The Handbook of Mass Media Ethics

Lee Wilkins is the editor of the Journal of Mass Media Ethics and the author and co-author of scholarly books and articles and a textbook on media ethics. She is a former newspaper reporter and editor and holds the doctorate in political science from the University of Oregon. She is a member of the radio-television faculty at the University of Missouri School of Journalism. She has has won Missouri’s highest teaching award, and her research focuses on how journalists make ethical decisions. Clifford G. Christians is the Charles H. Sandage Distinguished Professor and a Research Professor of Communications at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. He holds joint appointments as a Professor of Journalism and a Professor of Media Studies. His academic degrees include a B.A in classical philosophy from Calvin College, a Th.M. in theology and culture from Fuller Theological Seminary, and and a Ph.D. in communications from the University of Illinois. In addition to having published extensively, Christians has won five teaching awards, and his interests are in the philosophy of technology, dialogic communication theory, and media ethics.

　Part I: Foundations











A philosophically based inquiry into the nature of communicating humans






Wayne Woodward









A short history of media ethics in the United States






John P. Ferre









Essential shared values and 21st Century Journalism






Deni Elliott









Moral development: A psychological approach to understanding ethical judgment






Renita Coleman and Lee Wilkins









The search for universals








Clifford G. Christians and Thomas W. Cooper





Part II: Professional Practice





6. Truth and objectivity





Stephen J. A. Ward





7. Photojournalism ethics: A 21st-Century dance of behavior, technology and ideology





Julianne H. Newton












8. Why diversity is an ethical issue












Ginny Whitehouse





9. The ethics of advocacy: Moral reasoning in the practice of public relations





Sherry Baker












10. The ethics of propaganda and the propaganda of ethics







Jay Black


11. Perspectives on pornography demand ethical critique





Wendy Wyatt and Kris E. Bunton










12. Violence










Patrick Plaisance










13. The eroding boundaries between news and entertainment and what they mean for democratic politics







Bruce A. Williams and Michael X. Delli Carpini










14. What can we get away with? The ethics or art and entertainment in the neo-liberal world







Angharad N. Valdivia


Part III: Concrete Issues










15. Justice as a journalistic value and goal










David A. Craig










16. Transparency in journalism: Menaings, merits and risks










Stephanie Craft and Kyle Heim










17. Conflict of interest enters a new age










Edward Wasserman










18. Digital ethics in autonomous systems










Michael Bugeja










19. Peace journalism










Seow Ting Lee










20. Privacy and the press










Lou Hodges





Part IV: Institutional considerations










21. Buddhist moral ethics: Intend no harm, intend to be of benefit










S. Holly Stocking










22. Communitarianism










Mark Fackler










23. Freedom of expression and the liberal democratic tradition










G. Stuart Adam










24. Media ownership in a corporate age










Matthew P. McAllister and Jennifer M. Proffitt










25. The media in evil circumstances










Robert S. Fortner










26. Ethical tensions in news making: What journalism has in common with other professions







Sandra L. Borden and Peggy Bowers










27. Feminist media ethics










Linda Steiner










28. Global media ecology: Why there is no global Media ethics standard












Mark D. Alleyne