used enterprises, valuing individuals primarily as means to selfish ends than ends in and of themselves. However, most practitioners do not manipulate or deceive their audiences merely by providing persuasive messaging. And some media ethicists say Kant's duty-based approach can work for persuaders, particularly PR who must advise their bosses about ethics. Classical liberal markets supposedly have self-correcting 'natural laws' that come into play to deal with deficiencies or inequities. One natural law is that people are instinctively wired to trade, barter, persuade. Another is Adam Smith's argument that self-interest can lead to a sense of justice: People follow the rules, because each person knows that every other person is also self-interested. Yet another argues for laissez-faire, that the market, as self-contained, self-repairing, complex mechanism must be left alone to follow its natural course. Alas, the theory d/n always work. Some people, even rational, aren't competent at trading, bartering, or persuading. Advertisers can be more effective appealing to emotions than intellect. Bad actors can deceive or use coercion, such as the threat of some dire consequence if the actor d/n do what the coercer demands to pressure people. Self-seekers manipulate the system to benefit themselves, or breaking rules that would hold them back. In short, the invisible hand that supposedly guides an open marketplace may not have the firm grip expected. If the classical liberal marketplace d/n work as promised, what is the alternative? Calls for social responsibility arose when the libertarian model fell short in real life. Some critics saw advertising not merely as means to beneficial self-fulfillment but as reinforcing materialism, cynicism, irrationality, selfishness, anxiety, social competitiveness, powerlessness, and/or loss of self-respect. In US, govs have stepped in and courts say commercial speech deserves less protection than political, news, or artistic speech. Food and Drug Admin, Federal Trade Commission, Securities and Exchange Commission, and dozens of other agencies serve as official watchdogs. Meanwhile, industry seeks to police itself through non-gov watchdogs including the Better Business Bureau, National Advertising Review Board, American Association of Advertising Agencies, AAF, and many other trade/institutional groups. Such groups have ethics codes, some more substantive than others, to guide ad practitioners. Most of these interventions have occurred in the name of social responsibility, but also for self-autonomy; if the business won't police itself, the gov may step in with more punitive law. Meanwhile, the multifaceted PR industry has had its own growing pains. Practitioners engage in wide range of activities like conducting opinion research, press agentry, product promotion, publicity, lobbying, public affairs, fundraising, membership drives, special event management. Traditionally, several of those acts are asymmetrical, or unbalanced in clients' favor: PR 'sells' the org's points of view or activities to carefully selected 'target' audiences. The asymmetrical model has little expectation that the org and clients will change. When orgs using the model conduct public opinion and behavioral research, use the data to improve the clients' persuasive appeals. As an alternative to that model, scholars and practitioners like Grunig advocate two-way symmetrical communications as potentially more ethical. PR uses research to negotiate and manage conflicts among org and strategic publics. Goal is not merely to persuade but to assist public and orgs in being more responsive and responsible. Counseling model seeks win-win resolutions in the PR process. Model may not fit the goals of many orgs and clients, especially those who enter m-place of ideas with goals of persuading various publics. It is of little value to those who think they need no research data to help them plan events or develop VNRs or launch a viral marketing campaign. Two-way symmetry is ethical when it is seen as a DUTY, not a means to an end only when convenient. As McBride explained, ethical challenges in PR exist in part b/c practitioners have not decided whether they are heirs to journalism/fairness ethic espoused for public info specialists/journalists in residence early in 20thby Lee, or the persuasion/advocacy/cheerleader ethic espoused by Bernays, who argues that people s/n know they are being manipulated. Most PR texts when describing moral goal of the practitioner, avoid objectivity/advocacy dilemma by recommending some version of corporate social responsibility. CSR, as is known, refers to voluntary business initiatives that benefit local communities like charitable donations or providing voluntary workers. To resolve some of the confusions over A/PR's moral heritage, suggest the persuasion ethic is not only defensible, but laudable in a participatory democracy. Role of persuasion s/n be confused with the client counseling role that many media persuaders undertake; each has its own special place in the media environment.

Some Issues of Persuasion (New media, new persuasion) -The ability to fast-forward or skip through traditional ads, rise of new media platforms led persuaders to find new ways to keep audience attention. b) A... content - ads that intentionally look like n... c... and often marked by terms like 'sponsored content,' 'paid post,' 'sponsored by,' 'powered by.' Deliver big money to news orgs, some may not ensure that the content doesn't too closely resemble n... c... (90% confuse with actual NC) b2) In-text advertising - several ways that readers of o... news items are lured into reading promotional messages -> K...-t... ads: display ads that take users to a site when they merely pass their mouse over it. -> Con... li... ads: words or phrases within editorial copy that link to pop-up ads; users don't even have to click on the key words for the ads to appear. ->P...-u... ads appear in small windows in front of the main browser windows -> P...-u... similar, but don't appear until users closes the window. -> In.../pr... ads appear prior to the editorial content the browser is searching. -> O... ads appear over existing content, but in the same window rather than in a new one. Companies that make web browsers are working to limit, yet they remain. Professional authors mix criticism of in-text ads. Pros invoke t... and media f... to ex..., while others describe practices as morally troubling and called for ethics codes to tie moral theory to t... t... and t... c) S..., unsolicited computer messages sent in... and o... Began as term for unsolicited email but includes pop-ups and calls. 1/2 emails sent daily, down from 70% (14). d) S... e..., used billions of times daily by marketers and users to make their messages appear at top of results from s... e... and shopping sites. Bid on search terms, peple using those terms will see ads placed high in results. Also use s... e... o... (SEO), more organic approach (terms marketers use to describe sites will lead s... e... to rank them higher in results). *Few ethical standards for SEO, some marketers take ethical shortcuts to 'game' search engines in hope of landing higher on results pages. SEO Professional Services Association, such practices are wrong. Cat-and-mouse game, search companies update algorithms to penalize cheaters. e) S... m... m..., when companies engage o... with public. Must be there to respond to public and protect selves and brand from o... attacks. Brands that create an e... id... known as brand anthropomorphism run ethical risks: -Simply personifying company into s... v... risky with humans who become personification of the company (Jared Fogle) -Also problematic when done on SM, brands build up identity that lands somewhere b/t not too stodgy/silly -Ethical risk of 'n...j...' or using current events to personify a brand as current, topical, in tnue with times. Trying to sell product in the wake of bad news comes across as opportunistic and insensitive. (Hurricance, political protests) f) A... d... to overly influence users. Easy for marketers to use what they know about us to market to us. g) E... w... of m..., sharing positive/negative thoughts about products or services. Online reviews important way for people to make decisions before they buy products, research shows sellers flood sites like Amazon with fake reviews, make it impossbile to know what actual buyers actually think of the products. h) A..., orgs use social media platforms on campaigns designed to look like real gr... efforts but actually crafted by marketers (top-down persuasion sold as bottom-up, industrialized disinformation) -Undermines democratic participation and transparency while seeming to do the oppoite. Similar acts include flogging (fake blogging), false flagging, sock puppetry. Found in individual marketing campaigns but ramped up by companies/countries use bots and other computer techniques. I) Mixing p... and o... s... m... Begins as a legal issue, as there are people who lose jobs or penalized for posting unfortunate comments on social media. What they posted on their own time, ranging to racist and sexist comments to posts that include private corporate info or complaints about the company. Media practitioners face particular scrutiny, as often are the p... f... of their org. Many news orgs do not want journalist posting their p... o... as it leads to ?s of real/perceived bias. J) Building of e... c..., SM sites use data about where you go online and who your online friends are, to deliver content in hopes it will keep you online longer in order to sell more ads. If SM sites deliver only info it t... you w..., and keeps you from d... p..., then you're likely to not face dissenting voices that may be more accurate or at least help you ? your thinking as you fix your beliefs. Research shows while all of us subject to landing in echo chambers, people who are po... c... more likely to see less 'cross-ideological' info that conflicts with their beliefs. Media literacy - ability to understand and evaluate media messages remains critical skill for all of us. K) V... that make persuasive arguments. Filmmakers quickly understood the power of video to persuade people and c... b..., why govs used film for propaganda and training, and why govs sought to limit filmmakers whose work might lead to what govs saw as a...-s... behavior. Video's power to persuade comes through e... we see on screen. Summary Describe only some of the more recent uses of improper persuasion. Others include entertainment industry issue of creating d... that veer closer to persuasion than o... -Also times when advocacy and persuasion a..., put to good purposes, and are fully t... What makes THESE cases morally interesting is they nearly or do cross some moral benchmarks. May have been initiated with best motives: conviction that public n... the info, sponsor had right to be h..., media org wanted the in... But cases became morally problematic because of how campaigns were carried out, potential for h..., lack of t...

New Media, New Persuasion The ability to fast-forward and otherwise skip through traditional ads, and the rise of new media platforms have led persuaders to find new and creative ways to keep their audiences' attention. Some concerns include... è B) Advertorials, in-text ads, kick-through ads, contextual link ads, pop-ups, pop-unders, fake dialogue boxes, interstitial or prestitial ads, and overlays. Central to online efforts to make money. Spizziri, while they are not inherently unethical, all come with ethical hazards. Advertorial content are ads that intentionally look like news content, and often marked by times such as 'sponsored content' 'paid post' 'sponsored by' 'powered by'. Such ads deliver big $ to news orgs both online and not, and some news orgs may not ensure that the content does not too closely resemble news content. 90% of Americans confused advertorial content with actual news content. In-text advertising is a generic term describing several ways that readers of online news items are lured into reading promotional messages. Kick-through ads are display ads that take users to a site when they merely pass their mouse over it. Contextual link ads are words or phrases within editorial copy that link to pop-up ads; users don't even have to click on the key words for the ads to appear. Pop-up ads appear in small windows in front of the main browser windows; pop-unders are similar, but don't appear until users close the window. Interstitial or prestitial ads appear prior to the editorial content the browser is searching. Overlay ads appear over existing content, but in the same window rather than in a new one. Companies that make web browsers are working to limit, yet they remain. Professional/academic authors in Journal of Media Ethics, mixed in their criticism of in-text ads: pros invoked tradition and media freedom to experiment, while academics described the practices as morally troubling and called for ethics codes tied to moral theory and principles of truth telling and transparency. è C) Spam, or unsolicited computer messages sent indiscriminately and often. Began as a term for unsolicited email but can also describe popups and calls on your phone. It remains a tactic of some marketers and thorn in the side for rest of us. About 1/2 emails sent daily is spam, down from 70% in 2014. è D) Search engines, used billions of times daily by users and marketers seeking to make their messages appear atop the results from some search engines and shopping sites. Advertisers bid on search terms, and people using those search terms will see the ads placed high in the results, and advertisers pay for each click to their site. Also use search engine optimization (SEO), a more organic approach in which the terms marketers use to describe their sites will lead search engines to rank them higher in the results. There are few ethical standards for SEO, some marketers take ethical shortcuts to 'game' the search engines in hopes of landing higher on results pages. SEO Professional Services Association, British org with fairly legalistic ethics code, such practices are wrong. Cat-and-mouse game, as search companies update their algorithms to penalize cheaters. è E) Social media marketing, when companies and orgs engage online with the public. Have to be there, to respond to the public and protect themselves and their brand from online attacks. But brands that create an 'emotional identity' known as brand anthropomorphism, run ethical risks: Some argue simply personifying company into a single voice is risky with humans who become the personification of the company (Jared Fogle, Subway). Personification is also problematic when done on SM, too, as brands build up identity that lands somewhere b/t not too stodgy and not too silly. Among ethical problems is 'newsjacking' or using current events to personify a brand as current, topical, and in tune with the times. Trying to sell a product in the wake of bad news comes across as opportunistic and insensitive (clothing retailer suggested being indoors during hurricane would be good time to shop online, another retailer violent political protests in Middle East were actually 'uproar' about company's spring clothing collection). è F) Accessing data to overly influence users. Easy for marketers to use what they know about us to market to us, comes with privacy and other ethical concerns. è G) Electronic word of mouth, sharing positive or negative thoughts about products or services. Online reviews are an important way for people to make decisions before they buy products, research shows sellers flood sites like Amazon with fake reviews that make it impossible to know what actual buyers actually think about the product. Sites try to police fake reviews, but hard to do. MetaReview.com, site helps determine whether an Amazon review is real or not. è H) Astroturf, which orgs use social media platforms on campaigns that are designed to look like real grassroots efforts but are actually crafted by marketers. Top-down persuasion sold as a bottom-up thing, one improper practice in what critics call industrialized disinformation. Unethical b/c it undermines democratic participation and transparency - while seeming to do the opposite. Similar activities include 'flogging' (fake blogging), false flagging (pretend to represent another entity), sock puppetry (pretending to be a different person online, often for promotional purposes). Such unethical acts are found in individual marketing campaigns but ramped up by companies and countries that use bots and other computer techniques in their manipulating efforts. è I) Mixing personal and organizational social media. Begins as a legal issue, as there are plenty of examples of people who lost jobs or penalized for posting unfortunate comments on social media. Quick online search shows plentiful EXs of workers who lost jobs for what they posted on their own time, ranging to racist and sexist comments to posts that include private corporate info or complaints about the company. Media practitioners face particular scrutiny, as often are the public faces of their org, and frankly, as public communicators ought to know better than to pose something that will embarrass them or company. Many news orgs do not want journalist posting their personal opinions as it leads to ?s of real or perceived bias. è J) Building of echo chambers, in which SM sites use data about where you go online and who your online friends are, to deliver content in hopes it will keep you online longer in order to sell more ads. If SM sites deliver only info it thinks you want, and keeps you from different perspectives, then you're likely to not face dissenting voices that may be more accurate or at least help you ? your thinking as you fix your beliefs. Research shows while all of us subject to landing in echo chambers, people who are politically conservative more likely to see less 'cross-ideological' info that conflicts with their beliefs. Media literacy - ability to understand and evaluate media messages remains critical skill for all of us. è K) Videos that make persuasive arguments. Filmmakers quickly understood the power of video to persuade people and change behaviors, which is why govs used film for propaganda and training, and why govs sought to limit some filmmakers whose work might lead to what govs saw as anti-social behavior. Video's power to persuade comes through emotion we see on screen - emotion that can flow into the viewer. Summary These issues not necessarily horror stories, and are incomplete as they describe some only more recent uses of improper persuasion. Are others like the entertainment industry's issue with creating documentaries that veer closer to persuasion than objectivity, or similar entertainment media designed to persuade. Also times in which advocacy and persuasion are altruistic, put to good purposes, and are fully transparent. In fact, media are filled with EXs of ethical persuasion practices. What makes these cases morally interesting is that they nearly or do cross some moral benchmarks. May have been initiated with the best of motives: a conviction that the public needed the info, the sponsor had the right to be heard, and the media org wanted the income. But the cases became morally problematic b/c of how the campaigns were carried out, the potential for harm, and lack of transparency.

News Values: Students learned how to define news, something is deemed newsworthy if it entails some of the following characteristics... 1) I (greater the potential consequences, more newsworthy) 2) T (more recent the event, more newsworthy) 3) P (closer to the audience, more newsworthy) 4) C (the greater the conflict, more newsworthy) 5) B (the more unique the story, more newsworthy) *Other lists include currency (news about impactful news), magnitude, personality, mystery, adventure. Simply choosing what to cover (and not cover) is a value-laden exercise! *Herbert Gans made this point with his study of gatekeeping decisions made by CBS Evening News, NBC Nightly News, Newsweek, Time (1979). Maintained that most news stories consciously or unconsciously reflect several cultural values or p...-i.... These values are... -> E..c... - our country is superior to others; democracy is superior to dictatorship -> A... d... - politics should follow a course based on public service and the public interest; citizens should be participants -> R... c... - news is optimistic about competition and prosperity, and decries unfairness and exploitation -> Small t... p... - news reflect a romanticized world of cohesive community and environment; bigness is bad, impersonal, and inhuman -> I... - news focuses on rugged individualists and heroes who fight a/g encroachments of the nation and society -> M... - news emphasizes the need to maintain the social order; excess or extremism are discouraged Building on Gans and others, recent critics have concluded because news is inherently a values-based enterprise, it should be driven by m... values that transcend r..., c...-based values. Kovach and Rosenstiel, Elements of Journalism: Journalism must provide people with the info they need to be f... and s...-g... Jack Fuller described how intellectually honest news values MUST play out when journalists routinely resolve tensions between t... and l... to sources, the push for d... and need for c..., and the responsibility to reflect and sometimes oppose the c... they serve. -Reminiscent of Kidder, most values are not between r... and w... but between t... r...: truth/loyalty, justice/mercy, individual/community, long-term/short-term benefits Gathering of media ethics scholars defined journalists as skilled communicators who gather and distribute info with p... c... to truthfulness, accuracy, comprehensiveness/thoroughness, proportionality, authenticity, fairness, skepticism, objectivity, verifiable reporting, articulated and appropriate loyalties, a watchdog function, minimizing harm, diversity, accountability, transparency, social responsibility, independent judgment, and autonomy. If this list sounds familiar, may be because all these values appeared in the news media codes of ethics described. Meanwhile, some say the traditional lists of definitions of news should be expanded to move beyond c...-b... n... values and reflect a broader sy... theory. - Proximity from physical closeness to society as a whole - Timeliness from smaller to larger spans of time and gradual changes - Prominence from public to ordinary people and larger community - Impact from direct to subtle, indirect consequences on systems (more than a few individuals) - Novelty redefined to include status quo - Conflict refocused to consider examples of cooperation within communities/institutions The rise of digital news has led to what Elliott calls a p... s... in journalism's shared values. Internet has blurred the lines between n... and o..., n... and e..., and n... and a... Moved conventional journalism from a generally c, o enterprise to one where finding a n... a... can bring more financial success. Internet has undercut the traditional ad and subscription models that supported traditional orgs while allowing news ones to grow. One updated list of news values includes exclusivity, audio visuals, shareability, drama [these appear as non-moral values but do come with ethical considerations] The bottom line? News is not v...-f... Journalists and their institutions constantly make value choices, many fundamentally m... in nature. Pubic is better served when journalists recognize and deal openly with matters of values than when journalists pretend there are few if any in the news business. -Rosen: Journalism's view from n... approach is unethical when it misleads audiences into thinking journalism is v...-f... *Value differences help explain decline in journalism trust levels (see back) *Liberals and conservatives list five universal values and ask what of those should have most emphasis -> L - care and fairness -> C - loyalty, authority, purity *Then five key values by journalists: oversight of g, t as best cure for societal problems caused by s, factuality, and giving v to the less-p people. People who ranked higher in care and fairness more likely to support journalism values.

News Values - A Special Case Students of mass media have learned how to define news. Something is deemed newsworthy if it entails some of the following characteristics 1) Impact (greater the potential consequences, more newsworthy) 2) Timeliness (more recent the event, more newsworthy) 3) Proximity (closer to the audience, more newsworthy) 4) Conflict (the greater the conflict, more newsworthy) 5) Bizarreness (the more unique the story, more newsworthy) Other lists of news values include things like currency (news about impactful news), magnitude, personality, mystery, adventure. An editor or reporter makes decisions about all of these criteria. A reporter may be able to cover a story with some degree of 'objectivity' by citing multiple sources on all sides of an issue while not drawing conclusions for the audience, but make no mistake: Simply choosing what to cover (and not cover) is a value-laden exercise. Herbert Gans made the point with his then-groudbreaking study of gatekeeping decisions made at CBS Evening News, NBC Nightly News, Newsweek, and Time. Maintained that most news stories consciously or unconsciously reflect several cultural values or biases, or para-ideologies. List of values... è Ethnocentrism - our country is superior to others; democracy is superior to dictatorship è Altruistic democracy - politics should follow a course based on public service and the public interest; citizens should be participants è Responsible capitalism - news is optimistic about competition and prosperity, and decries unfairness and exploitation è Small town pastoralism - news reflect a romanticized world of cohesive community and environment; bigness is bad, impersonal, and inhuman è Individualism - news focuses on rugged individualists and heroes who fight a/g encroachments of the nation and society è Moderatism - news emphasizes the need to maintain the social order; excess or extremism are discouraged Building upon Gans and other social scientists, recent critics have concluded that because news is inherently a values-based enterprise, it should be driven by moral values that transcend routine, craft-based values. Kovach and Rosenstiel argued in the Elements of Journalism that journalism must provide people with the info they need to be free and self-governing. Journalists must make continuous values choices in order to do their job properly. Former Chicago Tribune publisher Jack Fuller described how intellectually honest news values must play out when journalists routinely resolve tensions between truth and loyalty to sources, the push for diversity and the need for coherence, and the responsibility to reflect and sometimes oppose the communities they serve. Fuller's list of tensions is reminiscent of How Good People Make Tough Choices in which Kidder said most value choices are not between right and wrong, but between two rights: truth vs. loyalty, justice vs. mercy, individual vs. community, long-term benefits vs. short-term benefits, etc. A gathering of media ethics scholars defined journalists as skilled communicators who gather and distribute info with professional commitments to truthfulness, accuracy, comprehensiveness/thoroughness, proportionality, authenticity, fairness, skepticism, objectivity, verifiable reporting, articulated and appropriate loyalties, a watchdog function, minimizing harm, diversity, accountability, transparency, social responsibility, independent judgment, and autonomy. If this list sounds familiar, may be because all these values appeared in the news media codes of ethics described. Meanwhile, some say the traditional lists of definitions of news should be expanded to move beyond craft-based non-moral values and to reflect a broader, systems theory. Proximity would go beyond physical closeness and include larger frames of reference to include society as a whole. Timeliness would take in larger spans of time, and consider gradual changes. Prominence would include ordinary people, as well as the larger community. Impact would look at subtle, indirect consequences on systems, rather than on a few individuals. Novelty would be redefined and include the status quo, or business as usual. And conflict would be refocused to consider examples of cooperation within communities and institutions. The rise of digital news has led to what Elliott called a paradigm shift in journalism's shared values. Radio's arrival in the 20s has meant journalists have delivered info immediately to mass audiences for more than a century, but the internet has allowed nearlt everyone to do that. The internet has blurred the lines b/t news and opinion, b/t news and entertainment, and b/t news and ads. It has moved conventional journalism from a generally centrist, objective enterprise to one where finding a niche audience can bring more financial success and the internet has undercut the traditional advertising and subscription models that supported traditional journslism orgs while allowing new ones to grow. No wonder, then, that one updated list of news values includes exclusivity, audio visuals, shareability, and drama. Each of these may appear to be non-moral values, but they all come with ethical considerations. The bottom line is that news is not value free! Journalists and their institutions constantly make value choices, many of which are fundamentally moral in nature. The public is better served when journalists recognize and deal openly with matters of value than when journalists pretend there are few if any values in the news business. As press critic Rosen has argued, journalism's view from nowhere approach is unethical when it misleads audiences (or what he calls the people formerly known as the audience) into thinking journalism is value-free. Value Differences help explain decline in journalism trust levels: What people think is important for society may help explain why trust in journalism is falling, especially among conservative Americans, according to American Press Institute. Its study began by listing 5 universal values, and asking people what of those should have most emphasis. For liberals, care and fairness ranked higher. Conservatives ranked much higher in loyalty, authority, and purity. From there, they identified five key values held by journalists: oversight of gov, transparency as the best cure for societal problems caused by secrecy, factualism, and giving voice to less-powerful people. Then, they asked non-journalists about those values. Results showed that people who ranked higher in care and fairness highest were more likely to support journalism values. People who ranked loyalty, authority, and purity higher were less. In short, Democrats, Black Americans, and college educated people were more likely to support journalism values.

Open and Closed Minds Consumer-citizens in a democracy need to be open-minded as they encounter the marketplace of ideas: c..., q..., unwilling to accept s... a... to c... s... 'Mental freedom' comes when people weigh numerous sides of controversies and reach o... d..., free of ou... co... Open-minded people are... a) Less encumbered by ir... in... and e... f... b) Better able to d... their beliefs and perhaps more likely to c... their t... when presented with b... info c) More likely to consume media that c... them to t... for t..., rather than media that offer e... a... to c... problems d) Ones who seek 'f...' (in... and pl...) media b/c they themselves want to remain f... Close-minded people are... a) More likely to let ir... in.../e... f... cloud their judgment b) Less able to d... their beliefs in a s... way (Ways of Knowing, Peirce) c) Quicker to anger when c... Speak in statements, not ?s d) More likely to seek media that r... what they a... b... e) Less likely to be h..., as it takes h... to be able to acknowledge you were w... In fact, research shows more likely to 'd... d...' on their w... when presented with evidence of their w... One constant in contemporary mass media criticism: Mass media in general (TV, A/PR specifically) tend to inculcate a ...-m... in a... *Commercial nature of media can weaken people's sense of d...ment, heighten s... thinking patterns, create tendencies toward conf... and dep... May even be more true with social media, people receive/send messages that r... their beliefs and less likely to see messages that challenge their mental s... q... Great force lies in giving people all-embracing, s... explanations. *We are doubly reassured by propaganda because it offers reasons behind developments and promises s... for seemingly intractible p... *Easier to go through life ...-m... than ... Difficult to hold two different c... ideas at the same time; c... d... theories say when we receive a message that doesn't match our p... n..., we must take action (accept message, reject it, find middle ground) to regian harmony in our thought lives. Propaganda that especially matches a person's a...-h... b..., which is readily available given today's wide range of media choices - meets audience's needs for pre... (...-m...) presentations. Propaganda and The News News orgs not simply g... who reject, accept, filter messages they receive from A/PR, politicians. Can create their own propaganda! *For many years the most effective means of manipulating public opinion through news media isn't a... and e..., but s... news that appears to be s... (Goebbel). Qualter, with growing recognition of the extent to which opinion governs the sel... and manner of pre... of news, any division between e... o... and straightforward presentation of f... is an artificial division. *Even journalists who fancy themselves as o... - or at least f... - can fall into p'distic patterns. Hohenberg, journalists face pressure to l... to c..., approach stories with p... n... of what is likely to happen. "The results are m... and b... that lead to propaganda. An open mind is the mark of a journalist; the p'dist has made up his mind in advance." *J act as p'dists when they spread their own p..., b..., o... - whether they attempt to reflect attitudes of their audience. Manipulate their audiences when they use s... to simplify r... or present o... disguised as f... Process of information s... as a propaganda technique when a pattern of news selection of a viewpoint is exercised with some consistency. *Critics say PR p... r... highly p'distic elements of news media: persuasion or advocacy disguised as news. Nelson and Hulteng, PR can be del... propaganda if audiences don't recognize many of the stories they consume originated from an interested source. Reason why COE insist that j indicate what info has been provided through n... r... *Term 'in... l...' act of concealing original sources of info in news sources. Practitioners (PR) don't mind, message deemed more credible if the reader believes a working j rather than a p'dist originated the story and wrote it. Better to have a friend tell others how good you are then for you to do it yourself (im... t...-p... c..., a goal of PR) *While not all techniques apply to news, most have been used by media and A/PR. Cirino, bias and propaganda are in... because of the great v... of news, how it must be p..., and public's need to make some kind of o... out of the c... of news events. Propaganda and 'Fake News' Term is a propaganda tool. Phrase Trump started using in 2016 campaign to mean news he simply didn't like or news he didn't want his supporters to hear/believe. Wasn't new term. *Israeli newspaper Haaretz, some Trump supporters in 2016 'lügenpresse' 'lying press' (Hitler example) *Term's power comes from its a...: Means w... the speaker w... it to m... Has been used as a label for a s... it... (news/opinion), j..., or entire n... o... And it comes from its s... (two words, each one syllable). Gives adherents excuse to not consider or even think of substance of info presented by a news org, regardless of its accuracy (includes accurate news).

