The Ethical Journalist

Gene Foreman joined the Penn State faculty in 1998 after retiring from The Philadelphia Inquirer , where he managed newsroom operations for more than 25 years under various titles-managing editor, executive editor and deputy editor. He also was a vice president of the company. He was president of the Associated Press Managing Editors in 1990 and was a member of the board of the American Society of Newspaper Editors from 1995 to 1998. At Penn State, he was the Larry and Ellen Foster Professor from 1999 until his retirement from full-time teaching in December 2006. He taught courses in news editing, news media ethics, and newspaper management. In 2003, Foreman received two awards for excellence in teaching in the College of Communications-the Deans' Award and the Alumni Society Award. As a visiting professor, he continues to direct the Foster Conference of Distinguished Writers, in which acclaimed journalists are brought to campus to discuss their experiences and techniques. Lecture by Gene Foreman at Clinton School of Public Service in Little Rock: http://www.viddler.com/explore/clintonschool/videos/345/ is and board member of the American Society of Newspaper Editors.

Foreword: Journalism Genes xvii Preface xx Acknowledgments xxii Part I: A Foundation for Making Ethical Decisions 1 1 Why Ethics Matters in Journalism 3 2 Ethics: The Bedrock of a Society 16 3 The News Media's Role in Society 24 4 For Journalists, a Clash of Moral Duties 39 5 The Public and the Media: Love and Hate 56 6 Applying Four Classic Theories of Ethics 74 7 Using a Code of Ethics as a Decision Tool 83 8 Making Moral Decisions You Can Defend 105 Part II: Exploring Themes of Ethics Issues in Journalism 121 9 Stolen Words, Invented Facts ... Or Worse 123 10 Confl icts of Interest: Divided Loyalties 137 11 The Business of Producing Journalism 159 12 Getting the Story Right and Being Fair 183 13 Dealing With Sources of Information 208 14 Making News Decisions About Privacy 229 15 Making News Decisions About Taste 252 16 Deception, a Controversial Reporting Tool 268 17 Covering a Diverse, Multicultural Society 288 18 Ethics Issues Specific to Web Journalism 313 19 Ethics Issues Specific to Visual Journalism 336 20 Ethics in the Changing Media Environment 360 Conclusion: Some Thoughts to Take With You 378 Case Study Sources 381 Index 392