Month: March 2011

Thanks to our sponsors, panelists, and conference attendees!

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The Center for Journalism Ethics stages a conference on partisan news media April 15, featuring a keynote by a leading Al Jazeera English official and sessions on the impact of partisan media on public broadcasting, polls, and public opinion. Leading journalists, media ombudsmen, and communication experts will lead the discussion. For full details . . .

Government proposals threaten South African press freedom?

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Attempts by the ANC in South Africa to introduce a new system of press regulation have stirred up fears that press freedoms and access to information will be unduly restricted. In this article, Herman Wasserman reviews the controversy and examines how schools of journalism have jumped into the fray. The result is robust public discussion on the role of media in the transitional democracy of South Africa

Governor Walker and the Beast: Do ends justify the means?

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The storm of controversy that swirls around the prank call to Gov. Scott Walker raises the oldest question in ethics: If you achieve results, who cares about the means?

Of course, we are taught to be wary of “the ends justifies the means” reasoning, but is this always the case in journalism?

By existing journalism standards, the prank call was unethical practice. But explaining how such standards apply in a world of new media and new practices is complicated . . .