Open and Closed Minds Consumer-citizens in a democracy need to be open-minded as they encounter the m-place of ideas: curious, questioning, and unwilling to accept simple answers to complex situations. 'Mental freedom' comes when people weigh numerous sides of controversies and reach own decisions, free of outside contraints. Notion of having an open or closed belief system is key to understanding (and fighting) p. Rokeach defined open/closed mind as the degree to which a person can receive, evaluate, and act on relevant info received from the outside on its own intrinsic merits. Open-minded people are: è Less encumbered by irrelevant internal and external factors è Better able to defend their beliefs and perhaps more likely to change their thinking when presented with better info è More likely to consume media that challenge them to think for themselves, rather than media that offer easy answers to complex problems è Ones who seek 'free' (independent and pluralistic) media b/c they themselves want to remain free Close-minded people are: è More likely to let irrelevant internal/external factors cloud their judgment è Less able to defend their beliefs in a systematic way (Ways of Knowing, Peirce) è Quicker to anger when challenged. Speak in statements, not ?s è More likely to seek media that reinforce what they already believe è Less likely to be humble, as it takes humility to be able to acknowledge you were wrong. In fact, research shows that c-minded people are more likely to 'double down' on their wrongness when presented with evidence of their wrongness There is one constant in contemporary mass media criticism: The mass media in general - and TV, advertising, and PR more specifically - tend to inculcate a close-mindedness in audiences. Commercial nature of media can weaken people's sense of discernment, heighten stereotypical thinking patterns, and create tendencies toward conformity and dependency. This may be even more true with SM, as people receive and send messages that reinforce their beliefs and are less likely to see messages that challenge their mental status quo. The great force of p lies in giving people all-embracing, simple explanations, Ellul argued. He added we are doubly reassured by p b/c it offers reasons behind developments and it promises solutions for seemingly intractable problems. Easier to go through life close-minded than open. Difficult to hold two contradictory ideas at the same time; cognitive dissonance theories say when we receive a message that d/n match our preconceived notions, we must take action (accept the message, reject it, or find middle ground) to regain harmony in our thought lives. P - especially p that matches a person's already-held beliefs, which is readily available given today's wide range of media choices - meets media audience's needs for predigested (close-minded) presentations. Propaganda and the News News orgs are not simply gatekeepers who reject, accept, or filter messages they receive from the 'usual suspects' of advertisers, PR, and politicians. News orgs can create p of their own! Propagandists and p analysts have known for many years that most effective means of manipulating public opinion through news media not through ads and editorials, but in Nazi p minister Goebbels's terms, slanted news that appears to be straight. Qualter, with the growing recognition of the extent to which opinion governs the selection and manner of presentation of news, any division b/t editorial opinion and straightforward presentation of facts on the news pages is an artificial division. Students hoping to better understand contemporary media p need tools to discern mindsets and techniques used by p'dists. Easier said than done, because many forms of p d/n actually reflect the conscientious efforts of the special pleader. Even j who fancy themselves as objective - or at least fair - can fall into propagandistic patterns. Hohenberg, journalists face pressure to leap to conclusions and approach stories with preconceived notions of what is likely to happen. "The results are mistakes and biases that lead to p. An open mind is the mark of a j; the p'dist has made up his mind in advance." Journalists act as p'dists when they spread their own prejudices, biases, and opinions - whether they attempt to reflect the attitudes of their audiences. They manipulate their audiences when they use s-types to simplify reality or present opinion disguised as fact. Process of info selection becomes a p technique when a pattern of news selection of a viewpoint is exercised with some consistency. Several analysts commentated that PR press releases are highly propagandistic elements of news media: persuasion or advocacy disguised as news. Nelson and Hulteng, PR can be delayed p if audiences d/n recognize that many of the stories they consume originated from an 'interested source.' Hence, the reason why media professional COE insist that j indicate what info has been provided through news releases. The term 'information laundering' the act of concealing the original sources of info in news stories, goes back decades. PR practitioners don't mind, b/c their message is deemed more credible if the reader believes that a working j rather than a p'dist originated the story and wrote it. It is better to have a friend tell others how good you are than for you to do it yourself. Indeed, implied third-party credibility is a goal of PR. While not all p techniques apply to the news, most have been used by the media and PR practitioners and advertisers. Cirino, concluded that bias and p are inevitable b/c of the great volumes of news, how it must be processed, and the public's need to make some kind of order out of the chaos of news events. The Propaganda of 'Fake News' The term 'fake news' is a propaganda tool. Fake news is the phrase Trump started using in his 2016 campaign to mean news he simply d/n like or news he d/n want his supporters to hear (or believe). Term wasn't new, Google Trends shows it never rose above single-digit search volumes b/t 2004-Sept. 2016. But it hit top search volume of 100 by early 2017. Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that some Trump supporters in 2016 were heard using term 'lügenpresse' or 'lying press' the term Hitler and Nazis used to weaken opposition to the regime, primarily 'accusing' Jewish, communist, and later the foreign press of disseminating fake news. Term's power comes from its abstraction: It means whatever the speaker wants it to mean. It has been used to label a single item (whether news/opinion), the journalist, or an entire news org. And it comes from its simplicity: Two words, each one syllable, easy to remember and chant. Gives its adherents the excuse to not consider or even think about the substance of the info presented by a news org, regardless of accuracy. Leslie Stahl (reporter, CBS) said Trump told her in 2016 he used 'fake news' to inoculate himself from news that would hurt him politically, and includes accurate news.

Perplexing Truth-Telling Issues in Media 3) PR and the problem of 'truth decoy' Practitioners need to be believed, and they say that means telling the truth. Nothing sinks their credibility more than being caught hiding or shading the truth. But PR has a c... problem: A majority of the public believes practitioners do not tell the truth. -A collection of academics and PR professionals met at the Museum of PR in 2018, discuss findings of a report showing how truth was less likely than ever told and believed. The panel, PR and the problem of truth decay, concluded PR must shoulder some of the blame for the problem. -One speaker noted professionals often think going into the marketplace of ideas means going to w..., where the goal is to w... and truth is often the first casualty. While practitioners may not set out to deceive, a series of small decisions can lead to muddying facts. -Other practitioners given the freedom of anonymity were blunter: Sure I lie, we are professional manipulators. This is what we do. -17/20 admitted they regularly lie, 16 would again. They blame their job, their bosses who pressure them to lie, reporters who misuse the info given. PR is at least as important in g... whether it be c... running for office (mix of PR/ad) or the ability to build c... in g... -> Russian efforts to pay US freelance j'lists to write stories targeting liberal voters, 2020. Journalists didn't know Russia was behind. -> COVID pandemic, 2020, when a US agency planned $250M campaign to vaccinate people dressed as Santa, who would then help persuade public to take the vaccine. Campaign designed to start before presidential election, but no vaccine available. -> US war in Iraq, US engaged as info offensive by secretly paying newspapers large sums to plant pro-America articles, written in Arabic disguised from Iraqi sources. LA Times investigation (truthful but not-sided, Lincoln Group) How practitioners and others define truth and lying may be key to their job. Bowen: Is c... lying? Omitting a c... f... or leaving out a seemingly u... part of a message? How much do you lie? OR would you define your job as f... messages, or interpreting info to fit a s... s...? If truth is the first casualty in w..., and if propaganda emerges naturally as a political/military instrument, what can conscientious citizens do? Where can we find full, unvarnished facts on our institutions/gov? Does truth matter less when in w...? What are s-/l-term consequences? 4) Advertising -Fitness craze of early 2010s, exercise shoes with soles seemingly closer to rocking chairs than flat. Sold millions - made millions $ - advertising them as a way to burn more energy and activate muscles than by wearing typical shoes. Included 'evidence' from studies, complete with stats and %s to make ads look scientific. US Federal Trade Commission and others that regulate ads posed legal action claiming two companies conducted faulty research and used stats that did not hold up in real life. Settled for $65M without admitting fault. Many more examples for faulty ads peddling food, drugs, investments - remind us that c... speech traditionally has less freedom than political/artistic speech. -Supreme Court ruled in US vs. Alvarez, usually legal for p... c... to lie because harm of prosecuting people who make ca... f... statements could chill need for free speech. Artistic speech like songs/scripts receive large freedoms. Less tolerance for lies and misleading statements in c... speech when public's money/health/children at risk. Ads using fact-based statements meant to be accurate. -This does not mean advertisers have to tell the whole truth. For images, can use all sorts of studio photo tricks (soup in shallow bowls to have the meat and vegetables tower over liquid, use something other than water to put condensation on glass). Can use software to make products look better, models flawless. Pose products in settings not in real life. -For text, can say products are 'better' 'best' with relative impunity because p... (statements that are more likely o..., e... statements and/or s...) is legal. -Legal d/n mean ethical. In commercial world, ad practitioners and critics remain uncertain on where to draw the line. Many continue to think practices are harmless or insignificant. -David Ogilvy - advertisers s/n make ads they would not want their family to read, because good people do not lie to their families. So, in advertising, how much v... e... is appropriate? Does creative/commercial license permit impossible contrivances? For instance, if it is OK for ads to show people flying through the air, then why isn't it OK to show unrealistically slinky and cosmetically flawless models? And just b/c p... c... can tell untruths with little concern about legal action, should they?

PR: The Problem of 'Truth Decoy' PR practitioners need to be believed, and practitioners say that means telling the truth. Nothing sinks their credibility among journalist and public more than being caught hiding or shading truth. But PR has a credibility problem: A majority of the public believes PR practitioners do not tell the truth. A collection of academics and PR professionals met at Museum of PR in 2018 to discuss findings of a report showing how truth was less likely than ever told and believed. The panel - PR and the problem of truth decay - concluded PR must shoulder some of the blame for the problem. One speaker noted PR professionals often think going into marketplace of ideas means going to war, where goal is to win - and truth is often first casualty. While PR practitioners may not set out to deceive, series of small decisions can lead to muddying facts. Other practitioners given freedom of anonymity were blunter: Sure I lie; we are professional manipulators. This is what we do. 17/20 practitioners interviewed acknowledged regularly lying to reporters, and 16 would do again. Blame their job, the bosses who pressure them to lie, reporters who misuse the info they are given. PR is at least as important in gov, whether it be candidates running for office (mix of PR/ad) or ability to build consensus in gov. è Russian effort to pay US freelance journalists to write stories targeting liberal voters in 2020. Journalists d/n know Russia was behind, FBI's look into efforts to meddle in American elections. è COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, when a US agency planned $250M campaign to vaccinate people dressed as Santa who would then help persuade the public to take the vaccines. Campaign designed to start just before presidential election, faltered when vaccine was not available. è During US war in Iraq, when US engaged in an info offensive by secretly paying Iraqi newspapers large sums to plant pro-American articles, written in Arabic disguised from Iraqi sources. LA Times investigation basically truthful but one-sided articles were produced and distributed by WA-based firm called Lincoln Group. Happened while the US was promoting democracy and freedom of speech. How PR practitioners and others define 'truth' and 'lying' may be key to their job. Bowen: Is concealment lying? Omitting a crucial fact, or leaving out a seemingly unimportant part of a message? How much do you lie? Or do you define your job as framing messages, or interpreting the info to fit a set strategy? There are other Qs too. If truth is the first casualty of war, and if propaganda emerges naturally as a political and military instrument, what can conscientious citizens do? Where can we find full, unvarnished facts about our institutions/gov? Does truth matter less in war? What are s-term and l-term consequences? Advertising Fitness craze of early 2010s was exercise shoes with soles seemingly closer to rocking chairs than flat. Sold millions of shoes - made millions $ - advertising them as a way to burn more energy and activate muscles than by wearing typical shoes. Ads included evidence from studies, complete with stats and exact %s that made ads like scientific. U.S. Federal Trade Commission among several agencies that regulate ad, was not impressed. Legal action claimed two companies conducted faulty research and used stats that would not hold up irl. One ad used stats based on one person on a single day, and another included company employees as participants - not faultless science. Companied settled for combined $65M but w/o admitting fault. Many more examples for faulty ads peddling food, drugs, investments - reminds us that commercial speech traditionally has less freedom than political and artistic speech. US, SupCo ruled US vs. Alzarez, usually legal for political candidates to lie because harm of prosecuting people who make careless false statements could chill need for free speech. Artistic speech like songs/scripts, receive large freedoms. Less tolerance for lies and misleading statements in commercial speech when public's money, health, children at risk. In short, ads using fact-based statements is supposed to be accurate. Does not mean that advertisers have to tell the whole truth. For images, can us all sorts of studio photo tricks (soup in shallow bowls to make meat and vegetables tower over liquid, use something other than water to put condensation on a glass) Can use software to make products look even better, human models flawless. Pose products in settings not IRL. Text, can say their product is 'better' 'best' with relative impunity, because puffery (statements that are more likely opinion, exaggerated statements, and/or superlatives) is legal. Legal, of course, d/n mean ethical. In commercial world, ad practitioners and critics remain uncertain about where to draw line. Many continue to think practices are harmless/insig. Even as others have pointed out strong likelihood that some harm occurs when certain types of images are digitally manipulated. Confessions of an adverting Man, David Ogilvy, advertisers s/n make ads they would not want their family to read, because good people do not lie to their families. In ad, how much visual enhancements is appropriate? Does creative/commercial license permit impossible contrivances? For instance, if it is OK for ads to show people flying through the air, then why isn't it OK to show unrealistically slinky and cosmetically flawless models? And just b/c political candidates can tell untruths with little concern about legal action, should they?

Persuasion is part of life. 'All communication is persuasive.' To have a useful relationship with other people/institutions, need to be able to persuade ethically and be ethically persuaded. Spend amounts of time and effort in hopes of persuading e-other to re... or c... b..., p..., b... -We are a... and s... t... t... when we go on dates, do business, apply for jobs, ask for pay raises, explain what we think about issues and ideas. Expect others to a... for themselves too, even as we wonder whether they are being fully h... with us. Bombardment by persuasion-focused messages. -The average person spends more than ... hours/day consuming media, jumped since arrival of cellphones and social media. -Number of marketing messages jumped too from ... ads in 70s to .../day. -Because t... ads are less likely to be effective, persuasion techniques have moved to forms that many people are less likely to recognize: p... p... in f..., c... p... in e... s..., branded p.../s... planted in n... and s... (embedded advertising), n... ads that look like n... c..., and p... (bribing a media practitiooner to promote s't). -B..., b..., m... more important than advertising until a product is established. Research shows while nearly everyone recognizes a t... ad, only 3/4 recognize p... p..., and 1/3 n... ads. Some critics say society spends too much private or public $ peddling ideas, goods, services to one another: Why vote for one political party instead of another, when candidates break their promises b/c of pragmatic pressures or b/c those promises were lies they told to be elected? Why use one brand of soap instead of another, when each does essentially the same job? Why mount public service campaigns a/g climate change, smoking, or hollow calories when people will keep doing what they already know is harmful? We answer the ?: What's it worth, focusing on the values of persuasion in contemporary society. Persuasion today almost always involves a m... m... - either a message sent directly from m... to you, or in a t...-s... f... when we are influenced by opinion leaders influenced by media. -Sometimes we're the influencer or opinion followers; media persuasion is unavoidable. Ad and PR play an important role in informing/persuading us as citizen-consumers. All benefit when the enterprises are carried out responsibly. Some Issues of Persuasion Persuasion is degined to 'm... people' - to affect b... and b... individuals have about products, services, candidates, or public issues. -A... is a type of persuasion designed to address issues (public health, gov, socioeconomic matters). Can use facts, opinion, appeals to loyalty, other values to make its case. -When done correctly, persuasion involves sharing c... e... through r... and e... appeals. Can be unethical when message is s... or m... its target. *Several issues pertaining to persuasion in the modern media envrionment. Merely represent the thousands of possible cases that demonstrate the c... of m... *Some blurring the lines b/t and among media of info, entertainment, persuasion. Collectively reveal delicate nature of s... t... t... and need to m... h..., difficulty of balancing l... between c... and c..., important of t... and a...

Persuasion and Propaganda Persuasion is part of life. As scholars have said: 'All communication is persuasive.' To have useful relationships with other people/institutions, we need to be able to both persuade ethically and be ethically persuaded. We spend great amounts of time and efforts in hopes of persuading each another to reinforce or change beliefs, prejudices, behaviors. We are advocates and selective truth tellers when we go on dates, do business, apply for jobs, ask for pay raises, and explain what we think about issues and ideas. We expect others to advocate for themselves, even as we wonder - or perhaps should wonder - whether they are being fully honest with us: Do our dates willingly reveal their faults, or do they hide their crazy and show only their best attributes? Do potential employers tell us that working conditions might not be ideal, or do they use selective info to recruit us? Do bosses give us the raises and promotions we request, or do they expect us to negotiate? Do the news orgs/politicians we follow tell us correspondence truth, or do they bend reality with 'alternative facts' that match a worldview? Do others accept w/o ? our views on politics, culture, or religion, or will there be heated debate? Do we think the marketplace is balanced in our favor, or do we see ourselves in competitive arenas that favor sellers? And does using facts matter when persuading, or is understanding and manipulating behavior science the better path to persuade? Bombarded by persuasion-focused messages. Avg person spends more than 12 hours/day consuming media, a number jumped dramatically with arrival of cell phones and social media. Number of marketing messages a person sees in a day has jumped too, from 500 ads in 1970s to more than 5,000 today. B/c traditional ads are less likely to be effective, persuasion techniques have increasingly moved to forms that many people are less likely to recognize - product placement in films, concept placement in entertainment shows, branded products and services planted in news and shows (embedded advertising), native ads that look like news continent, and payola (someone bribes a media practitioner to promote something). Buzz, branding, and marketing are more important than advertising, at least until a product is established. Research shows that while nearly everyone recognizes a traditional ad when they see one, only 3/4 of people recognize product placement and only 1/3 recognize native ads for what they are. Some critics say society spends too much private/public money peddling ideas, goods, and services to one another: Why vote for one political party instead of another, when candidates break their promises b/c of pragmatic pressures or b/c those promises were lies they told to be elected? Why use one brand of soap instead of another, when each does essentially the same job? Why mount public service campaigns a/g climate change, smoking, or hollow calories when people will keep doing what they already know is harmful? Answer the question, What's it worth?, focusing on the values of persuasion in contemporary society. Persuasion today almost always involves a media message - either a message sent directly from media to you, or in a two-step flow when we are influenced by opinion leaders influenced by media. Sometimes we are the influencer, sometimes we are opinion followers; either way, media persuasion is unavoidable. Advertising and PR play an important role in informing and persuading us as citizen-consumers. We all benefit when the enterprises are carried out responsibly, but acting unethically hurts society/individuals. Some Issues of Persuasion Persuasion is designed to 'move people' - to affect beliefs and behaviors that individuals have about products, services, political candidates, or public issues. Advocacy is a type of persuasion designed to address issues, including public health, governemtnal, or socioeconomic matters. It can use facts, opinion, appeals to loyalty, and other values to make its case. When done ethically, persuasion involves sharing credible evidence through rational and emotional appeals. Can be unethical when the message is skewed or manipulates its target. Take a look at these several issues pertaining to persuasion in the modern media environment. Not the most important examples of advocacy or persuasive ethics; merely represent thousands of potential cases to demonstrate the complexity of morality. Some show blurring the lines b/t and among media of info, entertainment, and persuasion. Collectively, they reveal delicate nature of selective truth telling and need to minimize harm, difficulty of balancing loyalties b/t clients and consumers, and importance of transparency and accountability.

3) Pragmatic Theories: We do our best, but we have to d... Some theorists place pragmatic theories under coherence theories umbrella. They combine Ump 2's subjectivity and Ump 3's 'they ain't nothing till I call 'em' -In other words, these are theories about statements that are true if they let us get on with the business of i... with the world, a world 'out there' and a world partly of o... o... m... -An ump is expected to make the call q..., so the game doesn't bog down. A journalist cannot wait until every fact is settled to write the story. Not all pragmatic theories approach subject similarly. One view, akin to coherence, is that we assert a statement is true merely by asserting the statement itself: It's true b/c I say so. Concerned with the semantics of assertion but go beyond that perspective. Suggest we i... the world, give it m..., and we recognize the l... of our o... powers and power of our truth statements. As postmodern theorists suggest, truth is in the e... of the b..., and each of us is entitled to different truths b/c each of us is an individual with unique values, biases, perspectives. Given this standpoint e..., each of us is a t... m... Pragmatic theories butt heads with correspondence theories. Battle lines are significant in the media ethics environment. Whereas notions of o... emerge from correspondence, which suggests that s... in... and fair-minded reporting are achievable, the modern criticisms of o... spring from pragmatism. How can we expect o... from a f... human, working in a f... institution, where observations are nuanced by individual POV, values, even simple matter of where stakeholders are standing when observing something. The best to be hoped for is an o...-m... and o... c... to accuracy and fairness. In entertainment media, is it OK to r... or i... what really happened in order to save money, time, not bore the audience, or to state a larger truth? If so, are there lines that cannot be crossed? At what point does a lack of verisimilitude become ethically troublesome? Is it fair for PR or ad practitioners to communicate their o... e... of truth when their idiosyncratic version ignore other versions of what truth might be - or that they have come to their own versions of truth b/c they were paid to believe it? Does have its problems. There's a good possibility that pragmatism leads to r... and the belief that what's right for o... i..., i..., or c... may not necessarily be what's right for a... Easy for an adherent of pragmatic theories to conclude that there are v... d... of truth, that some beliefs are more 'e...' than others. Truth: Summary Despite varying definitions of truth, we should recognize that mass communicators should have the ethical commitment to seek truth and tell it to others appropriately. Christians said the path forward for communicators especially journalists in a post-truth society should be Alethia - Greek term translates as the state of being evident or 'not being hidden' and in a practical sense means making reality i... for human existence. Means understanding the v... d... of truth, and working toward rejecting talking points and falsehoods while also understanding l... of l... and u...

Pragmatic Theories: We do our best, but we have to decide Some theorists place pragmatic theories under coherence theories umbrella. They combine Ump 2's subjectivity with Ump 3's 'they ain't nothing until I call 'em.' In other words, these are theories about statements that are true if they let us get on with the business of interacting with the real world, a world 'out there' and a world partly of our own making. An ump is expected to make the call quickly, so the game does not bog down. A j cannot wait until every fact is settled to write the story - in fact, neither can most historians. Not all pragmatic theories approach subject similarly. One view, akin to coherence, is that we assert that a statement is true merely by asserting the statement itself: It's true because I say so. Pragmatic theories of truth are concerned with the semantics of assertions but go beyond that perspective. They suggest we interpret the world, we give the world meaning, and we recognize the limits of our observational powers and power of our truth statements. As postmodern theorists suggest, truth is in the eye and mind of the beholder, and each of us is entitled to different truths b/c each of us is an individual with unique values, biases, and perspectives. Given this 'standpoint epistemology' each of us is a truth maker. Obviously, pragmatic theories butt heads with correspondence theories of truth. The battle lines are significant in the media ethics environment. Whereas notions of objectivity emerge from correspondence theories, which suggest that systematic inquiry and fair-minded reporting are achievable, the modern criticisms of objectivity spring from pragmatism. How can we expect objectivity from a flawed human, working in a flawed institution, where observations are nuanced by individual POV, values, and even simple matter of where stakeholders are standing when observing something? The best to be hoped for is an open-minded and ongoing commitment to accuracy and fairness. In entertainment media, is it OK to rearrange or ignore what really happened in order to save money, time, not bore the audience, or to state a larger truth? If so, are there lines that cannot be crossed? At what point does a lack of verisimilitude become ethically troublesome? Is it fair for PR or ad practitioners to communicate their own expression of truth when their idiosyncratic version ignore other versions of what truth might be - or that they have come to their own versions of truth b/c they were paid to believe it? As in the case of other theories of truth, pragmatism has its problems. There's a good possibility that pragmatism leads to relativism and the belief that what's right for one individual, institution, or community may not necessarily be what's right for all. Easy for an adherent of pragmatic theories to conclude that there are varying degrees of truth, that some beliefs are more 'effective' than others. Truth: Summary Despite varying definitions of truth, we should recognize that mass communicators - and really all who value human life - should have the ethical commitment to seek truth and tell it to others appropriately. Christians said the path forward for communicators especially j in a post-truth society should be Alethia Greek term translates as the state of being evident or 'not being hidden' and in a practical sense means making reality intelligible for human existence. Means understanding the various definitions of truth, and working toward rejecting talking points and falsehoods while also understanding limits of language and human understanding.

Privacy and Public Life West Wing: Story of White House discovering man it planned to nominate for SupCo. doesn't believe in consitutional right to privacy. Aide tells president as civil rights dominated 50s/60s, privacy will be the huge issue in America (fictional show). "Talking about Internet, cellphones, health records, who's gay and who isn't. In a country born on a will to be free, what could be more fundamental than this?" Aide made an understatement: Privacy is a huge international issue, will continue to be for many decades to come. Privacy has its roots in Latin meaning 'restricted for particular person/persons' and things not o... to the p... *Tied to words that include s..., c..., c...,. and even p... (toilet). Having privacy means having some degree of p... over o... and our s... Respecting others' privacy means showing r... to that person. *Media play a major role in deciding what is/isn't p..., as invading privacy means communicating info about a person that the person or others may not want c... *Initial concerns about privacy began in the late 19th, when urban populations first topped 50% in U.S. NE and newspapers began writing about c... and c... p... thrust in the p...'s eye. Considerations of it now consume all of us, thanks to t... that gives us c... and p... p..., so we can reveal ourselves and others as much as we wish - others can reveal things about us too. Moreover, t... companies give us powerful tools to communicate, make personalized maps, quickly find the world's online info. All they want in our return is p... in..., so they can s... a... better aimed at us. Privacy is an issue that will continue to haunt us as individuals and society. Concerns started long before 1999 (West Wing), year of need to continue fighting for right of p and year Sun Microsystems CEO McNealy, You have zero privacy anyway. Get over it. Somewhere along this continuum of beliefs lie many big/small ?s 1) For society to function effectively, how much personal info should we have the l... r... to know, the n... to know, or merely an in... in knowing? How can we discern the legal and ethical distinctions between the 'p... in...' and 'what the p... is in... in?' 2) Does everyone deserve e... p... from the prying eyes of j..., g..., in... c..., and m... r...? Is privacy more important to o... g... than to y... people who grew up in the internet era? 3) What responsibility do we have in keeping our p... info p...? What responsibility do we bear when we have p... info about others? 4) Do SM sites contribute to the social need for c... e..., p... p..., and p... r...? Can we assume that info about us and others in SM is 'automatically' p..., since to some degree it's 'already out there?' 5) How much control should we have to create and maintain our own r..., let alone our p... s...? Is the loss of privacy inevitable in this fast-paced, interdependent, crowded world? 6) What responsibility do companies have when it comes to c... and u... info about us? How much privacy should we be willing or have to give up to receive their benefits? For example, should it be OK for companies to track your fitness on their devices to sell that info to marketers, or even provide it to your doctor if that fitness info suggests you may have a medical condition? 7) What are the ethical implications of business models designed to t... us and then n... us to do what they want? What are the implications for how we live? How right is Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, in arguing many companies have moved from merely 'k...' our behavior to a... s... it: It is no longer enough to automate info flows about us; the goal now is to automate us. 8) Is privacy a c... term - significant in l...-d... environment with its focus on in... citizens, but far less relevant in places where c... and r... identies differ? What are the ethical differences b/t US law that provides fewer privacy protections when compared to EU's 'right to be f...' laws, which give citizens right to make orgs delete some info collected about them? In short, privacy is a v... ?: What is privacy w..., and what are the c... of giving up a little (or all) of it?

Privacy and Public Life S1, E9 The West Wing: story of the White House discovering the man it planned to nominate for the US SupCo does not believe in a constitutional right to privacy. Fictional aide tells fictional president just as civil rights dominated 50s, 60s, privacy will be the huge issue in America. 'Next two decades, gonna be privacy.' (1999) 'Talking about Internet. About cellphones. About health records, who's gay and who's not. Moreover, in a country born on a will to be free, what could be more fundamental than this?' That aide made an understatement: Privacy is a huge international issue, will continue to be for many decades to come. This word, privacy, has roots in Latin adjective meaning 'restricted for the use of a particular person or persons' and things not open to the public. Is tied to words that include secret, close, confidential, and even privy (ancient word for toilet). Having privacy means having some degree of power over ourselves and our situations. Respecting others' privacy means showing respect to that person. Media play a major role in deciding what is and isn't public, as invading privacy typically means communicating info about a person that the person or others may not want communicated. Initial concerns about p began in the late 19th century, when urban populations first topped 50% in the US NE and newspapers began writing about celebrities and common people thrust in the public's eye. Considerations of p (privacy) now consume all of us, thanks to tech that gives us cameras and publishing platforms, so we can reveal ourselves and others as much as we wish - others can reveal things about us. Moreover, tech companies give us powerful tools to communicate, to make personalized maps, and to quickly find the world's online info. All they want in our return is personal info, so they can sell ads better aimed at us. P is indeed an issue that will continue to haunt us as individuals and society. Concerns started well before '99, year of both the West Wing quote and need to continue fighting for the right for privacy and the year Sun Microsystems CEO McNealy, 'You have zero privacy anyway. Get over it.' Somewhere along this continuum are many big and small Qs: è For society to function effectively, how much personal info should we have the legal right to know, the need to know, or merely an interest in knowing? And how can we discern the legal and ethical distinctions b/t the 'public interest' and 'what the public is interested in?' è Does everyone deserve equal protection from the prying eyes of journalists, gov, internet companies, and market researchers? And is privacy more important to older generations than to younger people who grew up in the internet era? è What responsibility do we have in keeping our private info private? And what responsibility do we bear when we have private info about others? è Do SM sites contribute to the social need for civic engagement, public participation, and public record? Can we assume that info about us and others in SM is 'automatically' public, since to some degree it's already 'out there?' è How much control should we have to create and maintain our own reputations, let alone our physical space? Is the loss of privacy inevitable in this fast-paced, interdependent, crowded world? è What responsibility do companies have when it comes to collecting and using info about us? How much p should we be willing to (or have to) give up to receive their benefits? For example, should it be OK for companies to track your fitness on their devices to sell that info to marketers, or even provide it to your doctor if that fitness info suggests you may have a medical condition? è What are the ethical implications of business models designed to track us and then nudge us to do what they want? What are the implications for how we live? How right is Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, in arguing many companies have moved from merely 'knowing' our behavior to actively shaping it: It is no longer enough to automate info flows about us; the goal now is to automate us. è Is p a cultural term - significant in a liberal-democratic environment with its focus on individualized citizens, but far less relevant in places where community and relational identities differ? What are the ethical differences b/t U.S. laws that provide fewer privacy protections when compared to the EU's 'right to be forgotten' laws, which give EU citizens the right to make orgs delete some info collected about them? In short, privacy is a values Q: What is privacy worth, and what are the consequences of giving up a little - or all - of it?

