Media Ethics Media Ethics: Key Principles for Responsible Practice equips students with the knowledge and critical skill sets they need to develop a solid foundation in ethical Key Principles for Responsible Practice thinking and responsible media behavior. The text balances ethics theory with case studies to explain key ethical principles and their application in real-world THIRD EDITION media practice. The book introduces classical and contemporary ethics theory and helps students develop a greater understanding of and appreciation for the deliberative process required for responsible media practice. Dedicated chapters address key ethical principles including transparency, justice, harm, autonomy, privacy, and community. Case studies throughout the book provide examples of media behaviors that have posed real-life dilemmas. These contemporary examples underscore the need for ethical media practice and also set the stage for lively debate and reflection. The third edition includes up-to-date case studies, media research, and ethics theory applications to media technologies. Three new chapters address moral decision-making in everyday life, the key factors involved in being a responsible media consumer, and ethical and policy questions surrounding Big Data and our data-driven media system. Developed to foster ethical thought and decision-making, Media Ethics is the ideal textbook for courses dealing with ethics in journalism, public relations, advertising, strategic communication, and media marketing. Patrick Lee Plaisance is the Don W. Davis Professor in Ethics at the Bellisario College of Communications at Pennsylvania State University. He is the editor of the Journal of Media Ethics and an affiliate faculty member of the Rock Ethics Institute. He is the author of Virtue in the Media: The Moral Psychology of Excellence in News & Public Relations and editor of Handbook of Communication & Media Ethics. His research focuses on media ethics theory, moral psychology theory and methods, and the philosophy of technologywww.cognella.com as applied to media systems and practices. FOR Patrick Lee Plaisance PLACEMENT ONLY SKU 82974-1A Media Ethics Key Principles for Responsible Practice THIRD EDITION Patrick Lee Plaisance Pennsylvania State University SAN DIEGO To Atisaya, as always. Bassim Hamadeh, CEO and Publisher Todd R. Armstrong, Publisher Tony Paese, Project Editor Abbey Hastings, Production Editor Abbie Goveia, Graphic Design Assistant Stephanie Kohl, Licensing Coordinator Ursina Kilburn, Interior Designer Natalie Piccotti, Director of Marketing Kassie Graves, Vice President of Editorial Jamie Giganti, Director of Academic Publishing Copyright © 2021 by Cognella, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reprinted, reproduced, transmitted, or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying, microfilming, and recording, or in any information retrieval system without the written permission of Cognella, Inc. For inquiries regarding permissions, translations, foreign rights, audio rights, and any other forms of reproduction, please contact the Cognella Licensing Department at [email protected]. Trademark Notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. Printed in the United States of America. 3970 Sorrento Valley Blvd., Ste. 500, San Diego, CA 92121 Brief Contents Preface xi Acknowledgments xv Introduction 1 1. Ethics Theory: An Overview 6 2. Key Frameworks 22 3. Moral Judgment 40 4. Ethics Theory: Application to Media 61 5. Consumption 81 6. Technology 105 7. Data 126 8. Transparency 146 9. Justice 170 10. Harm 198 11. Autonomy 225 12. Privacy 253 13. Community 281 References 313 Index 333 About the Author 341 iii Contents Preface xi Acknowledgments xv Introduction 1 1 Ethics Theory: An Overview 6 Ethics Defined 7 It’s About the Journey, Not the Destination 10 Trust Your Gut, but Use Your Brain 10 The Art of the Uneasy Compromise 11 Key Thinkers Through the Ages 11 Aristotle 12 Immanuel Kant 12 John Stuart Mill 13 W. D. Ross 14 John Rawls 15 Philippa Foot 15 Seyla Benhabib 16 Kwame Anthony Appiah 17 Martha Nussbaum 18 Intent Versus Consequence, Means Versus Ends 19 For Discussion 20 2 Key Frameworks 22 Virtue Ethics 23 Doctrine of the Mean 25 Virtue as Practice 26 Human Flourishing 27 Duty Ethics 29 v vi | Media Ethics Categorical Imperative 32 Conflicting Duties 33 Consequentialist Ethics 34 Criticisms of Utility in Ethics 37 For Discussion 39 3 Moral Judgment 40 Theories of Moral Development 40 Kohlberg: An Ethic of Justice 41 Gilligan: An Ethic of Care 42 Moral Foundations Theory 45 Ethical Ideologies 52 Implications of a Universal Moral Theory 57 Media Ethics in Digital Life 59 For Discussion 