Peer Review

Mass Media Ethics

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Overview:: This page presents a variety of materials dealing with the subject of media ethics. It includes a concise workbook exploring ethical decision making in journalism, summaries of various commissions which have looked into media ethics, hypothetical and real-life cases which prompt discussion on ethical decision making in media, quotes about ethics/journalism, bibliographies of articles/videos/books on ethics, and links to websites related to the subject.
Type of Material:: Tutorial.
Recommended Uses:: •Individual Use •Team Resource •Home Work •Primer on the Subject •Resource for Lecture
Technical Requirements:: Browser and Internet access
Identify Major Learning Goals:: •Students will be exposed to the concept of media ethics. •Students will think critically and exercise their own ethical judgment by contemplating case studies requiring media ethics. •Students will learn about the different findings of commissions/groups which have examined media ethics.
Target Student Population:: •Journalism Students (of any media) •Broadcasting Students •Mass Media Students •Philosophy Students •Public Relations/Communications Students •Faculty and Trainers of all the academic subjects listed above. •Secondary, Undergraduate, and Graduate Students •PR and Communications Professionals
Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:: Familiarity with the fundamentals of journalism would be helpful.

Rating:
Strengths:: •Remarkably good questions and quotations to prompt discussion and critical thinking on the subject. •Case studies explore complex ethical issues that arise at the intersection of mass media and broadcast journalism. •Concise writing.
Concerns:: •Site needs to be updated. •11 of the 21 links on the General Sites on Media Ethics page are broken. •All the links on the Media Ethics Codes page are broken.

Rating:
Strengths:: •Breaks down a relatively complex subject into easy to handle sections. •Very effective questions, case studies, and quotes to prompt critical thinking of applied media ethics.
Concerns:: •Since ethics is not a simple “black or white” subject with “correct” answers, this material may be intimidating to some students. •The questions and case studies should not be used for student assessment unless the instructor is focusing only on depth and completeness of thought in the student’s answers.

Rating:
Strengths:: •Simple and intuitive interaction with website.
Concerns:: •The website is of very basic design. It is mostly text with clip art. It will struggle to hold the attention of younger students or students with no particular interest in the subject.

Other Issues and Comments:: •This is a good primer to the subject of media/journalism ethics. The thought provoking questions and case studies are excellent. •When used properly, this site should make for lively discussions in the classroom and promote compelling written essays. •However, many of the books and videos referenced by the author were published in the 1980s and 1990s, and there is no discussion of issues related to new media technology.
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