Misinformation, disinformation, and extremism online have intensified, and the public, news industry, and technology sector continue to grapple with how to resolve these problems. The Journalism and Media Ethics program is developing a range of initiatives that advance the following three aims:
- Giving journalists the crucial background and framework needed for ethical journalism.
- Giving the public a voice in shaping and understanding journalism.
- Using ethical principles to frame the design and delivery of news, social media, and search products.
Commentary on Journalism and Media Ethics
Is American News Coverage “Too Sympathetic to Immigrants”?
Prioritizing dignity over detachment in ethical journalism practice.
Journalism & Media Ethics is Now on Twitter
Follow us at @jmethics for posts on timely media ethics dilemmas.
Breaking News Needs Nutrition from the ‘Truth Sandwich’
Ethical journalism practices require that presidential Tweets not serve as the story.
Maintaining Objectivity when Confronted by Horror
The New York Times headline about Trump’s post-massacres speech spawned denunciations that threaten journalistic integrity.
An Ethics Report Card: 3 Dilemmas for News Coverage of Mass Shootings
The news media is making progress on how to responsibly and ethically report on mass shootings.
About the Journalism and Media Ethics program
The end of traditional "gatekeeping" has signaled a seismic shift in how narratives are framed, developed, distributed, socialized, and discussed. For some communities, this is troubling because it threatens a longstanding social order. For others, particularly those who have been ignored or sidelined by traditional gatekeepers, this is a tremendous moment of opportunity for greater inclusion. At the same time, journalism's financial sustainability continues to be in doubt.
Too often, the hardest and interdisciplinary problems with ethical implications are being identified only after editorial, business, and technology decisions have been incorporated into products and narratives. The Markkula Center for Applied Ethics is uniquely well-positioned to provide ethical frameworks to help stakeholders proactively identify and analyze normative questions from the early stages to later in delivery cycles, while at the same time enriching the ongoing debates in these spheres.
We are excited to supply a more comprehensive approach to applied journalism and media ethics. We are dedicated to helping media producers, journalists, product designers, members of the public, and critics develop ways to address pressing -- and persistent -- ethical dilemmas that continue to have wide-reaching consequences for us all.