Privacy: General Issues G..., h... p..., and f... in... are among many non-media groups that seek to balance individual privacy a/g competing interests. Meanwhile, mass media practitioners must balance individual privacy with competing interests that include m... m..., r... the n..., adhering to g... r..., and trying to provide new/useful information o... *Balancing act for non-media and media orgs! Let's look at the balancing act related to issues being discussed in popular and specialized media and by the E... P... I... C..., whose topics include... 1) A... t...: An a... is a set of computer programming rules that perform tasks often designed to speed up complicated and expensive tasks formerly done by people. *Decide whether you'll receive a loan, the content and ads appearing on your SM, recommendations on video streaming services, sort of health care you may receive. *Companies that sell/use a... often don't reveal the v... nor w... afforded to these variables because they do not want to give away what they sell and because people might use that information to 'game' the systems. *Critics say the b... b... nature of these [Weapons of Math Destruction] cause problems as they reinforce d... and provide n... answers to h... ?s that cannot be reduced to a m... p... Examples of injustices involving people 'going to college, borrowing money, getting sentences to prison, or finding and holding a job. All of these life domains are increasingly controlled by secret models wielding a... p...' (O'Neil) 2) C... c... Why store data on your own computer? Increasingly easier to put information online so you can access it from anywhere. Third parties may be able to access this data too including g... because privacy laws are more complicated for data you do not p... h... 3) D... Angry/antisocial people provide personal information about their t... to the public, often with the intent to h..., t..., in..., or p... the identified individual. Journalists finding themselves d... by people they write about, names and emails put online by people unhappy with their ?s. More often happens online, often with bad results and much effort by victim to change info or scrub it off the internet. *Donald Trump and Lindsey Graham example 4) D... Tiny aircraft with cameras that fly anywhere. The law (and ethics) seem unsettled about privacy rights involving what their cameras can/should capture. If drones become more common in delivering goods/services, issue may grow. 5) G... s... G... always had an interest in using what some might consider private information to keep them and populations safe. Concerns about n... s... as important as ever. But g... can be 'Big Brother' when they become too intrusive - and technology making this easier than ever. *Past few years, see g... using d... to follow protesters, cameras to capture l... p... data, law enforcement using commercial f...-r... systems and other info taken from SM to track/identify people, a... s... programs taking whole body images and collecting other biometric data before you board, p... b... c... that balance accountaibility with recording movement of public. 6) H... r... Protecting medical r... may assure patients they won't be deluged with unwarranted a... and p... items, and their medical histories will not lead to d... when seeking e... But too much secrecy will impede research and contribute to a pandemic if people are unknowingly exposed to someone who is highly contagious. Even more complicated is genetic data, the ability of consumer DNA testing companies to sell that data to others without your full understanding. 7) L... p... Mobile phone is a t... device, knows where you are when it connects among cell towers. Combine that with internet companies tracking where you use their services and it is not difficult to track where you have been and where you are. Good can come from tracking - using data to tell if you have been in contact with someone later diagnosed with contagious illness - but many skeptical that it is effective and too intrusive. *2/3 of Americans believe impossible to go through daily life without g... c... in... about them. 2/3 also believe the risk caused by g... d... c... outweighs benefits. When it comes to data collected by c..., 4/5 believe risks outweigh benefits.

Privacy: General Privacy Issues Govs, health professionals, and financial institutions are among many non-media groups that seek to balance individual privacy against competing interests. Meanwhile, mass media practitioners must balance individual privacy with competing interests that include making money, reporting the news, adhering to gov regulations, and trying to provide new and useful info online. The balancing act of privacy issues for non-media and media orgs. To appreciate how concerned some people have become over invasions of p and (real, potential, or imagined) threats to civil liberties, look at balancing act related to issues being discussed in popular and specialized media and by the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), public interest research center in D.C. Its topics include... Algorithm Transparency Algorithm is a set of computer programming rules that perform tasks, often designed to speed up complicated and expensive tasks formerly done by people. Decide whether you will receive a loan and what the interest rate will be, what content and ads appear on your SM and recommendations on streaming video services, and what sort of health care you might receive. Companies that sell and use algorithms often do not reveal the variables and weights afforded those variables, because do not want to give away what they sell and because people might use that info to 'game' the systems. Critics like Cathy O'Neil say the 'black box' nature of what she calls 'Weapons of Math Destruction' causes problems as these black boxes can reinforce discrimination and provide numerical answers to human questions that cannot be reduced to a math problem. Book filled with examples of injustices involving people 'going to college, borrowing money, getting sentences to prison, or finding and holding a job. All of these life domains are increasingly controlled by secret models wielding arbitrary punishments.' Cloud Computing Why store data on your own computers? Is increasingly easier to put info online, so you and others can access it from anywhere. Privacy issue is that third parties may be able to access the data too, including govs, because privacy laws are more complicated for data that you may not personally hold. Doxing Angry or antisocial people provide personal info about their targets to the public, often with the intent to humiliate, threaten, intimidate, or punish the identified individual. Called 'doxing' as it pertains to using documents or other info against the target. Candidate Donald Trump did it in 2015, when on live TV he read cell phone number of competitor Lindsey Graham, SC senator who then had to change his number. Journalists finding themselves doxed by people they write about, with their names and emails put online by people unhappy with their questions. More often happens online, often with bad results and much effort needed by victim to change info or scrub it off the internet. Drones Tiny aircraft with cameras can fly nearly anywhere, the law (and ethics) seem unsettled about privacy rights involving what their cameras can or should capture. Issue may grow if drones become more common in delivering goods and services in coming years. Gov Surveillance Govs have always had an interest in using what some might consider private info to keep themselves and populations safe. Concerns about national security remain as important as ever. But govs can become 'Big Brother' when they become too intrusive - and tech is making it easier than ever. In the past few years, seen concerns about govs using drones to follow protesters, cameras that capture license plate data, law enforcement using commercial face-recognition systems and other info taken from SM companies to track and identify people, airport security programs that take whole body images and collect other biometric data before you board a plane, and police body cameras that balance accountability with recording the movement of the public. Health Records Protecting medical records may assure patients they won't be deluged with unwanted advertising and promotional items, and that their medial histories will not lead to discrimination when seeking employment. But too much secrecy will impede medial research and could contribute to a pandemic if people are unknowingly exposed to someone who is highly contagious. Even more complicated may be genetic data, such as the ability of consumer DNA testing companies to sell that data to others without your full understanding. Locational Privacy Mobile phone is a tracking device, as it knows where you are when it connects among cell towers. Combine that with internet companies that track where you use their services and it is not that difficult to track where you are and where you have been. Good can come from tracking - using phone-collected data to tell if you have been in contact with someone later diagnosed with a contagious illness - but many are skeptical that it is effective and is too intrusive. No wonder, 2/3 of Americans believe it is impossible to go through daily life without gov collecting info about them. 2/3 also believe the risks caused by gov data collection outweighs benefits. When it comes to data collected by companies, 4/5 of Americans believe the risks outweigh benefits.

Privacy: Media-Related Issues 4/5 of Americans say risks of data collection by companies outweigh their benefits. Many of these companies are media orgs, have the ability and incentive to collect/use information about their audiences. Those companies balance individual privacy with competing interests that include e... p... l..., r... the n..., following g... r..., seeking to provide useful info o..., and of course m... m... Journalism: Issues Purpose of journalism is to s... l... on society, requires them to reveal info that others don't want revealed. Somewhere, though, are lines between doing good and doing unneeded harm. *Laws in the US provide different standards of protection for 'p...' and 'p...' people when it comes to libel and invasion of privacy, and is up to the legal process to determine where a person lands on that continuum. *Where the S... of P... J... code reminds us the 'l... a... to information' differs from an e... j... to publish/b-cast.' May apply to u... people thrust into the p... eye because of a newsworthy event, or the extent to which the p... lives of p... people (and their families) cross gray line into being newsworthy. Privacy often becomes a consideration when thinking about im... of people, especially when showing g... or in..., and in reporting about s... t... like s... *For example, state laws and liberal reading of federal standards suggest news media have right to name v... of s... c..., but victims' rights groups and others maintain that un... p... re-in... peple who have been assaulted and does little to elevate p... d... on an incredinly significant social issue. *Also, while some states forbid law enforcement officials to id... m... who have been arrested, not illegal for the media. Victims' rights groups remind people they have the right to r... an interview, choose their in..., use a s..., be broadcast in s..., file a complaint against in... r..., and g... in private. Publicity about s... c... balance the right of vulnerable individuals to avoid being 're...' against the right/desie of the public to satisfy its id... c... coupled with desire of news media to attract a... and make m... Viewed from another POV, balancing act between F... A... absolutists intent on publishing e-thing they think the public needs to know and others who tend to c.../p... r.../e... concerns. Also balancs relating to naming people who become part of the j... s... On one hand, news orgs seek to publish names of people who are arrested on or convicted of criminal charges because it is part of the p... r... Moreover, naming names can be h... at times [If you are a part of an org where another member faces criminal charges, isn't it better if the person's name is published than a generic 'member of the group?' Otherwise, people might wonder whether you were arrested/are tarred with guilt by association.] On the other hand, some orgs will not publish the names of most people arrested on s...-related crimes until conviction, arguing the s... of an a... will stick even if charge was w... But that mercy not given to someone who the org deems a p... figure. Another privacy consideration comes from the belief that some people do not deserve more a... than necessary after doing e... things to make their names known. Some mass killers seek to become f... through their crimes, organizations like 'Don't Name Them' and 'No Notoriety' argue journalists should limit the times they n.../show their im... *Some research supports: One study (7 mass killers became celebrities, received equivalent of $75M in news coverage over a 5-yr period, limiting names of shooters could cut c... killers) *But journalists note it isn't so simple: Blinder explained j d/n profile killers out of habit. Such profiles are but one part of the l... c... of the story: Write them because they help us fulfill our mission of offering a c... r... that allows readers to co..., de..., re... to the issues that challenge all of us. Finally, some news orgs remind workers they give up some of t... r... to privacy because of their j.... *New York Times' social media guideline for the newsroom: their private lives as journalists - ability to talk about issues, or even complain about customer service - can be problematic. 'While you may think your SM accounts are p... zones separate from your role at the Times, everything we post or like online is to some degree p... And everything we do in p... is likely associated with the Times.'

Privacy: Media-Related Issues 4/5 of Americans say risks of data collection by companies outweigh benefit. Many of these companies are media orgs, as they have the ability and incentive to collect and use info about their audiences. Those companies balance individual privacy with competing interests that include enhancing public life, reporting the news, following gov rules, seeking to provide useful info online - and of course, making money. Journalism: The Issues The purpose of journalism is to shed light on society, requires journalists to reveal info that others do not want revealed. Somewhere, however, are lines between doing good and doing unneeded harm. Laws in the US and elsewhere provide different standards of protection for 'public' and 'private' people when it comes to libel and invasion of privacy, and it is up to the legal process to determine where a person lands on that continuum. This is where the Society of Professional Journalists' code reminds us that 'legal access to info differs from an ethical justification to publish or broadcast.' This may apply to unknown people thrust into the public eye because of a newsworthy event, or the extent to which the private lives of public people (and their families) cross the gray line into being newsworthy. Privacy often becomes a consideration when thinking about images of people, especially when showing grief or injury, and in reporting about sensitive topics like suicide. For example, state laws and a liberal reading of federal standards suggest that news media have the right to name victims of sex crimes, but victims' rights groups and others maintain that unwarranted publicity re-injures people who have been assaulted and does little to elevate public discourse on an incredibly significant social issue. Also, while some states forbid law enforcement officials to identify minors who have been arrested, it is not illegal for the media to identify those people. Victims' rights groups remind people they have the right to refuse an interview, choose their interviewer, use a spokesperson, be broadcast in silhouette, file a complaint against intrusive reporters, and to grieve in private. Publicity about sex crimes balances the right of vulnerable individuals to avoid being 'revictimized' against the right (or desire) of the public to satisfy its idle or prurient curiosity coupled with the desire of news media to attract audiences and make money. Viewed from another perspective, the balancing act b/t First Amendment absolutists intent on publishing everything they think the public 'needs to know' and others who tend toward censorship, prior restraint, or ethical concerns. Also balances relating to naming people who become part of the justice system. On one hand, news orgs seek to publish the names of people who are arrested on or convicted of criminal charges, because it is part of the public record. Moreover, naming names can actually be helpful at times. [If you are a part of an org where another member faces criminal charges, isn't it better if the person's name is published than a more generic 'member of the group?' Otherwise, people might wonder whether you were arrested and you are tarred with guilt by association.] On the other hand, some news orgs will not publish the names of most people arrested on sex-related crimes until conviction, arguing the stigma of an arrest will stick even if the charge was wrong. But that mercy is not given to someone who the news org deems a public figure. Another privacy consideration comes from the belief that some people do not deserve more attention that necessary after doing evil things to make their names known. Some mass killers seek to become famous through their crimes, and org such as 'Don't Name Them' and 'No Notoeriety' argue that journalists should limit the times they name or show their images. Some research supports this claim: One study said 7 mass killers became 'celebrities' and received equivalent of $75M in media coverage during a 5-year period, and that limiting the names of shooters could cut copycat killers. But journalists note it is not so simple: New York Times reporter Alan Blinder explained journalists do not profile killers 'out of habit.' Such profiles, however hurried or incomplete they might be, one part of the larger coverage of the story: Write them because they help us fulfill our mission of offering a comprehensive report that allows readers to consider, debate, respond to the issues and events that challenge all of us. Finally, some news orgs remind their workers they give up some of their right to privacy because of their job. New York Times' social media guideline for the newsroom reminds its journalists their private lives - ability to talk about issues, or even to complain online about customer service - can be problematic. 'While you may think your SM accounts are private zones separate from your role at the Times, policy says, in fact everything we post or like online is to some degree public. And everything we do in public is likely to be associated with the Times.'

Semantics problems and solutions: 1) Blurring of a... l... Problems arise when people carelessly jump within and among different l... of a..., leaving the impression that 'that's the way it is' when they draw in... and make j... without sharing the hard data, if any, used to move to those higher l... of a... Alternative: Truth tellers should know and show the differences b/t o..., statements of f..., in..., and v... j... They should remember that a... is the inevitable process of narrowing/reducing data from the real world and humans' limited ability to observe it; they should be aware of what they are l... out and what they are a... Fact statements can be verified by im... means, and they are used to apply to particular people/situations at a particular time/place. Inferences and value judgments should emerge from face statements. Example: An a... would be, 'Smith hates Jonas,' which assumes we know Smith's true feelings. A more concrete statement would be, 'Smith spat on Jonas.' Truth tellers should tell what someone or something d... rather than what it i... They should encourage their audiences to draw their own conclusions rather than doing all their thinking for them. When media practitioners draw conclusions in their news reports, opinions, ads, PR campaigns, those conclusions should be based on v... e... that is shared with the audiences. That way, audiences can check it out for themselves. 2) The tendencies toward 'a...' Problems arise when we act as though we have seen all we need to see, described all we need to describe, conclude all we need to conclude. -Use words like 'all' 'every' 'none' 'never' 'nobody' 'everybody' 'unanimous' 'absolutely' 'positively' 'forever' 'always' 'finally'. A... writing appears d... and appears t presume that all the evidence is in and has been duly considered, and that people/situations/problems generally a... in most respects. Alternative: Practitioners and consumers should be conscious of 'e... c...' aware the descriptions may be adequate yet in...: People can never see, say everything that needs to be seen, said about an individual/situation, so they shouldn't pretend they're doing otherwise. Semantically sophisticated communication is characters by 'e... c...' terms that alert everyone to the reality that most g... are p...: Perhaps, some, several, sometimes, however, on the other hand, maybe, not always, usually, generally, often, most, majority, plurality, minority, indefinitely, and other such qualifying words. Example: An 'a...' problem would be the sentence: You never take me anywhere. A less-a... statement would be: We've only been out twice in the past six months. We'd also remind mass communicators that s... (best, greatest) may fit in here and are often suspect to describe people or events. Media that seek alternatives to a... are filled with answers to 'how much' and 'to what extent' questions. To achieve this, practitioners are driven by boundless curiosity and dissatisfaction with s... e... of c... issues. 3) The 'T...-V... Orientation' Semantic and ethical problems arise when the world and all its subsets of data are arbitrarily divided into m... e..., p... o... -T...-v... communicators say 'on the one hand... on the other hand' as if there were only t... p... They seek sources who confirm these perceptions of m... e... (some journalists seem to balance their coverage by interviewing an 'articulate idiot' from each ideological pole). Their adjectives describe s... t... such as hot/cold, tall/short, liberal/conservative, black/white, you're with us/you're against us.' To hold such a static view demands that belief-discrepant info be avoided/downplayed, dissonance quickly reduced. Granted it is easier to view the world in this way but is ethically problematic. Alternative: To demonstrate a m...-v... orientation, the use of 'e... c...' is helpful. It reminds practitioners and audiences that persons and situations are rarely if ever t...-...; propositions don't have to be either true/false, specified ways of behaving don't have to either right/wrong, black/white; that c... thinking or an in...-v... orientation is a more intellectually honest way to perceive and communicate about the world than an Aristotelian t...-v... orientation. H... rather than either/or are the stylistic tool of choice to describe mind-body, secular-religious, socio-economic and other relationships. Semantically mature displays awareness that people have u... c..., that the world is in a constant process of c..., that human perceptions are l... and language cannot say all there is to be said about a person or situation. Example: A t...-v... statement would be: Democrats are pro-choice and Republicans are pro-life. Better would be: A majority of Democrats believe abortion should be legal, and a majority of Republicans believe it should be illegal. A m...-v... media practitioner relishes s... in sources, subjects, and stories, and process dissonance with a certain level of comfort. Evidence is useful.

Problem 1: Blurring of abstraction levels Problems arise when people carelessly jump within and among different levels of abstraction, leaving impression that 'that's the way it is' when they draw inferences and make judgments without sharing the hard data (if any) used to move to those higher levels of abstraction. Alternative: Truth tellers should know and show the differences b/t objects, statements of fact, inferences, and value judgments. They should remember that abstraction is the inevitable process of narrowing and reducing data from the real world and from humans' limited ability to observe it; they should be aware of what they are leaving out and what they are adding. Fact statements can be verified by impersonal means, and they are used to apply to particular people or situations at a particular time and particular place. Inferences and value judgments should emerge from fact statements. Example: An abstraction would be, 'Smith hates Jonas,' which assumes we know Smith's true feelings. A more concrete statement would be, 'Smith spat on Jonas.' Truth tellers should tell what someone or something does rather than what it is. They should encourage their audiences to draw their own conclusions rather than doing all their thinking for them. When media practitioners draw conclusions in their news reports, opinions, ads, PR campaigns, those conclusions should be based on verifiable evidence that is shared with the audiences. That way, audiences can check it out for themselves. Problem 2: The tendencies toward 'allness' Problems arise when we act as though we have seen all we need to (or could possibly) see, have described all we need to describe, and have concluded all we need to conclude. We use words like 'all' 'every' 'none' 'never' 'nobody' 'everybody' 'unanimous' 'absolutely' 'positively' 'forever' 'always' 'finally'. Allness writing appears dogmatic, and appears to presume that all the evidence is in and has been duly considered, and that people, situations, and problems are generally alike in most respects. Alternative: Media practitioners and consumers should be conscious of 'et cetera,' aware that descriptions may be adequate yet incomplete: People can never see, or say, everything that needs to be seen or said about an individual or situation, so they s/n pretend they're doing otherwise. Semantically sophisticated communication is characterized by 'etc' terms that alert everyone to the reality that most generalizations are problematic: Perhaps, some, several, sometimes, however, on the other hand, maybe, not always, usually, generally, often, most, majority, plurality, minority, indefinitely, and other such qualifying words. Example: An 'allness' problem would be the sentence: You never take me anywhere. A less-allness statement would be: We've only been out twice in the past six months. We'd also remind mass communicators that superlatives (best, greatest) may fit in here and are often suspect to describe people or events. Media that seek alternatives to allness are filled with answers to 'how much' and 'to what extent' questions. To achieve this, practitioners are driven by boundless curiosity and dissatisfaction with simplistic explanations of complex issues. Problem 3: The 'Two-Valued Orientation' Semantic and ethical problems arise when the world and all its subsets of data are arbitrarily divided into mutually exclusive, polarized opposites. 'Two-valued' communicators say 'on the one hand ... on the other hand' as if there were only two possibilities. They seek sources who confirm these perceptions of mutual exclusivity (some j seem to 'balance' their coverage by interviewing an 'articulate idiot' from each ideological pole). Their adjectives describe stereotypical types, such as hot/cold, tall/short, liberal/conservative, black/white, you're with us/you're against us. To hold such a static view demands that belief-discrepant info be avoided or downplayed, dissonance quickly reduced. Granted it is easier to view the world in this way but it is ethically problematic. Alternative: To demonstrate a multi-valued orientation, the use of 'et cetera' is helpful. It reminds media practitioners and audiences that persons and situations are rarely if ever two-valued; that propositions do not have to be either true/false, specified ways of behaving do not have to be either right/wrong, black/white; and that continuum thinking or an infinite-value orientation is a more intellectually honest way to perceive and communicate about the world than an Aristotelian two-valued orientation. Hyphens, rather than either/or are the stylistic tool of choice to describe mind-body, secular-religious, socio-economic, and other relationships. The semantically mature communicator displays awareness that people and situations have unlimited characteristics, that the world is in a constant process of change, that human perceptions are limited, and that language c/n say all there is to be said about a person or situation. Example: A two-value statement would be: Democrats are pro-choice and Republicans are pro-life. Better would be: A majority of Democrats believe abortion should be legal, and a majority of Republicans believe it should be illegal. A multi-valued media practitioner relishes subtlety in sources, subjects, and stories, and process dissonance with a certain level of comfort. Evidence is useful.

Semantics problems and solutions: 4) The 'Is of I...' When people ask 'What is?' the answers tend to be s... The ?s and answers may make communicators and their audiences appear unconscious of myriad in... d... among individuals, situations, problems. -Using 'to be' verbs as an e... s... (He is a terrorist. She is a freedom fighter.) suggest that l... equals r... To do so creates f...-to-f... relationships. The results include s..., l..., n...-ca...., and instant c... of individuals, groups, situations. Such behaviors often ignore that language reflects an im... a... of reality. Alternative: Semantically sophisticated seek n... They use verbs of non...-id... They separate nouns with qualifying verbs such as 'may be classified as,' 'goes by the name of,' 'is referred to as,' 'calls themself,' 'so-called' or other terms that answer the ?, How do you classify? They differentiate among people, situations, problems. Example: A troublesome 'is' statement would be: Smith IS a terrorist. A more semantically correct statement would be, Smith calls himself a terrorist. 5) The 'Is of P...' When people use 'to be' verbs between nouns and a... (He is stupid. She is beautiful) or when they carelessly employ a... to affirm q..., they may falsely assume that everyone else sees the q... in the same way. Unsophisticated communicators are ignoring their own s... process. Their language reveals more about their own b... than what they are describing; they may unconsciously be projecting their own b... to the audience. Alternative: Be aware of their s... and p... by qualifying problematic noun/a... relationships. Can use 'to me' or 'according to me' or 'in ... opinion,' 'from ... point of view,' 'as ... sees it,' 'perhaps,' 'one school of thought...' 'possibly,' Instead of asking 'What is?' the communicator asks 'What do YOU think is?' Example: A problem sentence would be: Smith is the best quarterback in history. A better sentence: In my opinion, S is the best q-back in NFL history, as it solves both the 'is' problem and narrows the dimensions to a single league. The 'my opinion' is a reminder that its one opinion and others may not agree. 6) Being T...-Bound T...-bound communicators fail to understand or appreciate in... of time and development, and the in... of past, present, future. When communicators fixate on past: Put 'new info in old bottles' because it is more understandable and predictable that way. When fixate on present: Info seems devoid of context. When fixate on future: Little value in taking note of precedents - prognostication is the coin of the realm. Alternative: C... is the constant c... for the semantically sophisticated. Life is g... - anything is the cause and result of everything, and the whole is more than the sum of its parts. Subtle forces from the past influence the present media environment, and the future is a multifaceted mystery affected only partly by what is known of past/present. Conscientious communicators need not be obsessed with past/present/future in..., but do well to appreciate them. Should be curious about their heritage, learn from their mistakes, and remain guardedly optimistic. Example: While it may be true that Smith flunked out of college, that statement is time-bound if this statement is true: Smith earned a master's degree after flunking out of college for the first time. This may be a real problem among politicians, as well as talking heads, speculators, and prognosticators, who prevail in our sports, business, political, and other media. What some might see as a f...-f... on an issue may be better considered as a c... of m... in light of im... k... And who calls to account the speculators and prognosticators when they are wrong, as they so often are? Summary The m... is not the t... and the m... is not all of the t... With that in mind, stakeholders in the media ethics environment should be better at making and reading m... - and understanding the limitations of the m... they make/use.

Problem 4: The 'Is of Identity' When people ask What is? or Who is? the answers tend to be stereotypes. The Qs and answers may make communicators and their audiences appear unconscious of myriad individual differences among individuals, situations, problems. Truth claims can emerge from observation and sci evidence, or from unverifiable bases such as faith, aesthetics, authority, intuition, or philosophy. Problems arise when communicators fail to recognize which source is which. Using 'to be' verbs as an equal sign (He is a terrorist. She is a freedom fighter) suggests that language equals reality. To do so creates false-to-fact relationships. The results include s-types, labels, name-calling, and instant classification of individuals, groups, and situations. Such behaviors often ignore that language reflects an imperfect abstraction of reality. Alternative: Semantically sophisticated truth tellers seek nuances. They use verbs of non-identity. They separate nouns with qualifying verbs (if only in their heads) such as 'may be classified as' 'goes by the name of' 'is referred to as' 'calls themself' 'so-called' or any other terms that answer the Q, How do you classify? They differentiate among people, situations, and problems. Example: A troublesome 'is' statement would be: Smith IS a terrorist. A more semantically correct statement would be, Smith calls himself a terrorist. Problem 5: The 'Is of Predication' When people use 'to be' verbs b/t nouns and adjectives (He is stupid, She is beautiful) or when they carelessly employ adjectives to affirm qualities, they may falsely assume that everyone else sees the qualities in the same way. That is, unsophisticated communicators are ignoring their own selectivity processes. Their language reveals more about their own biases than it does about what they are describing; they may unconsciously be projecting their own biases onto their audiences. Alternative: Communicators should be aware of their selectivity and projections by qualifying problematic noun/adjective relationships. They can use 'to me' or 'according to me' or in ... opinion or from ... point of view or as ... sees it or perhaps or one school of thought is or possibly. Instead of asking What is ...? the communicator asks What do you think is ...? Example: A problem sentence would be: Smith is the best quarterback in history. A better sentence: In my opinion, S is the best q-back in NFL history, as it solves both the 'is' problem and narrows the dimensions to a single league. The 'my opinion' is a reminder that its one opinion and others may not agree. Problem 6: Being Time-Bound Time-bound communicators fail to understand or appreciate interconnectedness of time and development, and the interrelationship of past, present, and future. When communicators fixate on the past, they put 'new info into old bottles' because it is more understandable and predictable that way. When they fixate on the present, info seems void of context. When they fixate on the future, there's little value in taking note of precedents - prognostication is the coin of the realm. Alternative: Change is the constant companion for the semantically sophisticated media practitioners. Life is gestalt - a't is the cause and result of e't, and the whole is more than the sum of its parts. Subtle forces from the past influence the present media environment, and the future is a multifaceted mystery affected only partly by what is known of past and present. Conscientious communicators need not be obsessed with past/present/future interrelationships, but do well to appreciate them. They should be curious about their heritage, learn from their mistakes, and remain guardedly optimistic. Example: While it may be true that Smith flunked out of college, that statement is time-bound if this statement is true: Smith earned a master's degree after flunking out of college for the first time. This may be a real problem among politicians, as well as talking heads, speculators, and prognosticators, who prevail in our sports, business, political, and other media. What some might see as a flip-flop on an issue may be better considered as a change of mind in light of improved knowledge. And who calls to account the speculators and prognosticators when they are wrong, as they so often are? THE MAP IS NOT THE TERRITORY and the map is not ALL of the territory. With that in mind, stakeholders in the media ethics environment should be better at making and reading maps - and understanding the limitations of the maps they make and use.

