Ethical Issues in Journalism and the Media (Paperback)

All over the world codes of conduct have been proposed for journalists. In fact ethics is inseparable from journalism, because the practice of journalism is centred on a set of essentially ethical concepts: freedom, democracy, truth, objectivity, honesty, privacy. If the proper role of journalism is seen as providing information, then the ethical questions focus on one issue: maintaining the "quality" of the information. This issue has become a matter of political controversy and public concern. Many people think the media are inaccurate and biased. The Robert Maxwell case has re-opened the issue of media ownership. Questions of censorship and freedom of information have arisen in connection with "Spycatcher", the fight against terrorism in Northern Ireland and the wars in the Falklands and the Gulf. Parliament has threatened statutory controls if the voluntary partnership of the Press Complaints Commission and the newspaper industry cannot curb gross invasions of privacy and other malpractices by the tabloid press. There is much concern about the trivialising and exploitative representation of women in the media. This book addresses issues such as these.