Table Of ContentEthics and the Media
SecondEdition
Nowrevisedandcontainingseveralnewchapters,thisbookprovidesa
comprehensivesetofethicalprinciplesandmethodsofreasoningforanew
eraofdigital,globalmedia.Itdescribestheturbulentstateofmediaethics
inordinarylanguageandthroughclearexamples,andprovidesapragmatic
theoryoftruthandobjectivityforengagedmedia.Concreteguidelinesare
articulatedforidentifyingfakenewsandforreportingresponsiblyonsocial
mediaracism,extremegroups,andanti-democraticdemagogues,showing
howcitizensandjournalistscanworktogethertodetoxapollutedpublic
sphere.Thebookexaminesglobalmediaethics,wherenormsguidethe
reportingofglobalissuessuchasclimatechangeandimmigration,and
considerswhatconstitutesresponsiblejournalism.Itwillbevaluablefor
bothstudentsandpractitionersofjournalismandmediaethics,andcan
alsobeusedasacitizen’sguideforevaluatingmediareports.
STEPHEN J. A. WARD isEmeritusProfessorandDistinguishedLecturerof
EthicsattheUniversityofBritishColumbia.Hehaswrittentenbookson
mediaethics,includingtheaward-winningTheInventionofJournalismEthics:
ThePathtoObjectivityandBeyond(2004).HeisfoundingdirectoroftheCenter
forJournalismEthicsattheUniversityofWisconsin,andhehelpedtofound
theUBCSchoolofJournalism.
CambridgeAppliedEthics
Titlespublishedinthisseries
ETHICS AND BUSINESS KevinGibson
ETHICS AND THE ENVIRONMENT DaleJamieson
ETHICS AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE JohnKleinig
ETHICS AND ANIMALS LoriGruen
ETHICS AND WAR StevenP.Lee
THE ETHICS OF SPECIES RonaldL.Sandler
ETHICS AND SCIENCE AdamBriggleandCarlMitcham
ETHICS AND FINANCE JohnHendry
ETHICS AND LAW W.BradleyWendel
ETHICS AND HEALTH CARE JohnC.Moskop
ETHICS AND THE MEDIA, secondeditionStephenJ.A.Ward
Ethics and the Media
An Introduction
SecondEdition
STEPHEN J. A. WARD
UniversityofBritishColumbia
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Informationonthistitle:www.cambridge.org/9781108489768
DOI:10.1017/9781108779340
Firstedition©CambridgeUniversityPress2011
Secondedition©StephenJ.A.Ward2021
Thispublicationisincopyright.Subjecttostatutoryexception
andtotheprovisionsofrelevantcollectivelicensingagreements,
noreproductionofanypartmaytakeplacewithoutthewritten
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Firstpublished2011
Secondedition2021
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ISBN978-1-108-48976-8Hardback
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accurateorappropriate.
Tomystudents,nowfriends,journalists,and civicleaders:
sourcesofinspirationandhope
Contents
Introduction:MediaEthicsinaGlobalAge page1
1 DoingMediaEthics 9
2 ReconstructingMediaEthics 34
3 Media,Engagement,andDemocracy 60
4 Truth,Objectivity,andFakeNews 100
5 MediaHarm 127
6 MediaandExtremism 157
7 Citizens,Media,andMacro-resistance 181
8 GlobalMediaEthics 203
Bibliography 221
Index 231
vii
Introduction: Media Ethics
in a Global Age
Media ethics, the study and application of the norms of journalism,
should confront the most important questions that swirl around con-
temporarypractice.
Today, these normative questions arise from a revolutionary
change in journalism and information media in general: the evolu-
tion of a digital media that is global in reach, use, and impact.
Journalism is now distributed along global, digital networks.
Moreover, journalism is created by individuals who are not profes-
sional, mainstream journalists. The capacity to publish to a public is
now in the hands of anyone with access to the Internet. Professional
journalists, who once dominated the media sphere, now share the
space with tweeters, bloggers, citizen journalists, and social media
users around the world.
This revolution creates tensions within the ethics of media.
Traditional principles, such as objectivity, and long-standing rules
governing daily practice are questioned, or ignored by the new jour-
nalistsandtheironlineplatforms.Notionsofwhatjournalismis,and
is for – derived from a previous era of non-digital and non-global
media – are redefined. Media ethics, once a relatively homogeneous
setofnormsespousedbymainstreamprofessionals,threatenstofrag-
ment into rival sets of values espoused by different kinds of media
practitioner.
Media ethics, therefore, confronts a difficult, fundamental ques-
tion: What are the principles and practices that define responsible
journalisminadigital,mediaworld?Thisisthequestionthatdefines
thisbookandorganizesitschapters.Thequestioncanbedividedinto
1