Propaganda Term with negative connotations with flasbacks to Nazis. Calling anything propaganda seems like a downgrade (suggesting the info c... of the message, or its u... as r... e... is SUSPECT, not of high quality). -What is it? Who does it? How does it affect us? Is it necessarily evil? Could it possibly be ethical? -> Propaganda is hard to discuss because it's hard to d... How we d... it determines whether we perceive the enterprises to be e.../u... Not only a semantic game but pay attention to semantics. -> In... It isn't a question of '...' our society and its institutions engage in it; it is a question of 'h...' It isn't just what the b... g... do; modern media systems are designed to be agents of it, with modern media audiences its w... r... -> P... in part because lines have blurred among the information, persuasion, and entertainment f... of m... Frag... of mass audience implies we seek out and absorb p that reinforces our in... p... Propagandistic media cater to c...-m...., to willing and uncritical recipients. -> Able to p... p... o..., c... building, and s...-g... if we aren't careful and sophisticated consumers and producers of media. Early History of Propaganda Originally term for gardener's pracice of pinning fresh shoots of plant to earth to reproduce new plants that will later take a life of their own (propagare). *Roman Catholic Church used term (1622) when creating Congregation of Propaganda, committee of cardinals centuries later still lead church missions work (under new name). *Effort to reach non-Catholics during Protestant Reformation regarded as a good thing. Term implies spr... id... doesn't happen by itself, but requires a cul... or a... generation. *Word's negative connotations appeared in 1800s. Early 1900s Americans concerned Axis powers using this and p... w... deviously. Played important military/political role in both world wars. Both sides used to argue that God was on their side. Feared that this and b... went hand in hand, therefore unethical in a d... s... - unless that s... was fighting a w... for s... [Word came to be known for Machievellian m... of o... for political, religious, military ends] Not surprisingly, analysts during WW2 took a great deal of trouble define and categorizing way p'dists manipulated public opinion. American Institute for Propaganda Analysis, Harvard (operated 1937-42) set to defend Americans from. -Concerned about t... to d... during height of Great Depression, as radio became dominant and another world war on its way. Help citizens recognize propaganda when they see it. How did it define propaganda? Seven techniques: 1) N...-c... - often an attack on the m... instead of the m... (The politician who replies, You are fake news to a journalist instead of responding to the substance of the journalist's ?). -Also consider terms use to d... s...: Robin Hood example 2) G... g... - when v...-but-p... terms replace p... terms. (Patriotism or common good; appeals to vague authorities such as 'many people say' or 'university professors agree'). We also see negatives: card-carrying communist 3) T... - an often v... way to gain a... for something by projecting upon that thing the v... of something else (I'm not a doctor, but I play one on TV was a line from an ad for cough medicine, in hopes that the audience's good feelings about the actor would t... into trust for the product) 4) T... - a statement from someone about the v... of the topic under discussion (SM reviews for products and services) 5) P... f... - when the speaker seeks to appear s... to the a... (Celebrities doing everyday things while endorsing a product) 6) C... s... - in which the deck is stacked by focusing on the p... and ignoring the n... Every card turned works in the dealer's f... (We've doubled the budget for recycling, the university said, without noting the new budget was $20, up from $10) 7) B... - the notion that people should accept an argument through p... p... (You're studying for your media ethics test? Everyone else is at the party! Let's go!) The list is a good start but falls short -> Not e... -> Many propaganda messages use m... t... -> Doesn't consider the c... of the p'dost

Propaganda Propaganda, a term with negative connotations with flashbacks to Nazis and notion that calling a't propaganda is to downgrade it by suggesting that the info content of the message, or its usefulness as reliable evidence, is suspect, and not of high quality. There is no end to debates over p. What is it? Who does it? How does it affect us? Is it necessarily evil? Could it possibly be ethical? Discussion begins with premises that propaganda is... è Hard to discuss b/c it's hard to define. How we define P determines whether we perceive the enterprise to be ethical or unethical. It isn't just a semantic game, though we must pay more than a little attention to the semantics of propaganda analysis. *** è Inevitable. It isn't a ? of 'if' our society and its institutions engage in p; it is a ? of 'how'. It isn't just what the bad guys do; modern media systems are designed to be agents of propaganda, with modern media audiences its willing recipients. è Problematic in part b/c the lines have blurred among the info, persuasion, and entertainment function of media. The fragmentation of mass audience implies that we seek out and absorb p that reinforces our individual prejudices. Propagandistic media cater to close-mindedness, to willing and uncritical recipients. The ethical implications are striking for people who would be successful propagandists, for people who would avoid being p'dists, for people who are targets of p, and for students of p. è Able to poison public opinion, community building, and self-governance if we are not careful and sophisticated consumers and producers of media fare. Early History of Propaganda 'Propaganda' originates from Latin propagare, the gardener's practice of pinning the fresh shoots of plant into the earth in order to reproduce new plants that will later take on a life of their own. Roman Catholic Church used term in 1622 when creating the Congregation of Propaganda, the committee of cardinals that centuries later still lead the church's missions work (but under a new name that d/n include the word p). Naturally, this effort to reach non-Catholics during the Protestant Reformation was regarded as a good thing. Term implies spreading ideas d/n happen by itself, but requires a cultivated or artificial generation. Word's negative connotations appeared in the 1800s. During early 1900s, Americans were concerned that Axis powers were using p and psychological warfare deviously. P played important military and political roles in both world wars. Both sides used p to argue that God was on their side. We feared that p and brainwashing went hand in hand, and therefore was unethical in a democratic society - unless that society was fighting a war for survival. Thus the word p came to be known for the Machiavellian manipulation of opinion for political, religious, or military ends. Not surprisingly, p analysts during WW2 took a great deal of trouble to define and categorize the ways propagandists manipulated public opinion. The American Institute for Propaganda Analysis at Harvard (liberal think tank, operated 1937-42) set to defend American from p. How it defined p... Is it Propaganda? A Checklist American Institute for Propaganda concerned about p's threat to democracy during height of Great Depression, as radio became dominant, and drums were beating for another world war. Folded as WW2 began, many saw p as a tool to unite Americans and win war. Part of goal was to help citizens recognize p when they see it. Committee described 7 techniques used in p... 1) Name-calling, often an attack on the messenger instead of the message (The politician who replies, You are fake news to a journalist instead of responding to the substance of the journalist's ?). Also consider terms use to describe someone: Some would call Robin Hood's taking from the rich to give to the poor the act of a freedom fighter, while him targets would call him a terrorist. 2) Glittering generalities, when vague-but-positive terms replace precise terms. (Patriotism or common good, or appeals to vague authorities such as many people say or university professors agree). We also see negatives: card-carrying communist 3) Transfer, an often-visual way to gain acceptance for something by projecting upon that thing the values of something else (I'm not a doctor, but I play one on TV was a line from an ad for cough medicine, in hopes that the audience's good feelings about the actor would transfer into trust for the product) 4) Testimonial, a statement from someone about the virtues of the topic under discussion (SM reviews for products and services) 5) Plain folks, when the speaker seeks to appear similar to the audience (Celebrities doing everyday things while endorsing a product) 6) Card stacking, in which the deck is stacked by focusing on the positives and ignoring the negatives. Every card turned works in the dealer's favor (We've doubled the budget for recycling, the university said, without noting the new budget was $20, up from $10) 7) Bandwagon, the notion that people should accept an argument through peer pressure (You're studying for your media ethics test? Everyone else is at the party! Let's go!) Critics note the list is a good start, but falls short b/c not exhaustive, b/c many propaganda messages use multiple tools, and b/c it doesn't consider the credibility of the propagandist

Propaganda Redefined Many distinguish between propaganda and education, or any other means of inculcating v... and changing b... and a... This seems spe... (often only distinction between propaganda and honest persuasion is whether 'they're' or 'we're' doing it). What do older and newer definitions have in common? a) A presumption of m... and co..., if not outright coe..., that dehumanizes the audiences or intended 'victims' of it b) A p... im... - rhetorical, political, economic - between message senders and receivers c) A presumption that principles of science, rhetoric, semantics, and englightened or open-minded education serves as p... a... to it d) More subtle, perhaps intriguing, recent suggestions that it is sys... in a democratic, technological, post-industrial info society and that in... of m... m... (A/PR, entertainment outlets, journalism) can be as p'distic as t... d... *Central thesis is... In a politically competitive democracy and comercially free enterprise system, mas... c... functions as an arena where advocates can battle. Propaganda therefore becomes part of the o... m... of id...; it is not only in..., but it is probably d... that there are openly recognizable and competing propagandas in a democratic society. *People who define persuasion as inherently evil/unethical appear to be coming from 's...-as-v...' school. Audience might be completely rational but capable of rationality and certainly not always v... Redefine the Enterprise While the people/groups who create it may/may not have demonstably c... m..., it contains characteristics associated with d... or c...-m... While the messages may/may not be intended as propaganda, this type of communication seems non-c..., with the goal of short-circuiting c... t... on the part of the audiences. While creative communications accept p... and assumes receivers should in... the message's claim, propaganda doesn't. Propaganda... a) Relies heavily on a... f... and s... - not empirical validation - to establish its truth or conclusions b) Uses unverified and perhaps unverifiable ab... wo... and ph... re... - not empirical validation - to establidh its conclusions, or im... c) Offers a f... or f... view of people/institutions/situations. Divides people into broad, a...-in... categories of in-g... (friends) and out-g... (enemies). Defines situations as things to be acceptd/rejected in the whole. d) Creates its own sense of t... by focusing too much/little on the past, present, future as d... p..., instead of a demonstrated conscious of t... flow e) Places more emphasis on c... than c... f) Reduces situations into simple c...-and-e... relationships, ignoring multiple/subtle reasons for events Description lets both practitioners and observers investigate their own and their media's behavior. Applies to all three functions of media. Audiences willing to accept the propaganda of dis... pi... of reality/s... e...for c... issues will find no shortage in their media. It is possible to be an a... or a j... without being unduly pr... Democracy requires this! But democracy also need pl...ism in its persuasion/info, not the n...-m..., se...-se... propaganda its communicators inject into their messages (wittingly or not). O...-m... and mass communication efforts need not be m... ex... Need persuasive messages in systems where democratic politics and free enterprise requires c... What many call propaganda becomes part of that o... m... of id...; not only in... but may be d... that there are openly r... and c... propagandas in a democratic society that challenge all of us - producers and consumers - to sift/sort through them wisely.

Propaganda Redefined Many authors distinguish b/t p and education, or between p and any other means of inculcating values and changing beliefs and attitudes. Some distinguish b/t pernicious p and honest persuasion. This seems speculative in that often the only distinction b/t p and honest persuasion is whether 'they're' doing it or 'we're' doing it. Students of ethics should be struck by what both older and newer definitions of p have in common: è A presumption of manipulation and control, if not outright coercion, that dehumanizes the audiences or intended 'victims' of propaganda è A power imbalance - rhetorical, political, economic, etc. - b/t message senders and receivers è A presumption that principles of science, rhetoric, semantics, and enlightened or open-minded education serves as powerful antidotes to p è More subtle, but perhaps as intriguing, are recent suggestions that p is systemic in a democratic, technological, post-industrial info society and that instruments of mass media (ad and PR, entertainment outlets, and news journalism) can be as propagandistic as totalitarian dictatorships. Central thesis deserves repeating: In a politically competitive democracy and a commercially competitive free enterprise system, mass comm functions as an arena where advocates can battle. P therefore becomes part of that open m-place of ideas; it is not only inevitable, but it is probably desirable that there are openly recognizable and competing propagandas in a democratic society. People who define persuasion as inherently evil or unethical appear to be coming from the 'society-as-victim' school. Authors tend generally to hold to the 'society-as-rational-beings' perspective. Maybe not completely rational, but capable of rationality, and certainly not always victims. So, let us redefine the enterprise: While the people/groups who create p may or may not have demonstrably closed minds, p contains characteristics associated with dogmatism or closed-mindedness. While the messages may/may not be intended as p, this type of communication seems non-creative, with the goal of short-circuiting critical thinking on the part of the audiences. While creative comm accepts pluralism and assumes that receivers should investigate the message's claims, p does not. Propaganda: è Relies heavily on authority figures and spokespersons - not empirical validation - to establish its truth or conclusions è Uses unverified and perhaps unverifiable abstract words and physical representations - not empirical validation - to establish its conclusions, or impressions è Offers a finalistic or fixed view of people, institutions, and situations. Divides people into broad, all-inclusive categories of in-groups (friends) and out-groups (enemies). It defines situations as things to be accepted or rejected in the whole è Reduces situations into simple cause-and-effect relationships, ignoring multiple and subtle reasons for events è Creates its own sense of time by focusing too much or too little on the past, present, or future as disconnected periods, instead of a demonstrated consciousness of time flow è Places more emphasis on conflict than on cooperation Description lets both practitioners and observers of media and persuasion investigate their own and their media's behavior. Applies to news, persuasion, entertainment functions of media. Audiences willing to accept the p of distorted pictures of reality and simple explanations for complex issues will find no shortage in their media. Is possible to be an advocate, or a journalist, without being unduly (to an unwarranted degree) propagandistic. Democracy requires this skill set. But democracy also needs pluralism in its persuasion and info, and not the narrow-minded, self-serving p some communicators inject - wittingly or unwittingly - into their messages. Open-mindedness and mass comm efforts need not be mutually exclusive. Persuasive messages and info campaigns may/may not be delivered with malicious intent. Need persuasive messages in systems where democratic politics and free enterprise requires competition. What many call p becomes part of that open m-place of ideas; not only inevitable but may be desirable that there are openly recognizable and competing propagandas in a democratic society that challenge all of us - producers and consumers - to sift/sort through them wisely. But it must be done fairly!

Privacy: Media-Related Issues Public Relations Practitioners have multiple loyalties and serving their s... requires paying attention to value of privacy. They have the moral obligation to protect the privacy of their c... by not revealing proprietary info about them or using that private info in ways that could harm the c... Among 18 principles in the I... P... R... A... code is the reminder to honor c... info provided to them. Also reminder that d... m... demand special care to guard personal info provided by multiple s... There may be times when practitioners balance a c...'s p... r... against the value of privacy, such as not releasing private details even if those details could help them. (Others argue there are times when they use privacy as excuse to hide the info that makes a client look bad). Another concern is how they may collect and use private info about people who could in... how the p... views the c... Multiple firms create dossiers on j... who may write about their industries. Some say it's important to know what reporters cover and their coverage approach, but compiling formal dossiers is a step too far. Can be problematic if used to attack the m... instead of responding to the m... Privacy: Media-Related Issues Advertising Famous line from department store magnate John Wanamaker: Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted. Trouble is, don't know which half. May not be true a century later - but companies that sell online advertising would like buyers to believe ad money is better spent when d... m... use info they collect from and about you to better target ads to you *Advertisers and marketers use 'c...' and other software to know where you've been on the web - sometimes personally identifiable info, sometimes not. Can r... you, by reminding you you didn't buy a product you looked at earlier, ads chase you around the internet. *Can use g... info from your phone to know where you are, pitch you ads for p... n.... Make assumptions about you based on where you live, so advertisers can decide which n... to target with ads. *Personalized t... ads already using over-the-top devices like Roku *Personalized ads from n... n... soon In addition to collecting data about you on their own, also may learn more about you by making deals for info about you supplied by t... p... *When you buy something, contribute to c..., the vendor may add name to mailing list they sell to others. *If you vote in a p... p... p..., p... may use your voter registration info to remind you to vote and donate to their party + candidate. *As many as 70% of phone apps been found to give t... p... the info gleamed about you while you used the app, although companies that make smart phones trying to limit snopping apps through improved software. Just a few examples of how tech has taken some of the guesswork out of advertising while also adding complex ?s on privacy. Tracking like this will continue. Some argue giving up some privacy may be worth the benefit of b...-t... a..., not to mention the maps, emails, and other tools you get for free thanks to ads paying for them. Much of this comes back to ?s of t... - of people know how their info is used - and what power they have to l... that use without having to wade through pages of legalese and layers of menus hiding in apps/online. *?s come down to l... ones in which g... limit the r... of companies to use personal info to market to you and the e... standards that companies will adopt that go beyond minimum standards. *Privacy law slow to develop, passed only after lawmakers shocked by ethical errors of marketers. Some companies tout their e... standards related to privacy as a selling point. *Still, privacy conerns were part of the marketing industry's worries long before the Internet. B... B... B... code of business practices lists 'S... P...' as one of its 8 standards; the bureau's privacy standard focuses on protection of c... d..., only collecting n... info, and respecting customer wishes about h... their info is u...

Public Relations PR practitioners have multiple loyalties, and serving their stakeholders requires paying attention to the value of privacy. Practitioners have the moral obligation to protect the privacy of their clients, by not revealing proprietary info about their clients or using that private info in ways that could harm the client. Among the 18 principles in the International Public Relations Association (IPRA) code of conduct is the reminder to honor confidential info provided to them. Also in that code is the reminder that digital media demand special care to guard personal info provided by multiple stakeholders. There may be times when practitioners balance a client's public reputation against the value of privacy, such as not releasing private details even if those details could help the client. (Others may argue there are times when practitioners use privacy as the excuse to hide the info that could make a client look bad). Another concern is how practitioners may collect and use private info about people who could influence how the public views the client. Multiple firms create dossiers on journalists who may write about their industries. Some practitioners say it's important to know what reporters cover and their coverage approach, but compiling formal dossiers is a step too far. Can be especially problematic if used to attack the messenger instead of responding to the message. Advertising Famous line from department store magnate John Wanamaker: Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted. Trouble is, I don't know which half. This may or may not be true a century later - but companies that sell online advertising would like buyers to believe that ad money is better spent when digital marketers use info they collect from and about you to better target ads to you. Advertisers and marketers use 'cookies' and other software to know where you've been on the web - sometimes personally identifiable info, and sometimes not. Can remarket you, by reminding you that you did not buy a product you looked at earlier, so those ads chase you across the internet. They use geographic info from your phone to know where you are and pitch you ads for places nearby. Make assumptions about you based upon where you live, so advertisers can decide which neighborhoods to target with ads (See the unsolicited ad mailed to author displaying Google Street's picture of author's house to peddle home insurance. Piece of junk mail with suggestions of knowing where they lived was just creepy). Personalized TV ads already appear using over-the-top devices such as Roku, and personalized ads from national networks are next. In addition to collecting data about you on their own, marketers also might learn more about you by making deals for info about you supplied by third parties. When you buy something or contribute to charity, vendor may add your name to mailing lists they sell to others. If you vote in a political party primary, party may use your voter registration info to remind you to vote and donate to their party and candidates. As many as 70% of phone apps have been found to give third parties the info gleaned about you while you used the app, although companies that make smart phones say they have been working to limit such snooping apps through improved system software. Just a few examples, there are many other ways that tech has taken some of the guesswork out of advertising while adding complex Qs about privacy. No question that such tracking will continue. Some argue giving up some privacy may be worth the benefit of better-targeted ads, not to mention the maps, email, and other tools you get for free that are paid for by ads. Much of this comes back to questions of transparency - of people knowing how their info is used - and what power they have to limit that use without having to wade through pages of legalese and layers of menus hiding in apps and online. The questions come down to legal ones in which govs limit the rights of companies to use personal info to market to you, and the ethical standards that companies will adopt that go beyond the minimum standards. Privacy law has been slow to develop, passed only after lawmakers are shocked by ethical errors of marketers. Some companies tout their ethical standards related to privacy as one of their selling points. Still, privacy concerns were part of the marketing industry's worries long before the internet. Better Business Bureau code of business practices lists 'safeguard privacy' as one of its eight standards; the bureau's privacy standard focuses on protection of consumer data, only collecting needed info, and respecting customer wishes about how their info is used.

Callback to case studies (values clashes): Case 1A - delivers a values question: Can you 'keep the money - and your self-respect?' Other values in the case study are explicit or implied: Achievement, influence, credibility, enjoyment in life, independence, creativity, honesty, loyalty, obedience (to laws and/or COE), reciprocation of favors, and transparency. *Do any of these represent your essential c... values? Where is the dynamic tension? For example, do some values speak to who you are as an individual seeking s...-e... (a... and p...) or as someone primarily concerned about o... (b... and u...)? Do some values reflect your o... to change and o..., and others your concerns about s..., c..., and t...? Which of these values seem more superficial to you? -Might be helpful to array these values systematically according to the p... you would place on each: How much are you WILLING TO GIVE UP to receive what you value most? Which are throwaways? Same can be said for the second study. You will recall your loyalty is being tested: Do you abide by the management's request to remain silent about the plant closure, or do you tell any of the numerous stakeholders? Regardless of your specific choice of loyalty, you have to consider other values in the case: a comfortable life, family security, responsibility, courage, obedience, independence, self-respect, true friendship, equality, social justice, honesty, reciprocation of favors, transparency. Cluster the values by general types and then move more specifically. Which value rises to the top of your list, and which ones are of lesser importance? How does your value selection help you make a final decision? Obviously, there is no single correct answer to these Qs, but how you rank these values is an important part of doing ethics. One more thing to consider: You probably have answered What's it worth? From your o... p... and p... perspective. Think about how values clash when you ask the Q from s... e... perspective. If you are the blogger, you may have the same basic value system as the readers of your blog, but you are likely to choose different options based on your personal values. In these and other cases, different s... will likely make different c... This does not necessarily mean that one choice is morally superior to another. Neither does it mean that values are completely situational or relative. The most important Qs is whether any given stakeholder made a r... choice based on c... a... values.

Revisiting Freedonia Consider the values clashes in the case studies. Case 1A - run www.freedonialive.com and can make more money by serving a marketing company, delivers a values question: Can you 'keep the money - and your self-respect?' Other values in the case study are explicit or implied: Achievement, influence, credibility, enjoyment in life, independence, creativity, honesty, loyalty, obedience (to laws and/or COE), reciprocation of favors, and transparency. Do any of these represent your essential core values? Where is the dynamic tension? For instance, do some values speak to who you are as an individual seeking self-enhancement (achievement and power) or as someone primarily concerned about others (benevolence and universalism)? Do some values reflect your openness to change and opportunity, and others your concern about security, conformity, and tradition? Which of the values seem more superficial than others? Might find it helpful to array these values systematically according to the priority you would place on each one: How much are you willing to give up to receive what you value the most? Which values are 'throwaways?' We can ask the same Qs about Case 1B, in which you are the PR manager of the paper plant that is soon to close. You will recall your loyalty is being tested: Do you abide by the management's request to remain silent about the plant closure, or do you tell any of the numerous stakeholders? You may have already reached a tentative conclusion about your conflicting loyalties, based on insights into COE and rules, moral development, loyalty, and diversity. Regardless of your specific choice of loyalty, you have to consider other values in the case: a comfortable life, family security, responsibility, courage, obedience, independence, self-respect, true friendship, equality, social justice, honesty, reciprocation of favors, transparency. Ask yourself the same Qs raised. Cluster the values by general types and then move more specifically. Which value rises to the top of your list, and which ones are of lesser importance? How does your value selection help you make a final decision? Obviously, there is no single correct answer to these Qs, but how you rank these values is an important part of doing ethics. Attempting to answer one of our basic 5Ws and H Q's: What's it worth? One more thing to consider: You probably have answered What's it worth? From your own personal and professional perspective. Think about how values clash when you ask the Q from someone else's perspective. If you are the blogger, you may have the same basic value system as the readers of your blog, but you are likely to choose different options based on your personal values. Likewise, different values priorities will emerge among National Paper Corporation's top management, your family, a potential buyer of one of Elizabeth's homes, a company stockholder, the plant employees, and community residents. In these and other cases, different stakeholders will likely make different choices. This does not necessarily mean that one choice is morally superior to another. Neither does it mean that values are completely situational or relative. The most important Qs is whether any given stakeholder made a rational choice based on clearly articulated values.

Semantics: How we use/misuse language Like how carpenters use hammers, saws to build homes, communicators use symbols to create messages. The word symbols leads to the word semantics (to signify/stand for). Leads us into thinking about how we all use symbols (words, images, pictures, gestures, numbers, sounds) to signify the information we deliver. Every message we send must be 'e...' into symbols and those symbols 'd...' by audiences for understanding to begin. Language has both power and shortcomings. C... u... of language may be part of growing disconnect between practitioners and audiences over matters of truth. Communicators often abuse words when seeking to state what they believe is true - or what they want others to believe is true. Such abuse can raise both moral and non-moral issues when it happens u..., and it certainly raises ethical issues when abuse is i... The field of general semantics provides some additional ideas about how to connect language and truth in ways that improve the media ethics environment. It is a field of study that assesses the unique symbolic behavior of humans by studying the relationship b/t w... and what we d... with them and they d... to us. At its heart is an argument a/g Aristotle - incorrect thinking that something either is or is not. The result has been millennia of semantically inadequate or inappropriate behaviors. General semantics pushes beyond simple matters of g... or l... s..., and encompasses the broader semantic and symbolic environment. Begins with the idea: The m... is not the t... Language is the m... that describes the t..., but it is not the t... itself. Words are not the t... they represent. Just as there are limits to what a m... can show, there are limits to what s... can show. Descriptions of sophisticated language behavior include awareness that... -> Our language isn't our r..., but is an inevitably im... a... of that r... -> Unless we are careful, our language usually reveals more about our o... b... than it does about what we are d... -> People and situations have u... c... The world is in a constant process of c...; our perceptions and language abilities are l... -> A fact isn't an in..., and an in... isn't a v... j... -> Different people perceive the world differently, and we should concede that all viewpoints are the result of im... human perceptual processes, and not as a... t... -> People and situations are rarely, if ever, t...-v... Propositions don't have to be either true/false; specified ways of behaving don't have to be either right/wrong, black/white. We better understand the world when thinking along a c... or an in...-v... orientation than an Aristotelian t...-v... orientation. General semantics lit suggests a series of patterns that typify semantically sopshisticated and unsophisticated communicators. The insights should be of value to any media that purport to be truth tellers, although fiction-based media are held to different semantic standards because they make fewer t... c... -These semantic behaviors concern not only the process of g... and p... info used to produce news, ads, PR, but also the m... p... *Also addressing the needs of consumers of media, who use media to help them make sense of the world *Consider specific semantic problems and proposed solutions. Presented in polarized form, but best understood in terms of a c...

Semantics: How we use and misuse language Just as carpenters use hammers and saws to build homes, communicators use symbols to create messages. The world symbols leads to word semantics, comes from a Greek word meaning to signify or stand for. Leads into thinking about how we all use symbols (like words, images, pictures, gestures, numbers, sounds) to signify the info we deliver. Every message we send must be 'encoded' into symbols and those symbols 'decoded' by audiences for understanding to begin. Language has both power and shortcomings. Careless use of language may be part of the growing disconnect b/t media practitioners and audiences over matters of truth. Communicators often abuse words when seeking to state what they believe is true - or what they want others to believe is true. Such abuse can raise both moral and non-moral issues when it happens unknowingly, and it certainly raises ethical issues when abuse is intentional. The field of general semantics provides some additional ideas about how to connect language and truth in ways that improve the media ethics environment. It is a field of study that assesses the unique symbolic behavior of humans by studying the relationships b/t words and what we do with them and what they do to us. At its heart is an argument a/g Aristotle's fourth century BC reasoning about logic, especially incorrect thinking that s't is either one thing or another. The result has been millennia of semantically inadequate or inappropriate behaviors. General semantics pushes beyond simple matters of grammar or language style, and encompasses the broader semantic and symbolic environment. Begins with the idea: The map is not the territory. Language is the map that describes the territory; it is not the territory itself. Words are not the things they represent. Just as there are limits to what a map can show, there are limits to what symbols can show. General semanticists' descriptions of sophisticated language behavior include awareness that... è Our language is not our reality, but is an inevitably imperfect abstraction of that reality. è Unless we are careful, our language usually reveals more about our own biases than it does about what we are describing. è People and situations have unlimited characteristics. The world is in a constant process of change; our perceptions and language abilities are limited. è A fact is not an inference, and an inference is not a value judgment. è Different people perceive the world differently, and we should concede that all viewpoints are the result of imperfect human perceptual processes, and not as absolute truths. è People and situations are rarely, if ever, two-valued. Propositions do not have to be either 'true' or 'false'; specified ways of behaving do not have to be either 'right' or 'wrong,' 'black' or 'white.' We better understand the world when thinking along a continuum or an infinite-valued orientation than an Aristotelian two-valued orientation. The general semantics lit suggests a series of patterns that typify semantically sophisticated and unsophisticated communicators. The insights should be of value to any media that purpot to be truth tellers, although fiction-based media are held to different semantic standards b/c they make fewer truth claims. These semantic 'behaviors' concern not only the process of gathering and presenting info that is used to produce news, ad, and PR, but also the media products. Also address the needs of consumers of media, who use media to help them make sense of the world. Consider these six specific semantics problems and proposed solutions. Presented in polarized form, but are best understood in terms of continuum.

Let's learn about the meaning and consequences of lying, some systematic justification models or means of deciding whether such acts are ethically defensible/not. 1) Sissela Bok's Justification Model Strong u.../c... objection to lying. Lying rips the s... f..., and liars underestimate the harm and overestimate the good caused by their lies. Liars caught lose credibility and trust. To avoid detection, more lies may need to be told. When victims of lies learn they have been deceived, naturally feel betrayed. Even when deceptions are minor, s... f... is torn. -We should accept the p... of v...: While not c... all lies, holds that a n... w... should be attached to every lie. Liars bear b... of p... that the lie is necessary as a l... r... Acceptable alternatives to lying that accomplish same end are to be sought and if discovered chosen. Several major points about lying that mass communicators should consider when tempted to use ruses, deception, lies. -> The practice of lying comes dressed in many varieties of s... c..., and lies are excused supposedly because they avoid h..., produce b..., assure f..., and even foster a faith in t... But beware of easily invoking these excuses, most of which will not withstand critical examination. -> Liars/deceivers tend to overestimate the f... pushing them to lie. Moreover, the need to lie often expands beyond scope of lying originally intended. -> Crises in some professions are frequent: Therefore, doctors, lawyers, police, journalists, soldiers constantly face ethical dilemmas. Yet there is in fact rarely a clear pro... sta... or op... dis... of the unspoken s... in professional organizations. Three step justification model for anyone to use when tempted to lie. Series of decision points, where our answers to each ? branch logically to the next query. 1. First, are there a... a... that will resolve difficulty (dilemma) w/o the use of a lie? If not, move to the second ?. 2. Second, what might be the m... r... brought forward to excuse the lie, and what reasons can be raised as c...? If the reasons to lie seem better than reasons not to, then move to third ?. 3. Third, as a test of these two steps, what would a p... of r... p... say about such lies? -Most lies will ... to satisfy these questions of justifications. With the first, we see if we should pursue other a... o... beyond lying. -If we're stymied and conclude deception is necessary, move to second ? and imagine a d... among m... p... -If there are moral reasons to excuse the lie, we should be willing to make them p... Her test of p... is a request for t..., like How's your decision going to look? in our justification model. Argued that p... is a moral principle, and that justifications must be capable of being p... stated and defended. She further argued that this p... should be directed to r... p..., so the test is made outside the narrow and selfish view of the potential liar. The question is, Which lies, if any, would survive the appeal for justification to r... p...? The r... p... would include people who are likely to be lied to. How will our decision look when it goes global, instantaneously, on FB or other SM? Although many people create false identities, use anonymity, and actually get away with lying on SM, do reasonable persons feel ripped off by the practice? Will the decision to deceive withstand scrutiny by objective judges, the court of public opinion, and the 'cleansing light of publicity?'

Sissela Bok's Justification Model Bok's book Lying, offered a strong utilitarian/consequentialist objection to lying. Claimed that lying rips the social fabric, and that liars usually underestimate the harm and overestimate the good caused by their lies. Liars caught lose credibility and trust. To avoid detection, more lies may have to be told. When victims of lies learn they have been deceived, they naturally feel betrayed. Even when deceptions are minor, social fabric is torn. Bok concluded that we should accept the principle of veracity: While not condemning all lies, holds that a negative weight should be attached to every lie. At the very outset, the liars bear a burden of proof that the lie is necessary as a last resort. Acceptable alternatives to lying that accomplish the same end are to be sought and, if discovered, chosen. Bok made several major points about lying that mass communicators should consider when tempted to use ruses, deception, lies. è The practice of lying comes dressed in many varieties of sheep's clothing, and lies are excused supposedly b/c they avoid harm, produce benefit, assure fairness, and even foster a faith in truthfulness. But beware of easily invoking these excuses, most of which will not withstand critical exam. è Liars and deceivers tend to overestimate the forces pushing them to lie. Moreover, the need to lie often expands beyond scope of lying originally intended. è Crises in some professions are frequent; therefore, doctors, lawyers, j, police, soldiers constantly face ethical dilemmas. Yet, there is in fact rarely a clear professional standard or open discussion of the unspoken standards in professional organizations. Three-step justification model for anyone to use when tempted to lie. She presents a series of decision points, where our answers to each Q branch logically to the next query (like all good justification models) è First, are there alternative actions that will resolve difficulty (dilemma) w/o the use of a lie? If not, move to the second Q. è Second, what might be the moral reasons brought forward to excuse the lie, and what reasons can be raised as counter-arguments? If the reasons to lie seem better than reasons not to, then move to third Q. è Third, as a test of these two steps, what would a public of reasonable persons say about such lies? Most lies will clearly fail to satisfy these Qs of justification. With the first, we see we should pursue other available options beyond lying. If we're stymied and conclude deception is necessary, move to second Q and imagine a debate among moral philosophers. If there are moral reasons to excuse the lie, we should be willing to make them public. Her test of publicity is a request for transparency, like How's your decision going to look? in our justification model. Argued that publicity is a moral principle, and that justifications must be capable of being publicly stated and defended. She further argued that this publicity should be directed to reasonable people, so the test is made outside the narrow and selfish view of the potential liar. The question is, Which lies, if any, would survive the appeal for justification to reasonable persons? The reasonable persons would include people who are likely to be lied to. How will our decision look when it goes global, instantaneously, on FB or other SM? Although many people create false identities, use anonymity, and actually get away with lying on SM, do reasonable persons feel ripped off by the practice? Will the decision to deceive withstand scrutiny by objective judges, the court of public opinion, and the 'cleansing light of publicity?'

