E-Book Overview
The Moral Media provides readers with preliminary answers to questions about ethical thinking in a professional environment. Representing one of the first publications of journalists' and advertising practitioners' response to the Defining Issues Test (DIT), this book compares thinking about ethics by these two groups with the thinking of other professionals. This text is divided into three parts: *Part I includes chapters that explain the DIT and place it within the larger history of three fields: psychology, philosophy, and mass communication. It also provides both a statistical (quantitative) and narrative (qualitative) analysis of journalists' responses to the DIT. *Part II adds to scholarship theory building in these three disciplines and makes changes in the DIT that adds an element of visual information processing to the test. *Part III explores the larger meaning of this effort overall and links the results to theory and practice in these three fields. The Moral Media pursues connections among various intellectual disciplines, between the academy and the profession of journalism, and among those who believe that what journalists do is essential. As a result, this book is appropriate for aspiring journalists; scholars in journalism and mass communication; psychologists, particularly those interested in human development and behavior; and philosophers.
E-Book Content
THE MORAL MEDIA
How Journalists Reason About Ethics
LEA'S COMOMUNICATION SERIES Jennings Bryant/Dolf Zillmann, General Editors Selected titles in Journalism (Maxwell McCombs, Advisory Editor) include: Heider • White News: Why Local News Programs Don't Cover People of Color lorio • Qualitative Research in Journalism: Taking It to the Streets Lipschultz/Hilt • Crime and Local Television News: Dramatic, Breaking, and Live From the Scene Merrill/Gade/Blevens • Twilight of Press Freedom: The Rise of People's Journalism Merritt/McCombs • The Two W's of Journalism: The Why and What of Public Affairs Reporting Rush/Oukrop/Creedon • Seeking Equity for Women in Journalism and Mass Communication Education: A 30-Year Update Wanta • The Public and the National Agenda: How People Learn About Important Issues For a complete list of titles in LEAs Communication Series, please contact Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers, at www.erlbaum.com
THE MORAL MEDIA
How Journalists Reason About Ethics
Lee Wilkins University of Missouri
Renita Coleman Louisiana State University
2005
LAWRENCE ERLBAUM ASSOCIATES, PUBLISHERS Mahwah, New Jersey London
Copyright © 2005 by Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, by photostat, microform, retrieval system, or any other means, without prior written permission of the publisher. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc., Publishers 10 Industrial Avenue Mahwah, New Jersey 07430 Cover design by Kathryn Houghtaling Lacey Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Wilkins, Lee. The moral media : how journalists reason about ethics / Lee Wilkins, Renita Coleman. p. cm. — (LEA's communication series) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-8058-4474-0 (cloth : alk. paper) ISBN 0-8058-4475-9 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Journalistic ethics. I. Coleman, Renita. II. Title. PN4756.W56 2005 174'.90704—dc22
III. Series. 2004050053 CIP
Books published by Lawrence Erlbaum Associates are printed on acidfree paper, and their bindings are chosen for strength and durability. Printed in the United States of America 109 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To David and John ...and to all the professionals who so generously took time out of their busy day to cooperate with a couple of "ivory tower" academics on a rather long survey
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Contents
Preface