60 4 Ethics Theory: Application to Media 61 Ethics Versus Wrongdoing 62 Rihanna and Snapchat 64 A Checklist for Ethical Reasoning 68 MERITS 68 Values in the Media 70 Credibility 71 Values in Journalism 73 Values in Public Relations 74 Values in Marketing and Advertising 75 For Discussion 80 5 Consumption 81 The Media System 82 Media Literacy 85 News Aggregation 88 News Literacy 89 Media Habits 93 Understanding the News Narrative 94 Exercising the Muscle of Curiosity 95 Connecting Literacy to Ethics 96 Contents | vii How News Empowers Us 97 Perceptions of Bias in the Media 101 Information and Cognition 102 Hostile Media Phenomenon 103 For Discussion 104 6 Technology 105 How We Think About Technology 106 Technological Determinism 107 The Human as a Technological Being 110 The Commercial Soul of the Digital World 111 Commodifying Our Attention 111 What We Do With Media Technology 114 News and Social Media:Valuable Crowdsourcing or Unruly Mob? 117 What Media Technology Does to Us 118 Virtues and Values in Media Technology 123 For Discussion 124 7 Data 126 The Power of Big Data 127 Data Journalism 128 Datamining and Selling Stuff 131 The Power and Perils of Algorithms 136 The Dangers of Datafication 140 Blockchain: A Possible Solution 141 Data Ethics and Media Practice 142 Journalism 143 Public Relations 143 Media Marketing 144 For Discussion 145 8 Transparency 146 Trust and Secrecy 148 Transparency as Respect 150 Case in Point: Plugola for a Pundit 151 Kant: The Principle of Humanity 152 Case in Point Undercover TV in Public Schools 155 viii | Media Ethics Kant: The Theory of Human Dignity 159 Case in Point: Native Advertising 162 Transparency in the Media 163 Journalism and Accountability 164 Case in Point: Product Placement Makes Shows Real, but Is It Ethical? 165 Being Aboveboard in Public Relations 166 Advertising: Authenticity or Deception? 166 Generating Buzz in the Blogosphere 168 For Discussion 169 9 Justice 170 Case in Point: Froot Loops, Cocoa Puffs, and Ads Targeting Kids 173 Justice as Desert 175 Justice as Equality 177 Justice as Fairness 178 Case in Point: With Google Flu Trends, Mistaking Data for Knowledge 179 Rawls and Utilitarianism 180 Rawls and a Theory of Justice 181 The Veil of Ignorance 182 The First Principle: Maximum Liberty for Everyone 184 The Second Principle:Distribution Favoring the Disadvantaged 185 The Power of Rawlsian Justice 186 The Value of Rawls for Ethics 187 Feminist Objections to Rawls’s Claims 188 Justice as Fairness in the Media 189 Case in Point: Moira Donegan and #MeToo Journalism 190 Confusion Over What’s “Fair” in Journalism 191 Dialogue and Dissemination 193 Case in Point: Greenwashing 194 Branding and Justice in Ads 195 For Discussion 197 10 Harm 198 What Constitutes “Harm”? 201 “Setting Back” Interests and “Wronging” Others 203 Harm as Culturally Bound Concept 206 Case in Point: Using Sex to Sell Stuff 208 Graphic Images in the News 209 Contents | ix Case in Point: Cutting Off the Lifeblood of Online Hate 213 “Harm” More Precisely Defined 215 Case in Point: Crowdsourced News Tests Limits in Boston Bombings 217 Mill’s Harm Principle 218 When Concern for Harm and Other Duties Conflict 221 Case in Point: Datamining Shopper Behavior—Invaluable or Invasive? 221 For Discussion 224 11 Autonomy 225 Case in Point: Drug Ad Overdose—From Cholesterol to Erectile Dysfunction 227 Freedom and Autonomy 228 Do We Have Free Will? 230 Autonomy as the Highest Good? 230 Autonomy as “Positive” Freedom 232 Moral Autonomy 235 Kant: Autonomy in the Service of Duty 235 Case in Point: The Gun Owner Next Door—Rage Over an Interactive Map 236 Autonomy and Natural Law 237 Autonomous Agency and the Media 238 Freedom of Expression 240 Case in Point: Concussions & Conflicts of Interest—Bob Costas, NBC Sports, and the NFL 241 Journalistic Independence 242 Individual-Level Conflict of Interest 243 Corporate-Level Conflict of Interest 244 Autonomy for Public Relations Professionals 246 Wanted: A Public Relations Seat at the Executive Table 246 Case in Point: Public Relations as “Corporate Conscience”? 247 Case in Point: NASA’s Public Relations Crises of Challenger and Columbia 248 Journalists: Cultivating an Online “Brand” 250 For Discussion 252 12 Privacy 253 Privacy Defined 257 Deconstructing the “Right” to Privacy 259 Case in Point: Covering the Moment of Death in War 260 The Moral Value of Privacy 262 Development of the Self 262 x | Media Ethics Maintenance of the Social Fabric 264 Case in Point: Do Geofences Corral Customer Loyalty? 265 The History of Privacy 266 Privacy in the Media 269 Case in Point: NASCAR and Dale Earnhardt’s Autopsy Photos 270 The Role of Privacy in the News 271 Legal Aspects