Some Definitions of Propaganda Many terms have described it as org... pe..., ma..., li..., de..., mi... co..., br..., sp..., n... ma..., in...-m..., in...-g..., tr..., al... fa..., fa... ne..., PR, a... *Some take a relatively o... stance and others a j... stance when appraising propaganda, defining it as... a) Art of influencing, manipulating, controlling, promoting, changing, inducing, or securing the acceptance of o..., at..., ac..., or b... b) Any word/deed, short of p... f..., designed to make others think/act in the way the im... wants them to c) Del... and s... attempt to shape perceptions, manipulate cognitions, and direct behavior to achieve a response that furthers d... in... of the p'dist d) F... or m... info or ideas addressed to a mass audience by parties who thereby gain advantage. Created and disseminated s... and doesn't invite c... a... of response. Some see as Machiavellian m... of sy... by powerful and deceitful, unethical political groups. Others see as in... in any tech-driven culture. Some see as inherently evil/immoral, others morally neutral. Often use term loosely to cast aspersions on ideas put out by anyone whose motives we s... (America had the US In... A...; our ideological enemies have propaganda agencies. Our l...'educate' p...; their lobbyists tell half-truths and buy off p...) Propaganda and Modern Society Jacques Ellul revised world's definition of propaganda and how it works. Defined it not necessarily as something a political party/religion/someome pu... creates to m... the hel... ma..., but as something in... in a democratic or technological society. Called it a s... phenomenon, built into/carried out by mass media. *Called it in... in a democratic society, meaning it makes society work! Bernays said same thing - it can 'fight for p... ends and help bring o... out of c...' See it in nearly all institutions that create systems of society (economics, social environment, political theories, values). Ellul described two broad categories of propaganda 1) A... p..., or p... p..., typified by r... movements, efforts to make m... s... in public opinion, frequently accompanied by f... and c... over the channels of communication so those channels speak as o... a... voice. 2) In... p..., or s... p..., more typical of p...-r... societies that try to s... public opinion through v... instruments of mass communication. Modern society holds itself together as it creates and maintains public opinion. When he says it is everywhere, he means in... p... in an established society. Argue modern people need this to live in a technological society, where the problem of too much info is solved by using media to help us decide what v... and id... are important. As a result, m... m... - whether n... or persuasion - can become forms of it. *MacDonald, "Mass man is e... and c... through propaganda. His c... v... are filtered through school boards, party committees, state legislatures, courts of law, and other forums intending to p... orthodoxy. The communications media through which daily he is informed fr... the world to c... the historic national understanding that he has learned. Little he usually hears, sees, or reads, has not been prepared by experts committed to the system and familiar with its language." Ellul argues people most vulnerable to it are in... - greatest need to know, to have opinions, to be able to influence others - who are too busy to e... life firsthand and therefore rely on m... info. Our hunger for truth, half-truth, limited truth, and truth out of context gives rise to propaganda machines (mass media) that fulfill our a... to k..., to be informed/entertained/persuaded, often to reinforce our beliefs. If we agree with Ellul, one of the greatest problems of modern propaganda is it panders to c... minds and concerns that occur when the public don't realize it is being m...

Some Definitions of Propaganda Many terms have been used to describe p: organized persuasion, manipulation, lies, deceit, mind control, brainwashing, spin, news management, info-mercials, info-ganda, truthiness, alternative facts, fake news, PR, and advertising (Yes, even PR and ad business have fallen under the propaganda umbrella). Some take a relatively objective stance and others an extremely judgmental stance when appraising propaganda, defining it as: è Art of influencing, manipulating, controlling, promoting, changing, inducing, or securing the acceptance of opinions, attitudes, action, or behavior è Any word/deed, short of the use of physical force, designed to make others think/act in the way the imitator wants them to è Deliberate and systematic attempt to shape perceptions, manipulate cognitions, and direct behavior to achieve a response that furthers the desired intent of the propagandist è False or misleading info or ideas addressed to a mass audience by parties who thereby gain advantage. P is created and disseminated systematically and d/n invite critical analysis of response Some see p as Machiavellian manipulation of symbols by powerful and deceitful and unethical political groups. Others see it as inevitable in any technologically driven culture. Some see p as inherently evil or immoral. Others see as morally neutral. Often use the term loosely to cast aspersions on ideas put out by anyone whose motives we suspect. (America had the US Information Agency; our ideological enemies have propaganda agencies. Our lobbyists 'educate' politicians; their lobbyists tell half-truths and buy off politicians.) Propaganda and Modern Society Jacques Ellul, Propaganda: The Formation of Men's Attitudes, translated to English in 65, revised world's definition of p and how it works. He defined it not necessarily as s't a political party or religion or someone purposively creates to manipulate the helpless masses, but as s't inevitable in a democratic or technological society. Called it a sociological phenomenon, built into and carried out through the mass media. Ellul called p inevitable in a democratic society, meaning that p makes society work. PR founder Bernays said same thing earlier - that p can 'fight for productive ends and help bring order out of chaos.' We see it in nearly all institutions that create our systems of society - economics, social environment, political theories, and values. Ellul described two broad categories of p: 1) Agitation propaganda, or political propaganda, which is typified by revolutionary movements, efforts to make massive shifts in public opinion, frequently accompanied by force and control over the channels of communication so those channels speak as one authoritarian voice. 2) Integration propaganda, or sociological propaganda, which is more typical of post-revolutionary societies that try to stabilize public opinion through various instruments of mass communication. Through integration p, modern society holds itself together as it creates and maintains public opinion. When Ellul says p is everywhere, he's describing integration p in an established society. He and scholars argue modern people need p to live in a technological society, where the problem of too much info in this confusing world is solved by using media to help us decide what values and ideas are important. But as a result, media messages - whether news or persuasion - can become forms of p. MacDonald, called PR a modern fine art that is key in the political process, wrote in Propaganda: A Pluralistic Perspective: "Mass man is educated and controlled through p. His civic values are filtered through school boards, party committees, state legislatures, courts of law, and other forums intending to preserve orthodoxy. The communications media through which daily he is informed - whether via formal news b-casts or through the many formats of popular entertainment - frame the world to complement the historic national understanding that he has learned. Little he usually hears, sees, or reads, has not been prepared by experts committed to the system and familiar with its language." Surprisingly, Ellul argues the people most vulnerable to p are intellectuals - people with greatest need to know, to have opinions, to be able to influence others - the very people too busy to experience life firsthand and therefore those most reliant upon mediated info. Given E's argument, it would appear our hunger for truth, half-truth, limited truth, and truth out of context gives rise to p machines (mass media) that fulfill our appetites to know, to be informed, to be entertained, to be persuaded, and often to reinforce our beliefs. If we agree with E, we recognize one of the greatest problems of modern p is that it panders to closed minds, and the concerns that occur when the public d/n realize it is being manipulated.

Tentative Conclusions on Persuasion Seek truth and report it requirement for ethical journalism is in m... t... with the need to minimize harm. Also see how being independent j... with being accountable/transparent. Can draw similar models for moral decision making in world of A/PR, persuasion. *Recognizing the particular moral roles of advocates and persuaders, conclude persuaders are obligated to... a) Communicate ... b) Minimize ... c) Be l... d) Be a... As was the case with journalism, truth-telling mandate (even if it entails ... truth telling) is in d... t... with the need to minimize harm to vulnerable populations. Also need to act out of p... (and g...) loyalties is in d... t... with need to be accountable and transparent. *Truth claims made by advocates admittedly selective, but shouldn't cause unnecessary harm. Perauders' loyalty is initially to their c..., with the expectation that clients are interested in the w... of a.../c... When messengers recognize their c... may cause undue harm to vulnerable populations, professional's loyalties should shift to the public! Entire process should be relatively t..., but not to the point that t... needlessly stifles business (Paid advocates shouldn't disclose their clients' trade secrets, but they should acknowledge they are accountable to the public, professional peers, regulatory agencies for their messages). *Principles aren't absolute but should serve as guideposts when making good choices. Often collide with one another. Models depicted encourage persuaders to avoid e.../o... p... of ethical decision making. Instead present four guiding principles on a set of horizontal and vertical axes, related to ... t... vs. .... and i... vs .../...

Some Tentative Conclusions on Persuasion Seek truth and report it requirement for ethical journalism is in moral tension with the need to minimize harm. Also showed how be independent juxtaposes with be accountable and transparent. We can draw somewhat similar models for moral decision making in the worlds of advertising, PR, and other arenas of persuasion. Recognizing the particular moral roles of advocates and persuaders, we can conclude that persuaders are obligated to communicate truth, minimize harm, be loyal, and be accountable. As was case with j, truth-telling mandate (even if entails selective truth telling) is in dynamic tension with need to minimize harm to vulnerable populations. Also need to act out of particular (as well as general) loyalties is in dynamic tension with need to be accountable and transparent. Truth claims made by advocates admittedly selective, but s/n cause unnecessary harm. Persuaders' loyalty is initially to their clients, with the expectation that clients are interested in the welfare of audiences and consumers. When messengers recognize their clients may cause undue harm to vulnerable populations, professional p's loyalties should shift to the public. Entire process should be relatively transparent, but not to the point that transparency needlessly stifles business. Paid advocates s/n disclose their clients' trade secrets, but they should acknowledge they are accountable to the public, professional peers, and regulatory agencies for their messages. Principles a/n absolute, but should serve as guideposts when making good choices. Often collide with one another. Resolving conflicts require some use of moral philosophy. Models depicted encourage persuaders to avoid the either/or polarization of ethical decision making. Instead present four guiding principles on a set of horizontal and vertical axes, related to truth telling vs. harm, and independence vs. accountability/transparency

Some Theories of Truth There's an old joke about baseball umpires that provides some insight into different theories of truth: Three umpires are arguing. The first says, Some are balls and some are sticks, and I call 'em as they are (C... theory). Second says, Some are balls and some are strikes, and I call 'em as I see 'em (C... theory). Third says, Some are balls and some are strikes, but they ain't nothing until I call 'em (P... theory). Easy to dispense with discussions of truth by uttering a line somewhere along this continuum: (a) Truth is a... and based on r... There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it. (b) Truth is rev... (c) Truth is based on har... fa..., and it emerges from s... i... (d) Truth mirrors r... (e) There's C... T-Truth and s...-t truth (f) There is no such thing as C...-T Truth (g) Truth is a matter of c... (h) Truth is what we're not f... about at the moment (i) Truth is in the e... of the b... (j) Truth is what I s... it is (k) There's truth, and there's t... (l) There's no such thing as truth. Period. Each of these lines has some philosophic and historical basis. Good people, attempting to make sense of world, has developed wide range of perspectives on the nature of truth. Some perspectives say truth is about e...; truth is m...; truth is based on either r... or idealism; truth is either d... or revealed; and truth emerges from either s... na... or s... r... Three of these perspectives highly pertinent to media ethics environment are the C.... THEORIES, C... THEORIES AND P... THEORIES.

Some Theories of Truth An old joke about baseball umps provides some insight into different theories of truth: Three umps are arguing. The first ump says, Some are balls and some are strikes, and I call 'em as they are. [Correspondence] The second says, Some are balls and some are strikes, and I call 'em as I see 'em. [Coherence] The third says, Some are balls and some are strikes, but they ain't nothing until I call 'em. [Pragmatic] Easy to dispense with discussions of truth by uttering a line somewhere along this continuum: (a) Truth is absolute and based on reality. There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it. (b) Truth is revealed (c) Truth is based on hard facts, and it emerges from scientific inquiry (d) Truth mirrors reality (e) There's Capital T-Truth and small-t truth (f) There is no such thing as Capital-T Truth (g) Truth is a matter of context (h) Truth is what we're not fighting about at the moment (i) Truth is in the eye of the beholder (j) Truth is what I say it is (k) There's truth, and there's truthiness (l) There's no such thing as truth. Period. Each of these lines has some philosophic and historical basis. Good people, attempting to make sense of the world, has developed a wide range of perspectives about nature of truth. Some perspectives say truth is aboutepistemology; truth is moral; truth is based on either realism or idealism; truth is either discovered or revealed; and truth emerges from either scientific naturalism or subjective reality.Three of those perspectives highly pertinent to the media ethics environment are the CORRESPONDENCE THEORIES, COHERENCE THEORIES, AND PRAGMATIC THEORIES.

All the values described represent two basic conceptions: The d... (what people OUGHT to do) and d... (what people WANT to do). Values serve as guides for survival, for 'goodness,' and to the best possible living. -Represent basic human survival requirements: biologically based needs, interpersonal social needs, and group/institutional needs... Values clash and they change. Different individuals, members of professional/cultural groups/communities, and acting from different dilemmas lead to VALUES CLASHES. And as we undergo life changes, our concept of 'b... p... l...' also changes. As our e... evolve within the media ethics environment (whether working for or consuming media) so too do our values. *We seek c... in our values, try to meld personal/social values and make them c... to one another. -These reconciliations may be i.../relatively p... or they may be p.../somewhat p... - especially when our profession or peer groups/colleagues display values that strongly c... with our own. *Reconciling the personal and social may be a life's work but it cannot begin until we articulate our own v... s... and v... p... A relevant question to ask when dealing with values disconnects: How do we bridge the values gaps? -A glib answer would be to try to be sensitive to the fact that while we differ significantly on how we prioritize individual values, we nevertheless have the s... values somewhere on our r... s... Gives us some talking points. *Environmentalists and people in position to harm nature example *People preparing for career in media would do well to recognize their personal and institutional values may not jibe fully with that of their s, s, c, a. There are ways to bridge gaps! *Investigative journalist and reluctant source example At this point, we can make some preliminary value judgments about values in media ethics and of media ethicists... 1) Media ethicists and media reformers are generally motivated by a value system centered on s... c.../u.../b... They value specifically s... r..., attention to the in... we... of stakeholders, ho..., o-m..., and l... UNLIKELY to place a premium on values that reflect in.../eg.../self-en... Very little promotion of the need for individual practitioners to be 'at the top of the heap' (so... po..., au..., we...) or to live a h... life (It's all about me, su..., am..., in..., pl..., en... of life) 2) Media ethicists and critics are also far more likely to have values systems that focus on o... and o... to change (thinking o... the b..., f..., i..., cu..., cr...) than an organizational and personal se... (holding fast to t..., c..., o...)

Summary All the values described by scientists and philosophers represent two basic conceptions: the desirable(what people ought to do) and desired (what people want to do). These values therefore serve as guides for survival, guides for 'goodness,' and guides to the best possible living. They represent basic human survival requirements: biologically based needs, interpersonal social needs, and group/institutional needs. Value clashes, and value changes, are to be expected. Different individuals, different members of professional or cultural groups or communities, and different dilemmas lead to values clashes. And as we undergo life changes, our concept of 'best possible living' changes. As our experiences evolve within the media ethics environment (whether working for or consuming media) so too do our values. We seek consistency in our values, and we try to meld our personal/social values and make them conform to one another. Those reconciliations may be instantaneous and relatively painless, or ponderous and somewhat painful - especially when our profession or peer groups and colleagues display values that strongly conflict with our own. Reconciling the personal and social may be a life's work but it cannot begin until we have articulated our own value system and values priorities. Otherwise, it becomes a vague, abstract, and uncomfortable sense that something is amiss. Cannot 'fix' it until we 'understand' it. A relevant Q to ask when dealing with values disconnects is: How do we bridge the values gaps? A glib [fluent but insincere/shallow] answer would be to try to be sensitive to the fact that while we differ significantly on how we prioritize individual values, we nevertheless have all the same values somewhere on our radar screens. That should give us some talking points. For instance, to improve communication between environmentalists and people in a position to harm nature, both parties must seek commonality and talk about what they both value, such as being responsible, or loving, or self-controlled. People preparing for career in media would do well to recognize that their personal and institutional values may not jibe fully with those of their sources, subjects, clients, or audiences. Nevertheless, there are ways to bridge values gaps. Consider the investigative journalist who values honesty, responsibility, and being broadminded, ambitious, and independent. She may find herself sparring with a reluctant source who places a higher value on obedience, politeness, and self-control ... but who also values honesty and responsibility. They might connect by defining their overlapping needs for honesty and responsibility rather than by shoving the other values in one another's faces. Or consider advertising practitioners who value truth but run up against the need to find a unique selling proposition to differentiate their products from others, even though their product is a commodity (like a can of corn) that is essentially no different from the others on the market. At this point, it is tempting to make some preliminary value judgments about values in media ethics, and values of media ethicists. è Media ethicists and media reformers are generally motivated by a value system centered on social context/universalism/benevolence. Specifically, they value social responsibility, attention to the interdependent web of stakeholders, honesty, open-mindedness, and loyalty. While holding and advocating these values, media ethicists are UNLIKELY to place a premium on values that reflect individualism/egoism/self-enhancement. There is very little promotion of the need for individual practitioners to be 'at the top of the heap' (social power, authority, wealth) or to live a hedonistic life ('It's all about me,' success, ambition, influence, pleasure, enjoyment of life) è Media ethicists and critics are also far more likely to have value systems that focus on opportunity and openness to change (thinking outside the box, freedom, independence, curiosity, creativity) than on organizational and personal security (holding fast to tradition, conformity, obedience).

Final words on privacy Array of concepts related to importance of privacy. Among them are the many in-p... t... ways privacy can be invaded: biometrics, behavioral profiling, body imaging, brain scans, domestic surveillance, cookies, smartphones, cloud computing, digital libraries, identity theft, reality-based entertainment, crime victims, medical records, citizen journalism, voluntary and involuntary public figures, personal space, autonomy. *Many of these concepts assist m..., j..., g... a... in their quest for info about c...-c... and those who may threaten s... s... Same concepts trouble civil libertarians who see incremental encroachments into personal space and moral autonomy. Media constantly seek to inform, entertain, persuade in the midst of it all. Privacy should be defined more than just our right to b... l... a...: To survive - let alone flourish - in contemporary society, have v... re... that right. *Give up any claims to a... privacy when we use post office/street address, Social Security card, driver's license, student ID, library card, credit card, or when we go online. Meanwhile, we have implicitly permitted others to p... us when we shop or stroll down the street or sit in the park, or board a commercial plane, or enter many governmental and private offices. Contemporary society chops away at our presumed right to b... l... a... Most media orgs have tacitly recognized the difficulty of making sweeping generalizations about p, preferring instead to couch it as one of many p... f... (at first glance) v... that must be b... a/g other c... claims. Not surprisingly journalists and photographers have had the most to say about privacy in their ethics codes, but other media take note of the need for r..., d..., m... h..., f..., and c... - all, to some extent, synonyms for privacy. When ethicists ask, What's it worth?, the topic is often privacy. Long been the bone of contention in the media ethics environment, we see no signs of its disappearance. Behooves all of us, whether a media practitioner or consumer, to think carefully about what info we provide to others about ourselves, and how we decide to use the info we receive about others.

Summary Array of concepts related to the importance of privacy. Among them are the many in-personal technological ways privacy can be invaded: biometrics, behavioral profiling, body imaging, brain scans, domestic surveillance, cookies, smartphones, cloud computing, digital libraries, identity theft, reality-based entertainment, crime victims, medical records, citizen journalism, voluntary and involuntary public figures, personal space, autonomy. Many of these concepts assist marketers, journalists, gov agencies in their ever-expanding quest for info about citizen-consumers and those who may threaten social stability. Same concepts trouble civil libertarians who see incremental encroachments into personal space and moral autonomy. Midst of it all, are media that constantly seek to inform, entertain, persuade. Privacy should be defined as more than just our right to be left alone. To survive - let alone flourish - in contemporary society, have voluntarily relinquished that right. Give up any claims to absolute privacy when we use a post office or street address, Social Security card, driver's license, student ID, library card, credit card, or ATM card, or when we go online. Meanwhile, we have implicitly permitted others to photograph us when we shop or stroll down the street or sit in the park, or board a commercial plane, or enter many governmental and private offices. List goes on, point is contemporary society chops away at our presumed right to be let alone. Philosophers have talked about the public and private 'spheres' of life, natural rights, liberty, prosperity, individuality, intimacy, secrecy, and human dignity for a long time. Some describe privacy in broader terms, such as the extent to which any of us is given the social and legal space to develop the emotional, cognitive, spiritual, and moral powers we need in order to be autonomous agents. Encroachment upon individual moral autonomy continues to highlight today's arguments about the value of privacy. Most media orgs have tacitly recognized the difficulty of making sweeping generalizations about p, preferring instead to couch it as one of many prima facie (at first glance) values that must be balanced a/g other competing claims. Not surprisingly journalists and photographers have had the most to say about privacy in their ethics codes, but other media take note of the need for respect, dignity, minimizing harm, fairness, and confidentiality - all, to some extent, synonyms for privacy. When ethicists ask, What's it worth?, the topic is often privacy. Long been the bone of contention in the media ethics environment, we see no signs of its disappearance. Behooves all of us, whether a media practitioner or consumer, to think carefully about what info we provide to others about ourselves, and how we decide to use the info we receive about others.

Truth Telling vs. Harm Lower Left - Low TT, Low effort to minimize harm: Bad persuasion is when practitioners do an inadequate job of truth telling that puts vulnerable populations at risk for n... j... r... *Telling l... and h... p... is morally un..., even in an open marketplace of ideas. Lower Right - High TT, Low effort to minimize harm: Somewhat better persuasion might occur when some harm occurs as a result of communicating v... im... t... People may feel harmed if they are taken out of their c... z... when forced to confront persuasive messages that run counter to their b... b..., even if those messages are for a g... c... *Warning us about c... c... may cause discomfort about our carbon footprint; anti-s... commercials may create dissonance if we use t...; showing us photos of o... s.../e... victims may stir our repressed generosity. *Beyond bringing up discomfort, some t... persuasion may cause us to make major life-changing choices, actual pain. Upper Left - Low TT, High effort to minimize harm: Likewise, somewhat defensible to use messages that aren't totally true if they cause no harm. Little harm comes from creative commercials that portray the p... im... (ducks and geckos selling insurance, cars flying). Upper Right - High TT, High effort to minimize harm: Ethical and excellent persuasion maximizes the amount of truth and make the greatest effort to minimize harm. Im... truths told, no one is harmed. Independence vs. Accountability/Transparency Ethical persuaders also must balanace m... t... of how to be l... and how to be a... Lower Left - Low accountability, loyalty: Bad persuasion occurs when the persuader remains t... (not certain/fixed) or e... (convenient/practical) loyal to a client who refuses to be transparent or accountable for the persuasive campaign. Loyalty is m... if the persuader remains loyal to clients whose s...-in... overrides any sense of s... r... and continues to persuade just because the job p... w... Dubious loyalty is compounded by unwillingness to be t.../a... *A PR person should exit any relationship with a client whose business is based exclusively on the p... m... and refuses to respond to calls for op... Lower Right - Low accountability, High loyalty: Somewhat, slightly better persuasion would exist when persuasion practitioners have an in... but n... loyalty to clients/businesses that refuse to be held a... *Might occur when practitioners work for s...-in... clients who are so c... of their ideas/products they see little need for o... or f...; campaigns would be arrogantly asy... Upper Left - High accountability, Low loyalty: Likewise, it would only marginally be justifiable for practitioners to have e... (not certain, convenient, practical) loyalty for clients/businesses that try to be transparent or accountable. *Problem is that persuaders have more loyalty to the client/business than to the p... or any other s... - a mindset that doesn't bode well for the persuader's future work product. Effort may be transparent, but persuader is not committed to the g... g... Upper Right - High accountability, High loyalty: Ideal is to loyally serve clients or businesses that are g... transparent, accountable, committed to serving p... in... In these cases, persuaders are displaying d... l...: Clients and all other stakeholders. All parties hold one another accountable for the g... g... As with most models, depictions of ethical persuasion has limitations. Sometimes truth-telling and loyalty are in tension or minimizing harm and transparency are tested. A more comprehensive model would be 8x8, 3D depiction of dynamic tensions. The principled persuader would tell truth while minimizing harm, and be accountable and transparent while knowing when the public deserves more loyalty than the client. Summary What's it worth? addresses the question of values. Another attempt to answer a question about what society values, how our media create and reflect those values. Values must be balanced against each other. Society values persuasion - system providing individuals and institutions a forum that permits them to in... one another. One ethicist has concluded that professional persuaders need 'elbow room to work their persuasive magic in the competitive environment fostered by a free enterprise, entrepreneurial society' Thoughtful media critics are almost universally concerned about audiences who are targets of persuaders/advertisers/propagandists. Critics generally fall into one of two camps: (a) Advocates morality b/c v... a... need to be p..., (b) Advocates morality that 'e... a... as morally culpable p... in the process,' who should develop the analytical skills that would help them content with the myriad of conflicting messages they encounter.

Truth Telling vs. Harm 'Bad' persuasion occurs when practitioners do an inadequate job of truth telling that puts vulnerable populations at risk for no justifiable reason. Telling lies and hurting people is morally unjustifiable, even in an open m-place of ideas (Low truth telling/Low effort to minimize harm - the lower left quadrant on the horizontal and vertical axes) Somewhat 'better' persuasion might occur when some harm occurs as a result of communicating very important truths (High TT/low effort to minimize harm - lower-right). People may feel harmed if they are taken out of their comfort zones when forced to confront persuasive messages that run counter to their basic beliefs, even if those messages are for a good cause. Warning us about climate change may cause discomfort about our carbon footprints, anti-smoking commercials may create dissonance if we use tobacco, showing us photos of oil spills and e-quake victims may stir our repressed generosity. Beyond bringing on discomfort, some truthful persuasion may cause us to make major life-changing choices - actual pain. Likewise, it may be somewhat defensible to use messages that aren't totally true if they cause no harm (Low TT/high effort to minimize harm, upper left). Little harm comes from creative commercials that portray the physically impossible. In the real world, ducks and geckos don't sell insurance, and cars don't fly. Ethical and excellent persuasion maximizes the amount of truth and makes the greatest effort to minimize harm (High truth/High effort to minimize harm - upper right). Important truths are told, and no one is harmed. Independence vs. Accountability/Transparency Ethical persuaders must also balance the moral tension of how to be loyal and how to be accountable. 'Bad' persuasion occurs when the persuader remains tentatively (not certain or fixed) and expediently (convenient or practical) loyal to a client who refuses to be transparent or accountable for the persuasive campaign (Low loyalty/Low accountability, lower left). Loyalty is misplaced if the persuader remains loyal to clients whose self-interest overrides any sense of social responsibility and continues to persuade just b/c the job pays well. This dubious loyalty is compounded by unwillingness to be transparent or accountable. A PR person should exit any relationship with a client whose business is based exclusively on the profit motive and who refuses to respond to calls for openness. Somewhat, slightly 'better' persuasion would exist when persuasion practitioners have an intense but narrow loyalty to clients or businesses that refuse to be held accountable (Low accountability/High loyalty, lower right). This might occur when practitioners work for self-interested clients who are so certain of their ideas or products they see little need for openness or feedback; campaigns would be arrogantly asymmetrical. Likewise, it would only marginally be justifiable for practitioners to have expedient (not certain, convenient, practical) loyalty for clients or businesses that try to be transparent or accountable (High accountability/low loyalty, upper left). Problem is that the persuaders have more loyalty to the client/business than to the public or any other s-holders - a mindset that d/n bode well for the persuader's future work products. The effort may be transparent, but the persuader is not really committed to the greater good. The ideal is to loyally serve clients or businesses that are genuinely transparent, accountable, and committed to serving public interest (High accountability/high loyalty, upper right). In these cases, persuaders are displaying dual loyalties: to the clients and all other s-holders. All parties hold one another accountable for the greater good. As with most models, these depictions of ethical persuasion have limitations. Sometimes T-telling and loyalty are in tension, other times minimizing harm and transparency are tested. A more comprehensive model would be an 8x8, 3D depiction of the dynamic tensions in this complicated media ethics environment. The principled persuader would tell truth while minimizing harm, and be accountable and transparent while knowing when the public deserves more loyalty than the client. Summary What's it worth? Addressing question of values. Another attempt to answer a ? about what society values, how our media create/reflect those values. Society finds many things like truth telling and respect for privacy to be valuable. In most cases, these and other values must be balanced a/g one another. Society also values persuasion - system providing individuals and institutions a forum that permits them to influence one another. Outlined two perspectives on persuasion. Regardless of the needle on the continuum, have every right to ask our persuaders to abide by fundamental principles of morality. Whether they operate in unregulated market or one tightly controlled, should take care when they make truth claims and recognize how their power can hurt weaker parties. Idealistic as well as crassly pragmatic reasons, should choose truth over f-hood, care/harm, compassion/indifference. Whether from self-interest to highest level of moral dvlpmt, should use talents and treasures to support and improve institutions valuable in a community or culture. One ethicist has concluded that professional persuaders need 'elbow room to work their persuasive magic in the competitive environment fostered by a free enterprise, entrepreneurial society' Thoughtful media critics are almost universally concerned about audiences who are targets of persuaders/advertisers/propagandists. Critics generally fall into one of two camps: (a) Advocates morality b/c vulnerable audiences need to be protected, (b) Advocates morality that 'enlists audiences as morally culpable participants in the process,' who should develop the analytical skills that would help them content with the myriad of conflicting messages they encounter.

