eCommons@AKU Graduate School of Media and Communications AKU in East Africa 2002 Ethics in journalism and Cheryl Kernot: A colloquium Rhonda Breit Aga Khan University,
[email protected] John Harrison University of Queensland Martin Hirst University of Queensland Trina McLellan University of Queensland Desley Bartlett University of Queensland Follow this and additional works at: https://ecommons.aku.edu/eastafrica_gsmc Part of the Journalism Studies Commons, and the Mass Communication Commons Recommended Citation Breit, R., Harrison, J., Hirst, M., McLellan, T., Bartlett, D. (2002). Ethics in journalism and Cheryl Kernot: A colloquium. Australian Studies in Journalism, 10-11, 33-57. Available at: https://ecommons.aku.edu/eastafrica_gsmc/13 Australian Studies in Journalism 10-11: 2001-02, pp.33–57 Ethics in journalism and Cheryl Kernot: A colloquium Rhonda Breit, John Harrison, Martin Hirst, Trina McLellan & Desley Bartlett Ethics asks the “ought” question. Ought Laurie Oakes have disclosed Cheryl Kernot’s affair with Gareth Evans? Ought the affair be taken into account in any assessment of Kernot’s motives for defecting to the ALP? Ought Kernot have disclosed the affair to ALP leaders before her defection? Ought Kernot have omitted the affair from her memoir? Ought politicians’ private lives be paraded in public? Ought journalists re-consider their treatment of high-profile women in public life? All these issues and more are discussed in the colloquium below. heryl Kernot was elected as an Australian Democrat Senator for Queensland in 1990, and was leader of the party from C1993 until 1997, when she defected to the Australian Labor Party – cast into Opposition at the 1996 general election after 13 years in government.