1. Professional Morality and Public Interest
•The duty to inform the public is used to justify publication details of
the private life of public office holders not only details of their office
•Morality and society- the prudential decision enforced by
law eg court case reporting, privacy
•Morality and commerce- a question of duty to the
company vs reader, circulation and profit vs. moral
reporting
•Morality and the consumer-the reader wants to buy it, pg
50
•The consumer however can’t always be blamed for this
because:
•The consumer may be entirely unaware that the
publication contains unethical material
•Even if they are aware they cant make a judgment
until they see the article and pictures published
•A journalist uses material that people will buy a
paper for even if it is just because others are talking
about it.
•The moral decision is the journalist sole decision and
cannot be shared with the consumer. The decision to
print is a different moral decision to the one to read.
•Freedom of speech is rights based and not virtue based, it
cannot be measured, it is an absolute, yet limits are placed
on media freedom.
2. Limits on Journalists
UK Headings of Media Freedom Limitations:
•Coverage of criminal proceedings
•Protection of individual honor (defamation)
•Protection of commercial confidentiality
•Invasions of personal privacy
•Security and defense
•The public good (decency and taste)
•Public order
•Prevention of terrorism
thics and
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sabato agosto 09, 20142011-10-20T10:52:00Z