Truth is the coin of the realm in any ethical endeavor. This matter is not settled despite how media practitioners by/large advocate truth telling. Truth is often e... Each of us must decide how to seek a truth, how to tell it, when to balance truth telling a/g other compelling values, when being a selective t-teller may be appropriate, and rare times when it may be ethically justifiable to deceive for the greater good. The world becomes even more unsettling when we realize... - We may be living in a 'p...-t...' e... An expression of concern by those who feel the concept of truth is being under attack. - Inundated by what political spokespeople call 'a... f...' to defend lies/exaggerations. This is next door to 't...' a society where feelings matter more than facts. - Seeing declines in t... m... (advertising moved elsewhere, new competition emerged). News organizations provide a c... on the c... made by politicians/others who would twist truth for their benefit. Number of front-line reporters down, space for news declines, term 'f... n...' made popular by politicians to pollute the environment by seeking to u... news orgs who do not follow the politicians' party. - More likely to consume info that supports o... w... Info comes through a biased prism that comports to a...-h... b...; media orgs make more money by echoing news/opinion we w... to h... than c... us with info that d/t comport with our beliefs. - Spun by s... m..., where falsehoods fly faster than facts and companies make money regardless of the veracity of what the user posts. (2018 study: Took an accurate statement 6x longer to make rounds than a falsehood). Algorithms that determine what you see on feeds rarely checked for truth, unable to separate it from lies. - More easily f... than ever by words/images. Term 'd...' in late 2010s (higher-tech form of photomanipulation but with similar legal/ethical implications) Despite ?s on it is important to understand what 'truth' really means and why it ties into everything discussed. A lie - or untruth - limits hearer's f... to make the b... p... d... A lie almost always serves the d..., not the h..., by creating a p... i... -The liar rips r..., because the liar decided that the hearer is less than deserving of the truth. Even an untruth without malice can lead to a loss of t... On one hand it seems easy to distinguish truth from false: All humans are mortal is demonstrably true; Pigs cannot fly, anyone who tells you is untruthful. We didn't say a l... this is because not every untruth reaches the level of a l... The i... of the speaker of an untruth matters. -One definition of a l... is any communication, spoken/not, designed to i... m... others when they expect honest communication. On the other hand, not always so simple to find definitions of truth and understand justifications for not telling it: How can we fully know a communicator's i... and e... - or what is meant by 'honest' in every situation? Defining truth may be more complicated. -May be as concrete as the law of gravity, or as e... as the notion that 'truth' is what we aren't arguing about at the moment. A truth about a p... t... like the number of hooves on a pig is different from a truth about an a... like goodness, rightness of a philosophy. S... m... makes it even more e... Truth as Consensus Rorty: Truth may be defined as what we aren't arguing about at the moment. -Implications for three theories of truth, especially for info disseminated by mass communicators. Shirky: Relationship between truth and i... s... -> If few voices can speak, the public is more likely to agree with those voices b/c competing versions are not heard. When three networks delivered the same content with objectivity in the pre-Internet days, Americans may have disagreed about what facts meant but generally agreed upon the basic facts (may be correspondence or pragmatic theories of truth). -> If you disagreed with what a n-caster said, could yell at the screen and no one else could hear you. Those days are over. Everyone can argue over facts or their meaning, yell for the world to hear. -> Now, there are good and bad actors. Alters our idea of whose opinion is relevant and where c... actually lies. -> We are living in a p...-f... w... (coherence theory) where ethics can't be backed by f... by the few conventional news orgs that check themselves and follow similar norms. *Isn't necessarily a bad thing: Having more voices in m-place is GOOD (many voices went u... when a... a... was limited) *What matters for j'lists is to worry less about c... and more on publicly sorting the r... from the i... a... Perplexing Truth-Telling Issues in Media Three purposes of mass media (i, p, e) - in some ways based upon the notion of t-telling. Generally expect news orgs and other informers to tell the truth as best they can. Expect persuaders to tell t... truth with understanding they may not always provide larger c... that informers should and rarely make arguments that could bolster c... Expect entertainers to sometimes tell a truth - veer from o... r... when producing f... and for storytelling reasons to add or take away from what actually happened when telling a fact-based story.

Truth is the coin of the realm in any ethical endeavor in life. It is especially true in media ethics, regardless of whether the goal is to inform, persuade, entertain. That's what you might think after seeing how truth is a topic in nearly every ethics codes. This matter is not settled, despite how media practitioners by and large advocate truth telling. Even a passing awareness of contemporary media issues tells us truth is often elusive. Each of us must decide how to seek the truth, how to tell it, when to balance truth telling against other compelling values, when being a selective truth teller may be appropriate, and the rare times when it may be ethically justifiable to deceive for a greater good. The world becomes even more unsettling because we realize that we may be: è Living in a 'post-truth' era, Oxford Dictionary 2016's word of the year. Lee McIntyre called the term 'an expression of concern by those who are about the concept of truth and feel it is under attack' è Inundated by what political spokespeople call 'alternative facts' to defend lies and exaggerations. Is next door to 'truthiness' - coined by Stephen Colbert - a society where feelings matter more than facts. è Seeing declines in traditional media, especially among news orgs which have seen their operations cut as advertising moved elsewhere and new competition emerged. News orgs provide a check on the claims made by politicians and others who would twist truth for own benefit. The number of front-line reporters and space for news declines, trick to neutralize journalism (flood the zone with 'poop'). The term 'fake news' made popular by politicians, further pollutes the environment by seeking to undermine news orgs who do not follow the politicians' party line. è More likely than ever to consume info that supports our worldview. Info comes through a biased prism that comport to already-held beliefs, and media orgs make money by echoing news and opinion that we want to hear instead of challenging us with info that doesn't comport with our beliefs. è Spun by social media, where falsehoods fly faster than facts and social media companies make money regardless of the veracity of what the user posts. It took an accurate statement 6x longer to make the rounds on social media than a falsehood (2018 study). Algorithms that determine what you see on your feeds rarely check for 'truth' and are often unable to separate it from lie. Deliver only a personalized feed of what they think you want to see, in order to keep you online longer to deliver more ads. è More easily fooled than ever - by words and images. Term 'deepfake' entered lexicon in late 2010s to describe tech that lets users replace one person's image with another on video. It's the higher tech version of photo manipulation (1820s) but with similar legal and ethical implications. Despite questions about truth - some go back millennium, while others a few hours - it is important understanding what we mean by 'truth' and why truth telling ties into nearly e't else discussed. A lie - or other untruth - limits the hearer's freedom to make the best possible decisions. A lie almost always serves the deceiver, not the hearer, by creating a power imbalance. The liar rips relationships, because the liar has decided that the hearer is less deserving of the truth. Even an untruth without malice may lead to a loss of trust. St. Thomas Aquinas, ran to a window to see flying pigs a fellow friar said were passing by. When laughed at for being gullible, Aquinas replied 'I would rather believe that pigs fly than believe that my brethren could lie' (12th century). On one hand, seems easy to distinguish true from false: All humans are mortal is demonstrably true; pigs can fly is not, and anyone who tells you pigs fly is not truthful. But notice the previous sentence said 'not truthful' and not 'liar'. Not every untruth reaches the level of a lie. The intent of the speaker of an untruth matters - one definition of a lie is any communication, spoken or not, designed to intentionally mislead others when they expect honest communication. On the other hand, not always so simple to find definitions of 'truth' and understand justifications for not telling it: How can we fully know a communicator's intention and expectations - or even what is meant by 'honest' in every situation? Defining truth may be more complicated. Can be as concrete as the law of gravity, or as elusive as the notion that 'truth' is what we are not arguing about at the moment. A 'truth' about a physical thing like the number of hooves on a pig is different from a 'truth' about an abstraction like goodness, rightness of a philosophy. Social media makes it all the more elusive. Truth as Consensus Richard Rorty: Truth may be defined as what we are not arguing about at the moment. Implications for three theories of truth, especially info disseminated by mass comm. Clay Shirky, the relationship between truth and info scarcity. If few voices can speak, the public is more likely to agree with those voices because competing versions are not heard. When three networks delivered the same content with 'objectivity' in the pre-internet days, Americans may have disagreed about what facts meant but generally agreed upon the basic facts (could be both correspondence and pragmatic forms of truth). If you disagreed with what a newscaster said, you could yell at the screen and no one else could hear you. Those days are over. Everyone can argue over facts and their meaning, yell in public for the world to hear. Good and bad actors. Alters our idea of whose opinion is relevant and where consensus actually lies. We are living in a post-fact world (coherence theory) where ethics can't be backed up by force by the few conventional news orgs that checked themselves and followed similar norms. Not totally bad - having more voices in the marketplace is good [many voices went unheard when audience access was limited, now platforms] What matters is for journalists and others to worry less about consensus and more on publicly sorting the relevant from the irrelevant actors. Some Perplexing Truth-Telling Issues in Media Three purposes of mass media - inform, persuade, entertain - are in some ways based upon the notion of truth-telling. Generally expect news orgs and other informers to tell the truth as best they can. Expect persuaders to tell their truth with understanding they may not always provide larger context that informers should and rarely make arguments that could bolster competitors. Expect entertainers to sometimes tell a truth- veer from objective reality when producing fiction and for storytelling reasons to add/take away from what actually happened when telling a fact-based story.

The Fourth Question, What's it worth? *Prioritize your ... - both ... and non-... - and decide which ones you will not c... *What matters to you and your enterprise? Values are s... of c... that provide m...., s..., w... for individuals and institutions. Some values are r..., c..., n... in nature but others are inescapably m... *Values often conflict and the choices frequently subtle, nuanced. Values selections should be fairly t... and practitioners should be held accountable for those choices. *Value is both a n... and a v... *It is the c... c... of what we find d..., i..., and m... p... *Also the criterion by which individuals and institutions evaluate their a... and the a... of others. Doing ethics typically requires more than just merely choosing ... from ... Must choose between or among c... p... when you make a decision. Some of these are m..., while other are r, c, n. Often those choice comes from equally compelling ...-vs.-... options (Kidder). *Follows our discussion on l... Presumed previously l... toward people was a value worth holding and explored questions about who deserved our loyalty and under what conditions. Problem of deciding how to balance our l... against other values like being honest and transparent with others. Discussions of values are particularly important in mass media because media both s... and r... a society's values. ['Those who tell the nation's stories, c... the nation's values.'] *What is unclear is how this affects people. It is a fuzzy conclusion that media affect d... people in d... ways at d... times. This mixed model theory of media effects suggests practitioners can NEVER be sure of the p... their messages will have in affecting values and either directly/indirectly behaviors of audiences. *Values may also be defined differently, ordered differently, among different communicators. -Nearly all media practitioners say they value truth but how they define and rank it among other values may depend on whether their job is to i.../p.../e... How journalists define truth often depends on their viewpoint, how much info they have, who's paying salary. People working in entertainment sometimes say workers while often combo of fact/fiction shows a LARGER truth. -> Journalists who value truth may find selves unappreciated in community that values harmony and privacy, called fake news by politicians who push back a/g accurate but negative coverage. -> PR who seek to persuade may study their public to discover values of public then forge campaigns that play upon these values to sell what may not be in the public's interest. -> Ad practitioners who seek to sell products may also find ways to persuade in ways that can hurt a community (Bernays, Torches of Freedom) -> Workers in entertainment who value gaining an audience might use shock value to grab attention but at expense of viewers who value self-respect and children. -> Social media users can enjoy freedom to say nearly a't they want but they create or pass along info that supports their view and may be inaccurate, unfair, outdated.

The Fourth Question: What's it worth? Prioritize your values - both moral and non-moral values - and decide which one(s) you will not compromise. The next step is to think about what matters to you and your media enterprise - in other words, to consider values. Values are standards of choice that provide meaning, satisfaction, and worth for individuals and institutions. Value comes from Latin word related to worth. Some values are routine, craft-based, and non-moral in nature; others are inescapably moral. Values often conflict, the choices frequently subtle and nuanced. When doing media ethics, values selections should be relatively transparent, and practitioners should be held accountable for those choices. The 'values turf' is expansive. 'Value' is both a noun and a verb. It is the collective conception of what we find desirable, important, and morally proper. It also is the criterion by which individuals and institutions evaluate their actions and the actions of others. We've said it before, but it bears repeating: Doing ethics typically requires more than just merely choosing right from wrong. You must choose between or among competing priorities when you make an ethics-related decision. Some of those priorities are moral, while others are routine, craft-based, and non-moral. Often the choices come with equally compelling right-vs.-right options (Rushworth Kidder). When you make these decisions, you apply judgments that reveal something of your personal values. When a profession makes decisions, its institutional values are in play. Follows the discussion of loyalties! Previous chapters presumed loyalty toward people was a value worth holding, and we explored questions about who deserved our loyalty and under what conditions. May have left us with the problem of deciding how to balance our loyalties against other values, such as being honest and transparent with other people. Particularly important in mass media (discussion of values) because media both shape and reflect a society's values. 'Those who tell the nation's stories control the nation's values.' What is unclear is how this affects people, fuzzy conclusion that media affect different people in different ways at different times (media-focused research over decades). This mixed-model theory of media effects suggests media practitioners can never be sure of the power their messages will have in affecting values and either directly/indirectly behaviors of their audiences. At the least media practitioners should recognize the values they bring into their decision-making processes, even as they decide what role those values should play in helping shape the values of their audiences. Values may also be defined differently, and ordered differently, among different communicators. Nearly all media practitioners may say they value 'truth' but how they define and rank truth among other values may depend upon whether the job is to inform, entertain, persuade. How journalists and persuaders define 'truth' often depends upon their viewpoint, how much info they have, and who's paying their salaries. And people working in entertainment sometimes say their works, while often a combination of fact/fiction, can show a larger 'truth.' A) Journalists who value truth may find selves unappreciated in community that values harmony and privacy, or called fake news by politicians who push back against accurate but negative coverage. B) PR practitioners who seek to persuade may study their public to discover the values of that public, then forge campaign that plays upon those values to sell what may not be in that public's interest. Think of election seasons, some campaigns divide communities in hopes of securing just enough votes to win. Sometimes winning rips at the moral fabric of the general electorate. C) Advertising practitioners who seek to sell products may like PR practitioners also find ways to persuade in ways that can hurt a community. In the late 20s, pioneer Edward Bernays understood that women wanted liberty, so he designed the Torches of Freedom campaign to persuade them that smoking cigarettes (then taboo for good women) was a way to show their freedom. His client, a tobacco company, was thrilled as smoking became culturally acceptable for women and cigarette sales soared. D) Workers in entertainment industry who value gaining an audience might use shock value to grab attention, but at the expense of viewers who value self-respect and children who might see inappropriate material. E) Social media users can enjoy their freedom to say nearly anything they want, but they create or pass along info that supports their view but may be inaccurate, unfair, and outdated. They have freedom to debate, or to corrode civility with flame wars and falsehoods.

How do values work? To understand personal values means to understand h... b... People's actions are based on their values whether they know it or not. Each of us have a cluster of 'v... p...' that may subtly rearrange in different situations. *Christians any decision involves a host of values that must be sorted out because these values reflect our pre-suppositions about s... l... and h... n... Add that moral values play a role even as we judge something by a..., p..., l..., s... values. *Moral or non-moral, values relate to each other. Multiple values can compete for priority at any given moment. We are also motivated by a more deeply held 's...' of c... v... (described by Rohan as a cognitive structure, fundamental mental system that helps us make sense of the world). Once formed, structures relatively i... to change. To sum up definitional issues, philosophers and social psych agree values are... -A... of our thinking, acting, choosing -May be s... or s... oriented; rooted in i... or in p... -May be m..., others n... -C... or sometimes a... -Underlie our a..., b..., o... which in turn underlie our b... -Are something we seek to have c... within our lives. Seek that balance either c.../u... -Are best used when we c... r... what our values are The varied efforts to define values have several common features Values are -> C... or b... about -> D... e... s... or behaviors that -> Transcend s... s..., -> Guide our s... or e... of behaviors or events, and -> Are ordered by r... i... Values inquiry... We probably do not spend much time pondering on our values - w... they came from, how they i... our b..., how they may c.../c... with those of others. -Topics not talked around office or over social media, though these topics often are framed by our political/socioeconomic/personal values. If we ever consciously explored the nature of values most likely was in a religious/educational setting. To avoid having our values inquiry be random/superficial, make it more systematic... -> W... and h... did you learn your values? Spring upon us without awareness or conscious process? Brainwashed or propagandized into accepting values, or result of commonly accepted education? -> Does it matter whether these values were s...-s... after being developed rationally/irrationally, imposed upon us by a... f...? -> What is the most a... a... for the implication of values? These value-forming institutions are frequently in conflict, causing the contents of our value system to ebb and flow. If we agree that ethics demand d... m..., and that d... m... is based on values, then we must understand values to understand ethics! If we understand values that underly our approaches to ethical decision making, then we will better recognize our own priorities. *Did Media failings lead to value education in public schools (see back)? *U.S. Values and influences of media (see on back) (Ind..., eq..., dem..., nat..., mer..., dir..., inn..., con..., inf..., e... use of ti...)

Understanding personal values means understanding human behavior. This is because people's actions many well occur based upon their values, sometimes whether they know it or not. Each of us has a cluster of 'value priorities' that may subtly rearrange in different situations. Clifford Christians and his colleagues say any decision involves 'a host of values that must be sorted out;' because these values 'reflect our pre-suppositions about social life and human nature' They add that moral values play a role even as we judge something by aesthetic, professional, logical, and sociocultural values. Regardless of whether we focus on moral or non-moral values, specific values obviously relate to one another, and multiple values can compete for priority at any given moment. While these specific values provide reasons to take or avoid taking action, we also are motivated by a more deeply held 'system' of core values. The PRSA code calls its core values 'the fundamental beliefs that guide our behaviors and decision-making process.' This 'system' of values described by Rohan as a cognitive structure, is a fundamental mental system that helps us make sense of the world. Once formed, our cognitive structures are relatively impervious [unable to be affected by] to change. Summing up any definitional issues, philosophers and social psych, who frequently disagree about motivation and behavior - generally agree that values è Are agents of our thinking, acting, and choosing è May be selfishly or societally oriented; rooted in ideals or in practicality è May be moral, while others are non-moral è Sometimes are concrete, while others are abstract è Underlie our attitudes, beliefs, and opinions, which in turn underlie our behavior è Are something we seek to have consistency within our lives. We seek that balance either consciously or unconsciously è Are best used when we consciously realize what our values are Although it may be splitting semantic hairs, the varied efforts to define values have several common features. Values are (a) concepts or beliefs, (b) about desirable end states or behaviors, (c) that transcend specific situations, (d) guide our selection or evaluation of behavior or events, and (e) are ordered by relative importance. Simply put, what we value goes a long way in determining how we act. A moral dilemma results when values conflict; the conflicts should be resolved if moral action is to occur. Did Media Failings Lead to Value Education in Public Schools? Debate about value-based character education in schools hinges on questions like 'Whose values are being taught?' Considered a natural component of public school system for most of American history. Slipped in 1960s declared open-minded tolerance of all perspectives (relativism) in which colleges of education and public schools grew increasingly concerned about 'imposing' values on students. Resurgence of values exploration started in 1990s, concerns this stuff was not being taught effectively at home, in religious education, certainly not over wide-open internet/TV/music or through other mass media. Why not do it carefully and systematically in a school setting? Explore myriad of opportunities for youngsters to recognize and operationalize commonly accepted, non-political civic values and virtues - honesty, respect, responsibility, caring, fairness, citizenship, etc. The question is always WHOSE VALUES ARE BEING TAUGHT. Ties into questions of how we define values, how we decide which are important, how they are used to promote things like civility, patriotism, personal responsibility, tolerance, human rights. Values Inquiry We probably do not spend much time pondering our values - where they came from, how they influence our behavior, and how they may clash or coincide with those of other people. Topics not talked about around office or on social media though those topics of conversation often are framed by our political or socioeconomic or personal values. Indeed, if we ever consciously explored the nature of our values, we most likely did so in a religious or educational setting. To avoiding having our values inquiry be random and superficial, making it more systematic and scholarly... è Where and how did you learn or gain your values? Did they spring upon us without our being aware of them, or was it a conscious process? Have we been brainwashed or propagandized into accepting certain values, or has it been the result of commonly accepted education - in the home, church, school? è Does it matter whether these values were self-selected after being developed rationally/irrationally, imposed upon us by authority figures? è What is the most appropriate arena for the implication of values - religious setting, home, classroom, street, through mass media, from societal consensus, from laws or court decisions? Serious inquiry should show how these value-forming institutions are frequently in conflict, causing the contents of our value system to ebb and flow. If we agree that ethics demand decision making, and that decision making is based on values, then we must understand values to understand ethics. If we understand the values that underlies our approaches to ethical decision making, then we will better recognize our own priorities. This is true about big and little things in our daily lives, and also in our media fields. No wonder that the SPJ code of ethics says that journalists should avoid stereotyping by examining 'the ways their values and experience may shape their reporting.' U.S. Values and the influences of media U.S. State Department aimed at training Americans traveling in other nations to be able to explain U.S. culture while not being 'ugly American' tourists (So You're an American? A Guide to Answering Difficult Qs Abroad). 11 American values acknowledges that pop culture influences the world - and that American values are displayed through U.S. media that permeate the world. Indeed, one of America's chief exports is its mass media. Some nations worry about cultural imperialism, the notion that U.S. culture overpowers other societies' cultures. Independence, equality, democracy, nationalism, meritocracy, directness, innovation, consumerism, informality, efficient use of time. Many of these values especially consumerism would not exist without media's influence.

Values in Media Codes of Ethics... Codes of ethics are often framed by g... value s... and filled with lists of s... values. Remember, AMA, values represent the c... c... of what communities find d, I, and mp. They also serve as the c for evaluating our personal a and the a of others. Conclusions about values in media codes... -Drawing from Schwartz and Bilsky, we may look more closely at the values systems and specific values within the media ethics environment. Analyze media ethics codes and policy statements! Organizations use them to proclaim their values. *Three sets of values emerge... In descending order 1) S... R... Minimizing harm; demonstrating care and respect; being fair, balanced, truthful, honest, and accurate; and being accountable and transparent. These specific values mesh nicely with S and B's category of values that transcend s...-... - social values of u... and b.... As such they are fundamental claims about the i... w... of media, society, and the environment; w... and p... well with others; and demonstrating e... 2) F... and concerns about c... of i... These values, which stress 'thinking o... the b...,' coincide with S and B's 'o... values' - s...-d... and o... to change. Media practitioners whose codes describe professions that enjoy n... freedoms (such as freedom from governmental control) make value statements about creative and courageous use of their independence. They seek to avoid real, perceived, or potential COI. 3) Focus on t..., c... and s... These values include humility, good taste, decency, obeying the Golden Rule, following standards set by authorities, and being good citizens. Such statements appear occasionally in codes drafted by ... ... and a... associations, and rarely in codes for n... m.... It should come as no surprise that the media codes make no specific reference to S and B's fourth general category of values - things that focus on s...-..., a..., p..., and a... A profession's COE would not endorse s... s... and p..., control over p... and r..., individual a..., and sensual s... Such values are part of many people's views but NOT evident in professional values statements. Highlighting these values would be at odds with the p... r... function of codes. Most codes refer to the values of truth/honesty and COI, while some do so in the a... ('seek truth,' 'be honest') others do so in n... terms ('DON'T intentionally produce/disseminate false or misleading info). Difference in wording may be significant. We would expect positive idealistic moral philosophy in codes that advocate o... to c.../o... and self-t.../s... c... outcomes. On the other hand, we could safely predict codes tending toward 'c.../o... and self-e.../i... outcomes' would be phrased in minimalistic/legalistic terms. *Composing value words in media ethics codes -The theory of basic human values says people balance p... o... vs. o... outcomes and i... outcomes vs. s... c... outcomes *11 media COE, comparing to value words with Schwartz' 44 representative values inside his 10 value types... a) The codes focus on s... c... outcomes. U... and b... values make up half the values in every code. U... more to be found in news/blogging and b... more to be found in persuasion-focused enterprises. b) The codes value truth but have different definitions. News: What they deliver to audiences; PRSA: Selective truth-telling model ('Members should adhere to truth and accuracy in advancing the interests of those we represent') c) PR and ad practitioners, codes more likely to mention o... to rules and power/prestige themes. More likely to mention m... standards. d) Journalism, code places higher values on s...-d..., say they need independence to their jobs properly. e) Codes rarely move into categories of s..., h..., or s... opposites of benevolence and universalism values.

Values in Media COE COE are often framed by general value statements and filed with lists of specific values. As the American Marketing Association says, Values represent the collective conception of what communities find desirable, important, and morally proper. V also serve as the criteria for evaluating our own personal actions and the actions of others. Some Conclusions about values in media ethics codes Drawing from Schwartz and Bilsky's research, we can look more closely at the values systems and specific values within the media ethics environment. One way is to analyze media ethics does and policy statements, because organizations use them to proclaim their values Three sets of values emerge from the codes of ethics considered. In descending order, those values are... 1) Social responsibility: Minimizing harm; demonstrating care and respect; being fair, balanced, truthful, honest, and accurate; and being accountable and transparent. These specific values mesh nicely with S and B's category of values that transcend self-interest - social values of universalism and benevolence. As such they are fundamental claims about the interdependent web of media, society, and the environment; working and playing well with others; and demonstrating empathy. 2) Freedom and concerns about conflicts of interest: These values, which stress 'thinking outside the box,' coincide with S and B's 'opportunity values' - self-direction and openness to change. Media practitioners whose codes describe professions that enjoy negative freedoms (such as freedom from governmental control) make value statements about creative and courageous use of their independence. They seek to avoid real, perceived, or potential COI. 3) Focus on tradition, conformity, and security: These values include humility, good taste, decency, obeying the Golden Rule, following standards set by authorities, and being good citizens. Such statements appear occasionally in codes drafted by PR and advertising associations, and rarely in codes for news media. It should come as no surprise that the media codes make no specific reference to S and B's fourth general category of values - those that focus on self-interest, ambition, power, and achievement. A profession's COE would not endorse social status and prestige, control over people and resources, individual achievements, and sensual satisfaction. (Adult entertainment industry code might be an exception as industry seeks social status) Such values are part of many people's views of the world but are not evident in professional values statements. Highlighting these values would be at odds with the public relations function of such codes. Most codes refer to the values of truth and honesty and COI, while some of them do so in the affirmative('seek truth,' 'be honest'), others do so in negative terms (DON'T intentionally produce or disseminate false or misleading info). The difference in wording may be significant, as was suggested in our discussion of codes - we would expect to see positive idealistic moral philosophy in codes that advocate openness to change/opportunity and self-transcendence/social context outcomes. On the other hand, we could safely predict that codes tending toward 'conservatism/organizational and self-enhancement/individual outcomes' would be phrased in MINIMALISTIC and LEGALISTIC terms. Our brief content analysis supports this notion. Composing value words in media ethics codes Media COE are filled with words that reveal what code writers believe are the values of their organization and craft. One analysis found similarities and differences in the 'values' words scattered across 11 media COE: five news-focused, two PR, three advertising/marketing, a blogger code. *The theory of basic human values says people balance personal opportunity vs. organizational outcomes and individual outcomes vs. social context outcomes Matching the codes' value words with Shalom Schwartz's 44 representative values inside his ten value types showed that... è The codes focus on social context outcomes such as truth, fairness, diversity, and public service. Universalism and benevolence values make up half the values in every code, but universalism is more likely found in news/blogging codes while benevolence is more likely to be found in codes of persuasion-focused enterprises. è The codes value 'truth' but have different definitions. News codes define truth in terms of what they deliver to audiences. The PRSA's code says its members should adhere to truth and accuracy 'in advancing the interests of those we represent' which suggests a selective truth-telling model. è For PR and ad practitioners, the codes are more likely to mention obedience to rules, and power/prestige themes than news codes. These codes are usually more likely to mention minimum standards than other codes. è For journalism, the codes place a higher value on 'self-direction' than others, because journalists say they need independence to do their jobs properly. è Codes rarely if ever move into the S categories of stimulation, hedonism, or security.- which are opposites of benevolence and universalism values.

What are values? Value originates from Latin, valere, meaning 'to be of ...' Scholars specializing in values inquiry have generalized hundreds of definitions... a) Thing/property that is itself w... h..., g... or d... or that possesses some property that makes it so. A value belongs to anything that is necessary for, or a contribution to, some living being or beings' t..., f..., f..., or w... b) An enduring belief that a specific mode of c... or e...-s... of e... is personally or socially preferable to an opposite or converse model of c/e-s. c) Conception of the d... that guide they way people select actions, evaluate people and events, and explain actions and evaluation d) The s... of c... that individuals/groups use to seek m..., s..., w... They are prima facie (at first sight) variables that undergird principled judgments, decisions, actions. Can be ends to themselves or a mean to those ends. *Broad definitions because term is highly e... Sometimes it is used narrowly as synonym for 'g...' or v... and sometimes used broadly for whole scope of evaluative terms ranging from highest g... through indifferent and worst e... Some approach by discussing abstract things that appear to be i... g... like happiness, truth. Others like social scientists and lay commentators merely define what it means to say something HAS value. They also may describe what is regarded as w... in a culture and theorize about those values. Some describe values as m..., u..., u... while others maintain ultimate values like desire can be scientifically validated. Obviously, not all values deal with m.... We value many non-moral things. -> Independence, financial security, nice place to live, friendship, meaningful job, health -Media world is also filled with non-moral values. Beating competition, garnering audiences, sell products, meet deadline, influence public opinion, create art -When we talk about values in the world of media, have to consider both moral and non-moral values! -Some of these media-focused values are m... to an ... and others are ... unto themselves. Think the value of gaining and audience (leads to the ... value of seeking to inform, entertain, persuade) *Value is both a noun and verb (AMA). -> Noun: C... c... of what communities find d..., i..., m... p... -> Verb: Serve as the c... for evaluating our own personal a.... and the a... of others *Something HAS value and we VALUE something. What values are not... Rohan - Values have suffered b/c word opens to abuse and overuse by non-psychologists and psychologists. Think politicians and family value moaning. *Value is not the same thing as i..., w..., b..., a... because values are the underlying foundation for them. Values help determine virtually all kinds of behavior that would be called s... b... - or social action, attitudes, ideology, evaluations, moral judgments, attempts to influence others. *Use values to justify, present, compare ourselves to others.

