Ethics and Mass Communication
The choices made by media organizations about what stories to cover, what images to show, who to interview, what sound bytes to air, and how to present information can change the way you perceive ethical issues. Media messages may stir conflicts with your own values or challenge you to think differently about information. In this Discussion, you will compare media messages about two ethical viewpoints.
To prepare for this Discussion:
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Review Chapters 1618, in the Course Text, The Dynamics of Mass Communication: Media in Transition, and the video Principles of Risk Communication. | Homework Helpers
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- Review Chapters 1618, in the Course Text, The Dynamics of Mass Communication: Media in Transition, and the video Principles of Risk Communication.
- Choose a discussion thread based on the topics available this week.
- Choose two media eventsone from a local source and one from an international sourcecovering your chosen topic. Examples of international sources include the BBC, British newspapers such as The Guardian, magazines such as The Economist, or newspapers with an international focus, such as The Christian Science Monitor.
- Determine how cultural influences, personal morals, and ethics affect the way you perceive the events.
- Examine whether your morals and ethics are, in turn, influenced by the media.
- Consider how the two forms of media your examined could change your ethical perspective about your chosen topic.
For this Discussion, choose one thread from the choices listed this week. Each thread is limited to a maximum number of students, based on class size. A thread will close if the limit is reached. If a thread is closed to new posters, select from the open threads. You will post both your initial post and your response post in the same thread.
Thread 1: Economic Equality
- Post by Day 2 a 2- to 3-paragraph comparison of the how the two media events portrayed issues related to economic equality. Refer to 2 specific examples from your course reading and record in your assignment information about each source, including author, year, page number, and publication title.
Thread 2: Gender Issues
- Post by Day 2 a 2- to 3-paragraph comparison of the how the two media events portrayed issues related gender issues. Refer to 2 specific examples from your course reading and record in your assignment information about each source, including author, year, page number, and publication title.
Thread 3: Human Rights Violations
- Post by Day 2 a 2- to 3-paragraph comparison of the how the two media events portrayed issues related to human rights violations. Refer to 2 specific examples from your course reading and record in your assignment information about each source, including author, year, page number, and publication title.
Thread 4: Medical Research
- Post by Day 2 a 2- to 3-paragraph comparison of the how the two media events portrayed issues related medical research. Refer to 2 specific examples from your course reading and record in your assignment information about each source, including author, year, page number, and publication title.
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APPLICATION ASSIGNMENT DUE SUNDAY++++++++++++++
Application: Mass Communication Critique
Has a provocative media clip showing human suffering caused you to reflect upon your ethical beliefs or to question the beliefs of others? In mass media, gatekeepers known as advertisers, journalists, news stations, media conglomerates, and their associated editorial staff weigh their own ethical beliefs and concerns to determine what is seen. In this Application, you will examine your own ethical beliefs as you analyze how media organizations decide upon the message.
To prepare for this Application:
- Review Chapters 1618 in the Course Text, The Dynamics of Mass Communication: Media in Transition, and the video Principles of Risk Communication.
- Review the articles From the Editor: Questions of Ethicsfor Bee and You, Opinion: From the Editor: The Question Is Ethics, and Readers Respond, and Impact of the Global Media Revolution.
- Read the two case studies in the Case Studies for Media Ethics document in this weeks Learning Resources and choose one to focus on for this activity.
- Identify the ethical implications posed in your chosen case study.
- Consider the social implications of the media portrayal discussed in the case study.
- Reflect on how your personal beliefs influence your ethical view of this case study.
The assignment:
- Write a 1- to 2-page critique of your chosen case study that answers the following questions:
- What are the ethical implications of the case studies?
- How did your personal beliefs affect your critique?
- What are the professional, community-based, and environmental effects of the media portrayal presented in the case study?
- Refer to 2 specific examples from your course reading and record in your assignment information about each source, including author, year, page number, and publication title.
Submit your Application by Day 7.
RESOURCES++++++++++++++++++++++++
Readings
- Course Text: The Dynamics of Mass Communication: Media in Transition
- Chapter 16, Formal Controls: Laws, Rules, Regulations
This chapter discusses laws, rules, and regulations as they relate to mass media.
- Chapter 17, Ethics and Other Informal Controls
This chapter discusses various informal controls on media and their importance to mass media.
- Chapter 18, Social Effects of Mass Communication
This chapter examines the effects of media on society. It analyzes how media influences an individuals attitude, knowledge, perceptions, and actions.
- Documents
- Articles
- Sill, M. (2009, January 11). Questions of ethicsfor Bee and you. The Sacramento Bee, p. E1.
From the editor: Questions of ethicsfor Bee and you. Sacramento Bee, by Sill, M. Copyright 2009 by McClatchy Company. Reprinted by permission of the McClatchy Company via the Copyright Clearance Center.
In this editorial, Sill poses hypothetical cases involving journalistic ethics.
- Sill, M. (2009, February 8). The question is ethics, and readers respond. The Sacramento Bee,p. E1.
Opinion: From the editor: The question is ethics, and readers respond. Sacramento Bee, by Sill, M. Copyright 2009 by McClatchy Company. Reprinted by permission of the McClatchy Company via the Copyright Clearance Center.
In this follow-up editorial, Sill recounts some of the responses of staff members and readers.
Media
- Laureate Education (Producer). Principles of Risk Communication [Video file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu
Dr. Vicki Freimuth was the Director of Communication at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from 1996 2003. In this video program, she describes the mass communication challenges faced by her department during the period of the anthrax crisis in the United States. She details some of the systems put in place to aIDress those challenges and stresses the importance of communicating accurate and timely information to the public during a crisis situation.
Optional Resources