What Values Are Questions about the makeup and definition of values, where they come from, and how they impact our lives have been debated for millennia. Plato, Aristotle, and Kant were among many philosophers who weighed in on the nature of good, right, obligation, virtue, moral and aesthetic judgment, beauty, truth, and validity. More recently scientists who study psych, sociology, politics, and economics have studied nature and ramifications of individual and institutional values. Have considered nature of individual belief systems and the foundations of social/political/economic structures. Values - both moral and non-moral - are at the heart of such inquiries. The term originates from the Latin, valere, meaning 'to be of worth' No surprise scholars specializing in values inquiry have generalized hundreds of definitions... è A thing or property that is itself worth having, getting or doing, or that possesses some property that makes it so. A value belongs to anything that is necessary for, or a contribution to, some living being or beings' thriving, flourishing, fulfillment, or well-being. è An enduring belief that a specific mode of conduct or end-state of existence is personally or socially preferable to an opposite or converse model of conduct or end-state of existence. è A conception of the desirable that guide the way (people) select actions, evaluate people and events, and explain their actions and evaluation è The standards of choice that individuals and groups use to seek meaning, satisfaction and worth. They are prima facie (Latin for 'at first sight') variables that undergird principled judgments, decisions, and actions. They can be ends to themselves or a means to those ends. If these definitions seem overly broad, it may be because the word 'values' is highly elastic. Sometimes it is used narrowly as a synonym for 'good' or valuable, and sometimes it is used broadly for the whole scope of evaluative terms, ranging from the highest good through the indifferent and the worst evil. Some philosophers approach values by discussing abstract things that appear to be intrinsically good, such as happiness or truth. Others - particularly social scientists and lay commentators - merely define what it means to say something has value. They also may describe what is regarded as worthwhile in a culture and theorize about those values. Some describe values as metaphysical, unobservable, and unmeasurable, while others maintain that ultimate values such as 'desire' can be scientifically validated and measured. Obviously, not all values deal with morality. We value many non-moral things (not the same as 'amoral' or 'immoral'): independence, financial security, a nice place to live, friendships, sex, good health, a meaningful job. One reason you are attending school is in pursuit of those values, as education often gives you more control over your future and your ability to define and live your own values. The media world is filled with non-moral values too: beating competition, garnering audiences, selling products, meeting deadline, influencing public opinion, creating art, winning accounts. When we talk about values in the world of media, therefore, we must consider both moral and craft-based, institutional, non-moral values. Some of these media-focused values are means to an end, while others are ends unto themselves. For nearly all communicators, for example, the value of gaining an audience can lead to the end value of seeking to inform, entertain, or persuade that audience. 'Value' and parts of speech Value is both a noun and verb. The distinctions seen in the American Marketing Association's statement of ethical norms and values: Noun sense: Values represent the collective conception of what communities find desirable, important, and morally proper Verb sense: Values also serve as the criteria for evaluating our own personal actions and the actions of others. We can correctly say that something has value, and that we value something. What Values are not It is also worth noting what they are not. Meg Rohan said research studies and theories of values have suffered because the word opens to abuse and overuse by non-psychologists and psychologists alike. She has pointed to politicians' 'moaning' about family values as merely one example of the semantic abuse that has made the study of values difficult. Mass media practitioners regardless of their field have contributed to this semantic abuse. Values are not the same as ideologies, worldviews, beliefs, or attitudes, but the underlying foundation for them. Rokeach has said that values help determine virtually all kinds of behavior that could be called social behavior - of social action, attitudes, ideology, evaluations, moral judgments, and attempts to influence others. We use values to justify, present, and compare ourselves to others. Values should give guide and determine social attitudes and ideologies on one hand, and social behavior on the other.

What is Privacy? Philosophers, political theorists, legal scholars grappled with notions of p and distinctions among what is p..., p..., and what is both. Blurry line resulted in never-ending series of controversial d... of p. Struggle to d... it clearly shows how often it conflicts with other values. Our understanding of it has emerged from several interrelated concepts including the concept of distinct p... and p... 's...' of life, n... rights, l..., pr..., in..., int..., s..., au..., and human d... Debates over these concepts continued for millennia: p... and p... roles - polis and individuality - were rhetorical and pragmatic fodder for ancient Greeks; n... rights and p... rights were roundly argued as long as 1300s continued to today's democratic/socialistic/market-driven economic debates. Philosopheres and pragmatists articulated concepts of in..., s..., a..., and human d... over several centuries. In late 1800s, Cooley described privacy as merely 'the right to be l... a...' Around same time, Boston lawyers Warren and future SupCo. justice, Brandeis built on C's definition in an influential Harvard Law Review article calling for a c... right to privacy from u... and s... j... intrusion into p... affairs. *Wrote during time of u... and recognized loss of 'p... space' and p... privacy. Also era of y... j..., gossip was mainstay of newspapers. By the mid 20th, philosophers concerned with more than intrusion of personal space and hurtful gossip. S... and circles of in... became part of rhetoric. Westin called privacy... "The claim of individuals/groups/institutions to determine for themselves w..., h... to w... extent information about them is c... to others. Claim is not so much one of total s..., as is right to define one's circle of in... - to choose who shall see beneath the d... m... Loss of control over which 'face' one puts on may result in literal loss of s...-id..." *Westin's circle of in... means people expect more p in some situations than others, and with some people more than others. Hodges discussed zones of privacy that includes m... people as they move 'f...' from you. *Smallest circle is the c... s..., holds your innermost secrets. *Followed by c... other person in life *Other c... friends *Then o...m... imaginable circle, least intimate, which encompasses all h... - displays what you want to show the p... -New zones of privacy may be needed in internet age, proposing zone that includes 'communities' of people who may need to know things that others do not (crime coverage helpful to local community to know but not worldwide) Continuum of Privacy (more -> less) a) ... : Things you don't tell others b) Most in... f... : Spouse, best friend, etc. c) C... friends : Family and others d) O... friends : Co-workers, people you know who live near you, etc. e) 'P...' : Doctors, lawyers, clergy, media workers, others with a duty to protect your privacy f) A... : Casual relationship with others you meet at times g) C... : People who may feel a duty because of proximity or other shared relationship h) ... : People who don't know you and feel no duty to you Continuum lists people/groups with level of privacy protection they can reasonably expect. Inclusion of 'p...' who may have a legal/ethical duty to keep your info p... but at other times may be required to reveal p... info they collect from you as part of their work (Laws may require a doctor/clergy to reveal info on crimes. Media workers included due to privacy-related decisions they make - like use of c... s... in journalism or PR keeping client info c...) *Some older definitions involve ability to c... info about y... Bok said was being protected from unwanted access by others including p... access, p... info, or a...: Age of unsolicited email, pop-up notifications, junk phone calls mention of a... more important than ever. Distinguished scholar in privacy, Schoeman tried to settle definition problem: When it embraces some aspects of a..., defined as c... over the in... of p... id... At the broadest end of spectrum, thought to be the measure of the extent to which an individual is afforded the s... and l... s... to develop the emotional/cognitive/spirtiual/moral powers of an a... a... *Definition seems more important for c... and y... adults, lead to laws and ethical grace to protect them, y... people need room to make mistakes. Beyond that, need space to think without being j..., find path to our best selves. Levine's definition echoes: privacy is the maintenance of a p... life-s... within which the individual has a chance to be an in..., exercise and experience own uniqueness. Encroachment upon in... m... a... highlights today's arguments about value of privacy. *Nissenbaum's Privacy in Context maintains people are not concerned about s... of info per se, which they understand as essential to make s... f... BUT people are disturbed when personal info is shared in... or im... Argues info should be protected or revealed in keeping with general s... n... and v... we expect within the w..., s..., seeking h... c..., or gathering with f.../f... The problem is with the internet's ability to move information q... and often well beyond c... of person who is the source of info. *Jarvis flipped concern of privacy in the Information Age, privacy is now the responsibility of the people who r... info: Once you know something about me, weight lies with you as you decide how to u... that info, whether to spread it, in what light. Bottom line: Privacy is an important value, but is just one of many c... values. Privacy is not an a... r..., and it can be trumped by more c... r... Gmail and Ethical Bankruptcy? 2011, company faced first of several privacy lawsuits against its practice of selling 'r... a...' based upon c... in user emails. In 2017, Google said it would stop scanning c... to deliver ads. Instead, uses what it knows about you from other Google apps, and cookies and other info, to deliver its ads. Still scans c..., for among other things to ensure that inappropriate ads do not show up next to s... m... c... like race, religion, sexual orientation, health, or sensitive financial categories.

What is Privacy Philosophers, political theorists, legal scholars have grappled with the notions of privacy and distinctions among what is public, what is private, and what is both public and private. Blurry line has resulted in a never-ending series of controversial definitions of p. Struggle to define it clearly shows how often p conflicts with other values. Our understanding of p has emerged from several interrelated concepts, including the concept of distinct public and private 'spheres' of life, natural rights, liberty, property, individuality, intimacy, secrecy, autonomy, and human dignity. Debates over these concepts have continued for millennia: public and private roles - polis and individuality - were rhetorical and pragmatic fodder for ancient Greeks; natural rights and property rights were roundly argued as long ago as the 1300s and have continued to today's democratic/socialistic/market-driven economic debates. Philosophers and pragmatists have articulated concepts of intimacy, secrecy, autonomy, and human dignity over past several centuries. In late 1800s, Thomas Cooley described privacy as merely 'the right to be let alone.' Around same time, Boston lawyers Samual Warren and future SupCo justice. Louis Brandeis built on Cooley's definition in an influential Harvard Law Review article that called for a constitutional right to privacy from unwarranted and sensationalistic journalistic intrusion into private affairs. Wrote during a time of urbanization and recognized loss of 'personal space' and physical privacy. Also the era of yellow journalism, when gossip was the mainstay of newspapers. By the mid 20th century, philosophers and commentators concerned with more than intrusion into personal space and hurtful gossip. Secrecy and circles of intimacy became part of the privacy rhetoric. Alan Westin called privacy the: "Claim of individual, groups, or institutions to determine for themselves when, how, and to what extent info about them is communicated to others. Claim is not so much one of total secrecy as it is of the right to define one's circle of intimacy - to choose who shall see beneath the daily mask. Loss of control over which 'face' one puts on may result in literal loss of self-identity (1967). Westin's circle of intimacy means people expect more privacy in some situations than others, and with some people more than others. Hodges discussed zones of privacy that includes more people as they move 'further' from you. Smallest circle is the 'core self' that holds your innermost secrets, followed by the closest other person in your life, other close friends, and then the 'outermost imaginable circle, the least intimate, which encompasses all humanity' and displays what you want to show the public. Roberts noted new zones of privacy may be needed in the internet age, proposing a zone that includes 'communities' of people who may need to know things that others do not (example may be crime coverage that might be helpful for the local community to know, but not needed to be known by the entire world). Continuum of Privacy (from more to less privacy) (Person/Group) : (Characteristics) a) You : Things you don't tell others b) Most intimate friend : Spouse, best friend, etc. c) Close friends : Family and others d) Other friends : Co-workers, people you know who live near you, etc. e) 'Professionals' : Doctors, lawyers, clergy, media workers, others with a duty to protect your privacy f) Acquaintances : Casual relationship with others you meet at times g) Community : People who may feel a duty because of proximity or other shared relationship h) Public : People who don't know you and feel no duty to you Continuum lists people and groups with level of privacy protection they can reasonably expect, from the core self to the public. The inclusion of 'professionals' who may have a legal or ethical duty to keep your info private but at other times may be required to reveal private info they collect from you as part of their work. Example: laws might require a doctor or clergy to reveal info about crimes. Media eorkers are included because of privacy-related decisions they make, like the use of confidential sources in journalism or PR practitioners keeping client info confidential. Some older definitions of p involve the ability to control info about yourself. Bok said p was about being protected from unwanted access by others including physical access, personal info, or attention. Age of unsolicited email, pop-up notifications, and junk phone calls, mention of attention seems more important than ever. Distinguished scholar in the field of p, Ferdinand Schoeman, tried to settle definition problem. Conclusion: When p embraces some aspects of autonomy, it is defined as control over the intimacies of personal identity. At the broadest end of the spectrum, p is thought to be the measure of the extent to which an individual is afforded the social and legal space to develop the emotional, cognitive, spiritual, and moral powers of an autonomous agent. Definition seems important for children and young adults, leads to laws and ethical grace to protect them, because young people need room to make mistakes. Beyond that, we need space to think without being judged, find the path to be our best selves. Levine's definition echoes this notion: privacy the maintenance of a personal life-space within which the individual has a chance to be an individual, to exercise and experience their own uniqueness. Encroachment upon individual moral autonomy highlights today's arguments about value of privacy. Nissenbaum's Privacy in Context, maintains people are not concerned about the sharing of info per se, which they understand is essential to make societies function. She says people are disturbed when personal info is shared inappropriately or improperly, as noted with chapter titles like 'Keeping Track and Watching Over Us,' 'Knowing Us Better Than We Know Ourselves: Massive and Deep Databases.' Argues that info should be protected or revealed in keeping with the general social norms and values we expect within the workplace, at school, when we seek health care, or when we gather with family and friends. Problem with that, is the internet's ability to move info quickly and often well beyond control of that person who is the source of the info. Jarvis flipped concern of p in the info age, saying p is now the responsibility of people who receive info: Once you know something about me, the weight lies with you as you decide how to use that info, whether to spread it, in what light. The bottom line is that privacy is an important value, but is just one among many conflicting values. Grcic wrote, privacy is not an absolute right, and it can be trumped by more compelling rights. Gmail and Ethical Bankruptcy? Privacy issue while using Google Mail in 2010. After multiple g-mail messages, that co-author began receiving advertisements from bankruptcy lawyers and wondered why. Soon figured out: Google computers scanned the content of the messages, saw mentions of OUR Chapter 7 and confused it with a Chapter 7 bankruptcy (debtor sells off assets to pay debts). 2011, company faced first of several privacy lawsuits against its practice of selling 'relevant ads' based upon content in user emails. In 2017, Google said it would stop scanning content to deliver ads. Instead, uses what it knows about you from other Google apps, and cookies and other info, to deliver its ads. Still scans content, for among other things to ensure that inappropriate ads do not show up next to sensitive message content like race, religion, sexual orientation, health, or sensitive financial categories.

Some Issues of Persuasion 1) Persuasion aimed at, and created by, news organizations Among biggest news stories about the news industry is the steady creep of persuasion-based messages aimed at m... m... by politicians and others, coupled with more persuasion-based content by n... o... *Changes in tech, audience, finance, persuasion technique, acceptance of marketing behavior led to more persuasion messages aimed at audiences. Used to have 3 broadcast networks, newscasts were similar and broadcasters ended cast as if it thoroughly reflected the world (Cronkite). Scarcity of news sources brought some good: Networks fought for s... n... a... by delivering info that was fairly a..., f... from b..., gave nation agreed-upon s... of f... -BUT any lesser-heard voices were ig... while a... is reinforced. Then you had cable and satellite systems. More channels. Large, international cable news orgs found they could make more money by t... content to match an audience's w..., slicing national audience to profitable slivers. *Then came Internet. Creation of uncountable numbers of news and opinion sites and blogs, collect more audience by w... Instead of being p... recipients of messages, people formally knwon as the audience began creating their own news/t... back to newsmakers. Led to ad revenue declines (Internet) beginning in the late 90s at many traditional news orgs, contributed to mass layoffs in newspapers. Less o... r... and more ne... des..., while many local-focused b-cast sites haven't added newsroom staff but added hours of programming. Rising number of voices led to declines in 'a...' of journalism to be 't... l...' in a post-truth age (Vos, Thomas). Changes in tradititonal media + rise of newer media means news content based on o... more than ever. Many orgs found they make more money by talking about news with a P... than actually reporting news. *More opportunities for more persuasion. News orgs/bloggers fill time and space with p... r... and v... n... r... (VNRs) - PR packages that look like t... b... s... and are given to news outlets. News orgs also are seeing publishing more o... p... provided by PR agencies instead of o... produced by journalists. Problem is that PR-originated o... p... less likely to be fair to c... and more likely to have f... e... PR prctitioners say VNRs are a modern version of printed p... r... *Nearly 1/2 of newsaper's content is related to info from p... r... VNRs describe an event, product, idea, candidate in a visually appealing way. V... usually good enough to meet stations' production demands and c... are interesting/relevant enough to meet definition of n... *Critics concerned that TV stations often show the VNRs in... without id... the s... of those materials and without augmenting them with any b... or 'l...' r... *1/2 the time we cannot distinguish VNRs and info generated by reporters Point: Nothing wrong with persuasion. But the messages/people who pass along the messages should be t...! Audiences deserve to know whether they're receiving o... n... or persuasion. Should know original creators of the message. Most effective means of regulating the rise of persuasion may not come from g... or p... a..., but from m... f... - audiences aware their news is slanted and suspect slanting done by un... s... RTDNA guidelines for use of non-editorial video, audio Stations should strive to protect the editorial integrity of the video/audio they air. Integrity comes into ? when video/audio provided to newsrooms by companies, orgs, agencies with p... or f... in... is aired. *Professional electronic journalists should clearly disclose the o... of in... and l... all material provided by outsiders. Meet this goal by... a) Determine if the station is able to shoot the video it..., or get through regular e... c... like its network feed service. If available no other way but through corporate release, managers decide what v... using the video brings to the newscast and if it outweight possible appearance of pr... pl... or c... in... b) Disclose the o... of in... and l... all mterial provided by corporate/non-editorial sources. c) Determine if in... provided with video releases follow same standards regarding C... as used in the newsroom. d) Before re-v... and a... stories released with all their elements and intended for that purpose, ask ?s regarding whether the e... process behind the story is in concert with those used in the newsroom. e) Question the s... of n... f... video that appears to have come from sources other than network news operation. f) Consider how video released from groups w/o a p... or p... a..., such as nonprofit, charitable, and educational institutions will be used in n-casts, if at all.

a) Persuasion aimed at, and created by, news organizations Among biggest news stories about the news industry is the steady creep of persuasion-based messages aimed at mass media by politicians and others, coupled with more persuasion-based content published by news orgs. Changes in tech, audiences, finances, persuasion techniques, and acceptance of marketing behaviors have led to more persuasion messages aimed at audiences. Older people often fondly remember day of only 3 b-cast networks, whose 30-minute newscasts were similar and where b-casts were ended as if a short b-cast could thoroughly reflect the world (CBS, Walter Cronkite). The scarcity of news sources brought some good, as networks fought for the same national audience by delivering info that was fairly accurate, generally free from bias, and gave the nation an agreed-upon set of facts. The bad was that having only three sources meant any lesser-heard voices were ignored while authority is reinforced. Then came cable and satellite systems that delivered more channels. Large, international cable news orgs soon found they could make money by tailoring content to match an audience's worldview, slicing the national audience into profitable slivers. Then came the Internet, with creation of uncountable numbers of news and opinion sites and blogs that collect more audiences by worldview. Instead of being the passive recipients of messages, people 'formally known as the audience' began creating their own news and talking back to newsmakers with a voice as loud. The internet led to ad revenue declines beginning in late 90s at many traditional news orgs, which contributed to mass layoffs at newspapers. Result is less original reporting and more news deserts, while many local-focused b-cast sites have not added newsroom staff while adding hours of programming. The rising number of voices led to what Vos/Thomas call, declines in 'authority' of journalism to be 'truth leaders' in a post-truth age. Together, changes in traditional media and rise of newer media mean that news content now based on opinion more than ever. Many news orgs have found they make more money by talking about news with a POV rather than actually reporting news. These changes have led to success and calamity - and more opportunities for more persuasion. News orgs and bloggers filled time and space with press releases and video news releases, PR packages that look like traditional b-cast news stories and are given to news outlets. News orgs also are seeing publishing more opinion pieces provided (for free) by PR agencies or orgs, instead of opinion produced by journalists. The problem is that PR-originated opinion pieces less likely to be fair to competitors, and more likely to have factual errors. Critics long gnashed their teeth over video news releases, or VNRs. PR practitioners say VNRs are a modern version of printed press releases, which have long been staples of environment. In fact, studies say nearly 1/2 of a newspaper's content is related to info from press releases. VNRs describe an event, product, idea, or candidate in a visually appealing way. Visuals usually good enough to meet news stations' production demands and their contents are interesting and relevant enough to meet definition of newsworthiness. Don't cost local stations. Some news orgs use VNRs in their entirety, while others incorporate portions of these packages in broader news stories. Critics are concerned that TV stations often show the VNRs intact, without identifying the source of those materials and w/o augmenting them with any balance or 'localized' reporting. Research shows about 1/2 the time, viewers cannot distinguish b/t VNRs and info generated by reporters. The point: Nothing wrong with persuasion, per se. However, the messages and people who pass along the messages should be transparent! Audiences deserve to know whether they're receiving objective news or persuasion (or a combination). Should know the original creators of the message. In the long run, most effective means of regulating rise of persuasion in news may not come from gov or professional authorities, but from market forces - audiences who are aware that their news is slanted, and who suspect the slanting is done by unidentified sources. RTDNA guidelines for use of non-editorial video/audio TV and radio stations should strive to protect the editorial integrity of the video and audio they air. Integrity at times might come into ? when stations air video and audio provided to newsrooms by companies, orgs, or gov agencies with political or financial interests in publicizing the material. Find answers to the following ? when making decisions to b-cast video/audio produced and/or supplied by non-editorial forces. Professional electronic journalists should clearly disclose the origin of info and label all material provided by outsiders. Following guidelines offered to meet this goal: è News managers and producers should determine if the station is able to shoot this video or capture the audio itself, or get it through regular editorial channels like its network feed service. If this video is available in no other way but through corporate release (case of proprietary assembly line video) then managers should decide what value using the video brings to the n-cast and if that value outweighs possible appearance of product placements or commercial interests. è Clearly disclose the origin of info and label all material provided by corporate or non-editorial sources. Graphics could denote Mercy Hospital video and the reporter or anchor script could also acknowledge it (This operating room video was provided by MH) è Determine if interviews provided with video releases follow same standards regarding COI as used in the newsroom. Some releases might contain interviews where subjects and interviewers are employed by the same organization. Consider whether tough ?s were asked, and if the subject was properly questioned è Before re-voicing and airing stories released with all their elements and intended for that purpose, ask ?s regarding whether the editorial process behind the story is in concert with those used in the newsroom. Some ?s to ask include whether more than one side is included, if there is a financial agenda to releasing the story, and if viewers would believe this work done locally by your team. è Question the source of network feed video that appears to have come from sources other than network news operation. Network feed producers should supply info revealing the source of such material è Consider how video released from groups w/o a profit or political agenda, such as nonprofit, charitable, and educational institutions will be used in n-casts, if at all. Can this material add valuable insight to local stories? Has it been issued to be aired locally and credited to the issuing orgs? Will viewers find it to be useful info?

1) Correspondence Theories: Truth 'corresponds' to r... Also known as theories of c..., co..., a... -Tied to the metaphysical realm - notion that truthful propositions correspond to or mirror o... r... Aristotle: To say of what is that it is not, or of what is not that it is, is false, while to say of what is that it is, or of what is not that it is not, is true. Aquinas: Truth is the equation of thing and intellect. A judgment is said to be true when it conforms to the e... r... Russell: Thus a belief is true when there is a corresponding f..., and is false when there is no corresponding f... Descartes: I have never had any doubts about truth, because it seems a notion so transcendentally clear that nobody can be ignorant of it. The word truth in the strict sense denotes the conformity or thought with its o... Kant: The nominal definition of truth that it is the agreement of a (cognition) with its o..., is assumed as granted. Milton and later Enlightenment scholars challenged medieval view that truth existed 'out there' and is revealed by G... or other a... f... - an argument against t... as a way of fixing our beliefs. Rather, we should use i..., j..., basic s... (touch, taste, smell) to discover what is/isn't true. Gave birth to ideas of democracy and rational gov to s... m... - truths perceived by s... and i..., they are discovered, r..., v..., recorded, replicable. In media ethics environments, correspondence theories have led to notion of o... in journalism and t... c... in ads. Based on s... m..., o... holds that journalists can make f... t... statements about the real world. More carefully they observe the world, the more truthful their reports will be. -In another media arena, when advertisers are told to make factual statements or t... c... about products, speak in terms of v... e... (Puffery is legal though... not held to standards of truth that corresponds with r...). And in world of a... and m..., readers reasonable expect stories to be based on events that actually happened. How could anybody argue against s..., s... reasoning? Note some problems with this theory! -> Some philosophers' definitions are extremely b...; the definitions seem either to be so i... o... that they are trivial platitudes or so o... that they seem meaningless. Although they may be readily applied to science and other fields, does not work as well on matters of m..., there are NO m... f... -Critics conceded there are m... t... like it is wrong to cause harm to innocent and helpless persons. But that is a different matter, such statements do not necessarily correspond with specific body of facts. -> One who accepts correspondence theory of truth must necessarily be s... about the external world. Consider difficulty of stepping outside our mind to do a r... c...: How do we compare our minds with m...-i... r...? Can we be fully o...? We would have the impossible task of encountering reality on its o... t..., independent of what we think of it. Journalism: O... and theories of truth 1973, 87 versions of SPJ said journalist should their jobs with intelligence, o..., accuracy, and fairness. Versions called o... a goal that saves as the mark of an experienced professional. -96 revision took the word out. Some traditionalists decried the absence. Safe to say some accepted the premises of correspondence theory, while SPJ tended more toward pragmatic. -2014 journalists should seek truth but does not define the term, instead calling for journalists to be accurate and fair and present info that is verified and then updated when new info becomes available. The notion of o... seems to confuse some in the public. Many consumers say they want journalists to report the truth but neither understand the various theories that describe it or understand what they really want is info that coheres to a...-h... b... -Many become mad when they do not see it, phenomenon known as h... m... effect. Notion of o... can also be troubling for journalists. It helps show young journalists the difference of fact and opinion, and young sports journalists not to be homers who cheer for their favorite team. Over time, students should understand the limits of o... a) Concern that public may mistakenly believe that info is credible just because it appears to be what Rosen called 'cured of o...' Seeking to appear o... is a form of persuasion, because it seeks to persuade consumers that the account can be trusted because it is unadorned. b) Assuming that o... leads to telling a full truth. Buttry, equating balance with fairness and o... too often results in a f... balance that produces i... stories. Amanpour, o... means giving every side a fair hearing but not treating all sides e... O... must go hand in hand with morality. Reporters writing about the H... do not contact anti-Semites who deny it. c) Reality that the decisions journalists make - what to c... and not to, who to contact, how much p... it will receive on a page/newscast - are obviously s... decisions. Journalists can seek to be accurate and fair in their coverage, but they must make v... j... at every step of the process. White, yet to see a piece of writing political or not that doesn't have a s... All writing s... the way the writer leans, no man is born perpendicular. d) Our human capacity for o... is limited by our e..., u..., and p... a... Ivans, anybody who's ever interviewed for eyewitness to an automobile accident knows there's no such thing as o...

Correspondence Theories: Truth 'corresponds' to reality Correspondence theories are also known as theories of conformity, congruence, or agreement. Tied to metaphysical realm - notion that truthful propositions correspond to or mirror objective reality. Consider quotes. Aristotle: To say of what is that it is not, or of what is not that it is, is false, while to say of what is that it is, or of what is not that it is not, is true. Aquinas: Truth is the equation of thing and intellect. A judgment is said to be true when it conforms to the external reality Russell: Thus a belief is true when there is a corresponding fact, and is false when there is no corresponding fact Descartes: I have never had any doubts about truth, because it seems a notion so transcendentally clear that nobody can be ignorant of it. The word truth in the strict sense denotes the conformity or thought with its object. Kant: The nominal definition of truth that it is the agreement of a (cognition) with its object, is assumed as granted. Milton and later and later Enlightenment scholars challenged medieval view that truth existed 'out there' and is revealed by God or other authority figures - an argument a/g 'tenacity' as a way of fixing our beliefs. Rather, scholars said we should use intellect, judgment, and basic senses (touch, taste, smell) to discover what is and is not true. Gave birth to ideas of democracy and rational gov, to scientific method - truths perceived by senses and intellect, they are discovered, rational, verifiable, recorded, replicable. In media ethics environment, correspondence theories of truth have led to notion of objectivity in j and truth claims in ad. Based on sci method, objectivity holds that j can make factually true statements about real world. More carefully they observe the world, the more truthful their reports can be. In another media arena, when advertisers are told to make factual statements or truth claims about products, they speak in terms of verifiable evidence (Puffery is legal though and not held to standards of truth that corresponds with reality). And in world of autobiographies and memoirs, readers reasonably expect stories to be based on events that actually happened. Before saying this Enlightenment perspective makes good sense; how could anybody argue a/g systematic, scientific reasoning? Note some problems with the theory. Some philosophers definitions are extremely broad; the definitions seem either to be so intuitively obvious that they are trivial platitudes, or so obscure that they seem meaningless. Although they may be readily applied to sci and some other fields, d/n work as well on matters of morality, there are no moral facts. Be aware that critics concede there are moral truths, for instance that it is wrong to cause harm to innocent and helpless persons. But that's a somewhat different matter, given that such statements d/n necessarily correspond with a specific body of facts. Finally, one who accepts correspondence theory of truth must necessarily be skeptical about external world. Consider difficulty of stepping outside our mind to do a reality check: How do we compare our minds with mind-independent reality? Can we be fully objective? We would have impossible task of encountering reality on its own terms, independent of what we think of it. J objectivity and theories of truth 1973, 87 edition of SPJ COE said j should do their jobs with intelligence, objectivity, accuracy, and fairness. Versions called objectivity a goal that serves as the mark of an experienced professional. Starting with 96 revision, word objective has NOT appeard in code. Some traditionalists decired absence of word. Safe to say some accepted premises of correspondence theory, while SPJ tended toward pragmatic. 2014 code says j should seek truth but does not define the term, instead calling for j to be accurate and fair and present info that is verified and then updated when new info becomes available. The notion of objectivity seems to confuse some in the public. Many news consumers say want j to report the truth but neither understand the various theories to describe it nor understand what they really want is info that coheres to already-held beliefs. May become mad when d/n see it, phenomenon known as hostile media effect. Notion of O also can be troubling for j. Hailed as a virtue in many intro to reporting classes, but best shown as way to help students recognize that straight-up opinion has no place in many news stories. It helps show young j the diference between fact and opinion, and young sports j not to be homers who cheer for their favorite team. Over time, students should understand limitations of objectivity... A) Concern that public may mistakenly believe that info is credible just b/c it appears to be what critic Rosen derisively called 'cured of opinion.' Seeking to appear objective is a form of persuasion, because it seeks to persuade news consumers that the account can be trust because it is unadorned. B) Assuming that o leads to telling a full truth. The late j and educator Buttry said equating balance with fairness and O too often results in a false balance that produces inaccurate stories. Broadcast j Amanpour said O means giving every side a fair hearing, but not treating all sides equally. So O must go hand in hand with morality. Reporters writing about the Holocaust do not contact anti-Semites who deny it occurred. C) Reality that the decisions j make - what to cover and not to, who to contact, how much prominence it will receive on a page or newscast - are obviously subjective decisions. J can seek to be accurate and fair in their coverage, but they must make value judgments at every step of the process. As famous writer White said: Yet to see a piece of writing, political or non, that d/n have a slant. All writing slants the way the writer leans, and no man is born perpendicular. D) Our human capacity for O is limited by our own experiences, understanding, and physical abilities. Late columnist Ivans explained: Anybody who's ever interviewed for eyewitness to an automobile accident knows there's no such thing as o.

2) Coherence Theories: Truth a... with other 'truths' Hold that assertions, statements, or beliefs are true when they c... logically and directly with other assertions, statements, beliefs we believe to be true. -Such theories hold that those things are false if they are i... with or c... the things we believe are true. It's a matter of l..., in which the goal is to make systematic and rigorously c... c... between assertions. Contrasts with correspondence theories, which focus on systematic and proper connections between our assertions and objective reality. The basic ? about coherence theory is whether our propositions cohere to o... a..., not whether they cohere to external reality. -A problem is that we can believe something because it is consistent with other things we believe, but never have any i... e... to support those beliefs. Someone who is extremely close-minded/dogmatic is likely to have an extremely c... and l... view of the world, with few of those beliefs based on reality. -Defonseca, memoir claiming that as a Jewish child in Europe, avoided the Holocaust by traveling thousands of miles and literally living among wolves (1997). Story of WW2 was riveting - but untrue. She had created her own reality - a l... but not fact-based reality - that constituted her life story. 'There are times when I find it difficult to differentiate b/t reality and my inner world' - is an operational definition of coherence theory. Lets people be s... in their beliefs - but sincerely w... when compared to reality. We encounter this theory continuously in the media environment. Persuaders and producers of entertainment fare often engage in w... p... or sy... ma... as they produce a highly creative campaign/story line, may find themselves relying upon t... c... that have a tenuous correlation with external reality. -Effective advertising often reduced to a slogan about a slogan, when a 30-second spot is focused on a s... p... that can be reduced in a few seconds to a single rhetorical claim. Presumption is that if consumers accept the longer proposition, they also will respond when the core claim is repeated. -Similar principle holds for PR campaigns seeking to s... or s... p... o... Once the essential concept is laid out, it needs to be effectively reinforced in slogans/other symbolic manipulations. -Entertainment producers who deal in myths and stereotypes also make effective us of coherence theory. Process of p... t... c..., the creators may have come to believe in their own rhetoric. When that happens, still 'speaking truth' according to this theory. Motivates many stakeholders in journalism. Reporters attempt to cut through the self-serving and evasive rhetoric, the hyperbole, and claims and counterclaims of people and institutions. Defense mechanism of the journalistic 'targets' may be to remain c... in their claims - regardless of whether these claims have any basis in objective reality. Journalists and news consumers find this to be aggravating. -If a leader insists that the economy is doing well, the war is being won, the environment in good shape, all of our tomorrows will be glorious, it is likely these t... c... are c... and c... with the leader's views of the world regardless of hard evidence to the contrary. Same is true of setbacks, where it is common to blame opponents or conspiracy for any setbacks in policy or at ballot box. To expect leader to give opinions to the c... would be to ask the leader to make f... s... according to coherence theory. -It also follows that journalists who accept sources' questionable t... c... and repeat them verbatim may also be abiding by the coherence theory. A journalist may be objective when accurately quoting a coherence statement, but the quote does not lead to accuracy in the real world. Coherence Theory, US Law, Rise of Partisan media Updated US law and tech led to boom of partisanship in mass media - one-sided talk shows, flame-throwing commentators, online echo chambers. Law changes began in the 80s with revocation of Fairness Doctrine (1949), an FCC rule requiring broadcast TV/radio stations to provide balanced coverage of controversial issues. Demise came amid tech changes. For b-cast radio, began when FM radio supplanted AM as place to listen to music. AM replaced with talk shows. End of Doctrine meant talk show hosts like Rush Limbaugh could call women feminizes without fear of the law giving his opponents equal time on air. -Cable TV held the capacity by the late 80s to make money by finding silver lining of audiences (one political ideology, or another). Throw in the internet, now easier to avoid hearing info that doesn't cohere to core beliefs. -What ethical issues may be at play? For consumers, there's ? of what ethical obligation, if any, people have to listen to conflicting ideas and info and update their beliefs as new/better info becomes available. Same can be asked of practitioners, who thrive with their predicable ideas that comport to ideas of their coherence-driven audiences. What obligation do practitioners ave to introduce correspondence-related info at odds with their audiences' beliefs? Is it right to automatically frame info to match audience views, with little thought of competing ideas?

Coherence Theories: Truth aligns with other 'truths' Coherence theories of truth hold that assertions, statements, or beliefs are true when they connect logically and directly with other assertions, statements, or beliefs we believe to be true. Such theories hold that those things are false If they are inconsistent with or contradict the things we believe are true. It's a matter of language, in which the goal is to make systematic and rigorously consistent connections between the assertions. This contrasts with correspondence theories, which focus on systematic and proper connections between our assertions and objective reality. The basic Q about coherence theory is whether our propositions cohere to one another, not whether our propositions cohere to external reality. A problem with coherence theories is that we can believe s't b/c it is consistent with other things we believe, but never have any independent evidence to support those beliefs. Someone who is extremely close-minded or dogmatic is likely to have an extremely coherent and logical view of the world, with few of those beliefs based on reality. 1997, Misha Defonseca published a memoir claiming that as a Jewish child in EU, she avoided the Holocaust by traveling thousands of miles and literally living among wolves. Story of WW2 survival was riveting - but untrue. She had created her own reality - a logical but not fact-based reality - that constituted her life story. Her statement - There are times when I find it difficult to differentiate between reality and my inner world - is an operational definition of a coherence theory of truth. Coherence theory lets people be sincere in their beliefs - but sincerely wrong when compared to reality. We encounter this theory continuously in the media environment. Persuaders and producers of entertainment fare often engage in word play or symbolic manipulation. As they produce a highly creative campaign or story line, may find themselves relying upon truth claims that have a tenuous correlation with external reality. Effective advertising is often reduced to a slogan about a slogan, when a 30-second spot is focused on a selling proposition that can be reduced in a few seconds to a single rhetorical clam. The presumption is that if consumers accept the longer proposition, they also will respond when the core claim is repeated. A similar principle holds for PR campaigns seeking to solidify or shift public opinion. Once the essential concept is laid out, it needs to be effectively reinforced in slogans or other symbolic manipulations. Entertainment producers who deal in myths and stereotypes also make effective use of the coherence theory of truth. Process of piling truth claims, the creators of media fare may have come to believe their own rhetoric. When that happens, they are still 'speaking truth' according to coherence theory. Coherence theory motivates many stakeholders in j. Reporters attempt to cut through the self-serving and evasive rhetoric, the hyperbole, and the claims and counterclaims of people and institutions. The defense mechanism of the journalistic 'targets' may be to remain consistent in their claims - regardless of whether their claims have any basis in objective reality. J and news consumers often find this to be extremely aggravating. If a leader insists that the economy is doing well, the war is being won, the environment is in good shape, and all of our tomorrows will be glorious, it is likely that these truth claims are coherent and consistent with the leader's views of the world ... regardless of hard evidence to the contrary. The same is true of setbacks, where it is common to blame opponents or conspiracy for any setbacks in policy or at the ballot box. To expect the leader to give opinions to the contrary would be to ask the leader to make false statements, according to the coherence theory. It also follows that j who accept sources' questionable truth claims and repeat them verbatim may also be abiding by the coherence theory. A j may be objective when accurately quoting a coherence statement, but the quote does not lead to accuracy in the real world. Coherence theory, U.S. Law, Rise of partisan media Updated US law and tech have led to a boom of partisanship in mass media - one-sided talk shows, flame-throwing commentators, online echo chambers. Law changes began in 80s with revocation of 49 Fairness Doctrine, a Federal Communications Commission rule requiring b-cast TV and radio stations to provide balanced coverage of controversial issues (print and internet never faced that requirement). Fairness Doctrine's demise came amid tech changes. For b-cast radio, it began when FM radio supplanted AM as place to listen to music. AM replaced music with talk shows, likes of Rush Limbaugh began bringing conservative bend to radio. End of Fairness Doctrine meant he could call women feminazis without fear of the law giving his opponents equal time on air. Cable TV, not subject to FCC rules, had the capacity by late 80s to make money by finding sliver of audiences (fans of cooking, one political ideology or another). Throw in the internet, and now it is easier than ever to avoid hearing info that d/n cohere to your core beliefs. What ethical issues may be at play? For individuals consuming media, there's Q of what ethical obligation, if any, people have to listen to conflicting ideas and info and update their beliefs as new and better info becomes available. The same question can be asked of media practitioners, who thrive with their predictable ideas that comport to the ideas of their coherence-driven audiences. What obligation do practitioners have to introduce correspondence-related info at odds with their audiences' beliefs? Is it right to automatically frame info to match audience views, with little thought of competing idea and different frame?

Schalom Schwartz and Wolfgang Bilsky: A person's values stem from two major inner conflicts. How you respond to these two conflicts says a lot about your values! 1) Preference for c... vs. s... q... (keeping things the same) 2) Motivated by ...-i... vs. i... of o... Values in Media Dr. Roberts analyzed the most common broad value categories in media codes. *These were the three types of values he found most common (ranked from most prevelant!!!) 1) S... r... [showed up most frequently] 2) F.../i.../a... to c... 3) T.../c... What was nowhere to be found? S...-i.../a... Comparing Schwartz and Bilsky to Media Codes: S... r... solves the conflict of s...-.../i... of o... by selecting i... of o... F.../c... solves the conflict of c.../s... q... by selecting c... T.../c... solves conflict of c.../s... q... by selecting s... q... *Notice how s...-... wasn't selected. No one chose or decided on this (more important than i... of o...) because industries would look bad! (PR purpose of codes of ethics). Don't come to the wrong conclusion that no one thinks s...-... is more important than ... of o... Some do resolve this conflict by choosing s...-... -> People do secretly believe this they just do not put them in their codes for the world to read. Values in Media: Comparing Fields All fields espouse the value of truth. But... -Journalism sees o... truth [notion that reality is out there and journalism can measure and report it], while PR sees s... truth [we believe in truth, but maybe not the whole truth] *If your client screws up, the last thing you need is for the whole word to see the entire o... truth, conveniently overlook parts of the truth. Not OK to lie, but it is to pick and choose the truth. Journalists say you can't pick and choose the truth. -PR, ad codes more likely than news codes to mention o... to r... *Work for large companies with wealth, power, fame. *Companies benefit from the s... q..., so why change it? O... to r...! -Journalism mentions in... more than other fields *Persuasion industries typically represent the Establishment. Social media, journaliism, entertainment wants to turn the Establishment upide down. *Still not in... on their own (think of Russia)

-Change, status quo -Self-interest, interest of others 1) Social responsibility 2) Freedom, independence, ability to change 3) Tradition, conformity -Self-interest/ambition -Social responsibility solves the conflict of self-interest vs. interest of others by selecting interest of others -Freedom/changeability solves conflict of change vs. status quo by selecting change -Tradition/conformity solves conflict of change vs. status quo by selecting status quo -Self-interest, interest of others, self-interest, interest of others, self-interest -Objective truth -Selective truth -Obedience to rules -Status quo, obedience to rules -Independence -Independent

Deceit/Deception Why would a communicator ever do it? *Journalism: Lying for the g... g... (Food Lion selling bad meat) *Advertising: H... product to s... *Public relations: Shading truth for c... b... *Entertainment: Stretching truth for d... *Social media: Amplifying bad information for a c... (be it political, social, etc.) *Example of deception in entertainment: Argo hostages in Iran, story of escape from embassy. Last scene walking through airport in disguise - can they get on the plane and out before being spotted? On the plane, start to see security running for the plane and chasing it down. None of this happened. What really happened is they got on the plane and took off. The Iranians had no idea. Justification models for deception and lying Sissela Bok: 1) Are there a... a... to resolve the dilemma without lying? -> If no, move on. 2) What are the m... r... for and against the lie? -> If r... seem to for the lie seem to outweigh r... against the lie, then move on. 3) As a test of the first two steps, what would a p... of r... p... say about the lie? -> If the t... of p... passes, then OK, maybe you can lie. What Bok reveals is usually your answer at the end of the model will be NO! Do not lie! Lou Hodges' Model (for journalism specifically): 1) Is information of o... p... im...? -> If yes, then move on. 2) Is it possible to get the information without d...? -> If no, then move on. 3) Would the deception put in... p... at s... r...? -> If no, then OK, maybe you can lie. Final thoughts... In communications, deception can occassionally be j..., but truth is the u... m... v...!

-Journalism: Lying for the greater good -Advertising: Hyping product to sell -PR: Shading truth for client benefit -E: Stretching truth for drama -SM: Amplifying bad info for a cause -Alternative actions -Moral reasons -Public of resonable persons, test of publicity -Overriding public importance -Deception -Innocent people at serious risk -Justified, ultimate moral value!

Step No. 4: What's it worth? -NOT about consequences (If I do something, what's gonna happen? This was step 3). -It IS about ... What's it Worth: -Essential to identify ... that support each possible r... of a m... d... *And of course, should you have a dilemma, these ... will c... (Good ... supporting more than one r...) -So, which ... are most important to you? AND it's not just you! -To your organization (boss)? -To your profession as a whole? -To your community? -To your sources or clients? ... - concepts of d... c... and b... *They are not ideologies (Liberal, Conservative, Democratic, Republican) or beliefs (abortion is OK, abortion is wrong)! -They represent the c... c... of what *communities (can put organization or individual in its place) find desirable, important, and morally proper. Examples: Truth, equality, fairness, tolerance, security, freedom, happiness Some values are ..., some are not -> Examples of ...-... values in life: *Friendship, money, health -> Examples of ...-... values in media: *Scoops, big audience, impact If you are a liar, you would be immoral (value of truth), if you don't have friends or money, you aren't immoral (non-moral values). You have many b... and a... but only a few values. *They comprise your ... s... *Your values likely influence your c... c... -> If you value public service, probably join journalism or entertainment. Not so much advertising. -> If you value truth, probably join journalism or entertainment. Not so much PR. -> If you value ambition, probably join PR or advertising. Wealth, fame, power.

-Values -Values, resolution, moral dilemma -Values, conflict, values, resolution -Values -Values, desirable conditions and behaviors -Collective conception -Moral -Non-moral -Non-moral -Beliefs and attitudes -Value system -Career choice

Three Theories of Truth 1) C...: There is an a... truth, is o... and an o... truth that can be found and communicated. 2) C...: Information is true if it coheres or fits with e... b... (e... c...!) *Only expose yourself to information you already thought was true (e... b...). If any information doesn't fit with what you already believe, seen as untrue. 3) P...: An o... truth doesn't exist because journalists are human and naturally b... *Opposte of c... theory *Should keep b... out of our work unless an opinion piece. But journalists have and do apply values through news judgment, making o... impossible. Continuum of Truth Knowing where different categories of information fall along with their motives according to truth or untruth. \ *Ultimate truth at the top, blatant lies at the bottom. 1) -> F... and in... -> J... n... Group characteristics: Intent to in... a..., f...; no apparent b... [At the top of the continuum] 2) -> P... r... copy -> E.../c... -> A... copy -> P... Group characteristics: Intent to p... by using s... information; truth but not the whole truth 3) -> P... and a... -> F... -> H... e... Group characteristics: N...-t... told without intent to d... 4) -> D... -> W... l... Group characteristics: Intent to d... even if purpose is deemed by communicator to be justifiable. *Summarized Box 1 = whole truth 2 = selective truth 3 = no truth, but not deceiving 4 = no truth, and deceiving

1) Correspondence -Absolute, objectivity, objective 2) Coherence -Exsiting beliefs (echo chambers!) 3) Pragmatic -Objective, biased -Correspondence -Bias, objectivity 1) Facts and information Journalistic news Intent to inform accurately, fully; no apparent bias 2) Public relations copy Editorials/columns Advertising copy Propaganda Intent to persuade by using selective information 3) Parables and allegories Fiction Honest error Non-truths told without intent to deceive 4) Deceit White lies Intent to deceive even if purpose deemed to be justifiable

Ethical Advocacy, Selective Truth Telling, Transparency Consider a continuum of beliefs while considering pros/cons of persuasion. Type A -E... deserves a voice in the marketplace of ideas. -People generally make r... decisions in an open m-place. -Advocates s... the economy and political discourse. Deserve protection unless causing s... h... -T... and s... v... emerge in an open m-place of ideas that is relatively free from g... r... Type B -Persuaders d... the m-place. They promote b... products, r... prices, f... w... f... off field. -Consumers are the d... party. -Professional advocates are s... but less m.... Capitalize on our w... -We need g... to p... us from manipulation to ensure s... j... and a level playing field. A = P... e... or 'l...-f...' perspective. Less likely than B to think world's search for t... and f... can take care of itself with little oversight. Overstatement of c... l... theory of the marketplace of ideas. B = P... r... or c... perspective. Assume g... should in... to provide a more level playing field. Overstatement of modern s... r... theory. *These theories rarely if ever fully reflect the real world! On most issues, avoid extremes and lie somewhere in the middle. *Pardun, some see advertising as persuading people to w... m..., while others see advertising as r... s... of l... - and forcing competitors to do their best b/c they must compete in the m-place. Which is it? A noble method for im... m... c...? A questionable process to w... m... out of the hands of people who can't a... to l... it go? It's a bit of both. *Says a lot about your worldview, model of humanity, and ultimately concept of ethics. Do you tend to think humans are r.../ir...? Are they a... a.../v...? Should persuaders have c... a... to the m-place of opinion, or should g... t... c...what they can do? Do you think persuaders are motivated by p... in... and long-term s... b..., or by s-... with little to no concern for c...' welfare?

Ethical Advocacy, Selective Truth-Telling, and Transparency Consider a continuum of beliefs while considering the pros and cons of persuasion. What is closer to your view, Type A or B, shows you where you stand. Type A [Decide which comes closer to your view about the ethics and limits of persuasion] -Everyone deserves a voice in the marketplace of ideas. -People generally make rational decisions in an open m-place. -Advocates stimulate the economy and political discourse. Deserve protection unless causing specific harm. -Truth and social value emerge in an open m-place of ideas that is relatively free from gov restrictions. Type B -Persuaders dominate the m-place. They promote bad products, raise prices, force weaker foes off field. -Consumers are the disadvantaged party. -Professional advocates are smarter but less moral. Capitalize on our weaknesses. -We need gov to protect us from manipulation to ensure social justice and a level playing field. More 'A' statements move you closer to a classic liberal theory of the m-place of ideas. More 'B' statements put you in the social responsibility camp. A) Professional entitlement or 'laissez-faire' perspective. People who chose A, less likely than people who chose B to think the world's search for truth and fairness can take care of itself with little oversight. B) Professional responsibility or communitarian perspective. More B answers assumes that gov should intervene to provide a more level playing field. Says a lot about your worldview, model of humanity, ultimately concept of ethics. Do you tend to think humans are rational or irrational? Are they autonomous agents or victims? Should persuaders have complete access to the m-place of opinion, or should govs and others tightly control what they can do? Do you think persuaders are motivated by public interest and long-term social benefit, or by self-interest with little to no concern for consumers' economic or mental health or welfare? First set of assumptions is an overstatement of classical liberal theory, the second is an overstated view of modern social responsibility theory. Some scholars may call the first argument 'professional entitlement' or laissez-faire (gov should not interfere) perspective and the second the 'professional responsibility' or 'communitarian' perspective. These are complex theories that rarely if ever fully reflect the real world. On most issues, we usually avoid extremes and land somewhere in the middle. Pardun, some see advertising as persuading people to waste $, while others see advertising as raising standards of living - and forcing competitors to do their best b/c they must compete in the m-place. So which is it? A noble method for improving modern civilization? Or a questionable process to wrestle $ out of the hands of people who can't afford to let it go? The reality is, it's a bit of both.

2) Hodges' Justification Model For the news media that asks a journalist contemplating deception to answer these three questions specifically. Said deceptive tactics not justified unless particular circumstances of a proposed deceit pass all three... 1. The info sought must be of o... p... im... It is not sufficient to be merely in... info that readers would w... to know. It must be info readers n... to know in order to achieve important goals or avoid serious harm. 2. There must be no reasonable likelihood that comparably a... and r... in... could be obtained as e... w/o deception. 3. The deception contemplated must not place in... p... at s... r... This test would ordinarily rule out posing in the role the j could not reasonably fulfill (a firefighter, doctor) but it would not rule out posing in roles the j is more likely equipped to play (nursing home orderly, factory worker). 3) TARES Test for Persuaders Bok's principles about truth telling are highlighted, in this model of persuasive communicators. -R... for the a... is the 'R' of the model, and persuaders not showing r... when they fail to meet standards for truth that is the 'T' of the model. -The model's creators, Baker and Martinson, note that truth telling goes beyond not telling l... l...: Requires persuaders' in... not to deceive, the in... to provide others with the truthful info they legitimately need to make good decisions about their lives. The truthfulness of the message part of the model raises ?s like... -> Whether the message is both a... AND t..., without overt or covert d... and r... to the persuadees' human need to have truthful info to inform their life decisions. -> R...: How would you feel if you received this message? -> C..., whether alternatives are presented truthfully and relevant evidence not downplayed. -> Whether s... omissions can be j... and not meant to d... Can w... info harm people? -> How the message may offer f... im..., and how audiences can ? the speaker's honesty based upon the message. Summary What's it worth? Truth is one of the most important values in the media ethics environment. Practitioners and consumers have made an im... a...: Media that inform/persuade have a special obligation to be truth seekers and truth tellers. Truth has a high value and when diminished all of us suffer. Truth telling not a simple matter. All too often must be balanced a/g other compelling values like m... h..., s... r... (sources, subjects, clients, audiences). In such cases, helpful to have a reliable moral compass and employ a valid justification model. Truth telling also has a p... j...: It is good business.

Lee Hodges' Justification Model for journalists Hodges offered a justification model for the news media that askes a j contemplating deception to answer three Qs specifically. He said deceptive tactics are not justified unless the particular circumstances of a proposed deceit pass all three... 1. The info sought must be of overriding public importance. It is not sufficient to be merely interesting info that readers would want to know. It must be info readers need to know in order to achieve important goals or avoid serious harm. 2. There must be no reasonable likelihood that comparably accurate and reliable info could be obtained as efficiently w/o deception. 3. The deception contemplated must not place innocent people at serious risk. This test would ordinarily rule out posing in the role the j could not reasonably fulfill (a firefighter, doctor) but it would not rule out posing in roles the j is more likely equipped to play (nursing home orderly, factory worker). The TARES Test for Persuaders Bok's principles about truth telling are highlighted here, a model for persuasive communicators (TARES Test). Respect for the audience is the 'R' in the model, and persuaders are not showing respect when they fail to meet standards for truth that is the 'T' of the model. The model's creators, Baker and Martinson, note that truth telling goes beyond not telling literal lies: Requires the persuader's intention not to deceive, the intention to provide others with the truthful info they legitimately need to make good decisions about their lives. The Truthfulness (of the Message) part of their model raises questions which include: è Whether the message is both accurate AND truthful, without overt or covert deception and responsive to the persuadees' human need to have truthful info to inform their life decisions. è Reciprocity: How would you feel if you received this message? è Completeness, whether alternatives are presented truthfully and relevant evidence not downplayed. è Whether selective omissions can be justified and not meant to deceive. Can withholding info harm people? è How the message may offer false impressions, and how audiences can ? the speaker's honesty based upon the message. Summary What's it worth? Truth is one of the most important values in the media ethics environment. Media practitioners and media consumers have made an implicit agreement: Media that inform and persuade have a special obligation to be truth seekers and truth tellers. Truth has a high value, and when diminished, all of us suffer to an extent. Truth telling is not a simple matter in the media world. All too often it must be balanced a/g other compelling valus like value of minimizing harm, sustaining relationships (sources, subjects, clients, audiences). In such cases is helpful to have a reliable moral compass and employ a valid justification model. Truth telling also has a pragmatic justification: It is good business.

Media organizations declare Truth to be a key value Despite shortcomings shown, nearly all media swears a fealty to truth. Most media codes include a call for truth. But they may not clearly d... what truth means or how to a... it. Journalism codes call for truth to be pursued aggressively and presented as completely, accurately, in context as possible, and for info to be updated when needed. They call for independence to be able to pursue truth. PR codes add a caveat: PRSA calls for accuracy while advancing the i... of clients, suggesting a s... truth-telling model. Ad codes call for truth as defined by l.. s... but allow p... This may lead some to ?s: How can truth be seen in so many different ways? How can journalists say they will publish truth, but also often have to publish s... in order to meet d... and sate public's a... for i...? Why can't they get it right the f... t..., and not need r... to update and correct info? And how can PR and ad practitioners define truth in the context of s... c... who may not see absolute truth as in their best interest? Answers begin in the following... Truth has many definitions Values of truth in codes of ethics. Truth is an o... v... in every media speciality.

Media Orgs Declare Truth to be a Key Value Despite shortcomings shown and the Qs asked for each of media categories, nearly all swear fealty to truth. As we noted, most media codes of ethics include a call for truth. But they may not clarly define what truth means or how to achieve it. Journalism codes call for truth to be pursued aggressively and presented as completely, accurately, and in context as possible, and for info to be updated when needed. They call for independence to be able to pursue truth. PR codes add a caveat. The PRSA code calls for accuracy while 'advancing the interests' of clients, suggesting a selective truth-telling model. Ad codes call for truth, as defined by legal standards but allow puffery. This may lead to some Qs: How can truth be seen in so many different ways? How can journalists say they will publish truth, but also often have to publish something in order to meet deadlines and sate public's appetite for info? Why can't they get it right the first time, and not need reminder to update and correct info? And how can PR and ad practitioners define truth in the context of serving clients who may not see absolute truth as in their best interest? Answers begin in the following... Truth has many definitions Value of truth in media COE Truth is an overarching value in EVERY media specialty. First of four key values in SPJ code is 'seek truth and report it. Ethical journalism should be accurate and fair. Journalists should be honest and courageous in gathering, reporting, interpreting info.' Under first key, journalists reminded of minimum standards a/g plagiarism and attribute info to original sources. Also reminds j to verify and take responsibility for info they provide, not let speed get in way of accuracy, provide context, update info as stories continue, clearly ID sources, provide access to source material, never distort info regardless of format. Code even suggests limits to publishing every scrap of info about some topics. Minimize Harm notes difference b/t legal right and ethical justification to publish info. Asks j to balance public's need for info a/g potential harm or discomfort. Also reminds j to show compassion, especially people who may not have full agency or are victims, be careful about private info, recognize difference b/t public and private figures, avoid pandering to lurid curiosity. Online News Association build it yourself site where j could tailor own COE, but process starts with a list of values so fundamental that any j should abide by them. First value, telling the truth. Includes reminders that j should be honest, accurate, truthful, fair. Provide context, seek diverse voices, ensure reliability of sources, fix mistakes quickly, help audiences report mistakes, give targets of criticism chance to respond, distinguish fact/opinion. Code of Ethics for Bloggers, SM, Content Creators (digital media, blogging, SM). Reminds people to tell truth at all times. In what may be a nod to correspondence theory of truth, When publishing content present facts as they are, even if disagree with them. Also notes online content comes with level of permanence that may outlive writer, so must be truthful representation of topic at hand for current/future generations. PRSA (PR) Honesty: We adhere to the highest standards of accuracy and truth in advancing interests of those we represent and in communicating with public. International Association of Business Communicators (PR) I am honest, and second principle to communicate accurate info and promptly correct any errors. AAF (Ad) based on Journalist's Creed, eight I believe statements include one: Should be a single standard of truth for ad, news, opinion. AFA code restates: Ad, PR, marketing comm, news, editorial all share a common objective of truth and high ethical standards in serving the public. Also seventh principle reminds advertisers that federal agencies require ads have a prior reasonable basis of fact. Says leaving out info is same as not telling the truth. AAAA (Ad) Concerns about promise keeping among members and clients, states opposition to messages that are intentionally discriminatory, offensive, false or stereotypical. Also says comparative advertising should be held to same truth standards as all other advertising.