Part of all that I have met

Like so many others who have posted, it is hard for me to determine the exact beginnings of my current ethics and philosophy. I have to attribute the foundatoins of it to my wonderful parents who taught me in word and by example much of what I still believe and attempt to live. They always taught me to be kind, courteous, fair, and unoffensive. I remember lessons on honesty, vulgarity, and other such things, and the fixed punishments for misbehavior. They weren't abusive or controlling, but loving and supportive, giving me respect and freedom. Their disappointment was more motivating to me than any physical punishment. I wanted to live a good life to make them proud of me and become the type of people they were. As with most children, the "Golden Rule" was stressed heavily.

Other factors that contributed heavily to my ethical growth include: religeon, friends, teachers, and life experience. Religeon was stressed heavily in my early years, and since I have come to choose for myself and found it my own belief from which I base most of my ethical standpoint. I am LDS and try to live by the standards taught therein. I have lived in a predominantly LDS community most of my life, and therefore been influinced by many, many people of my own faith. My friends have not always been LDS but have often shared the same values and reinforced in me my convictions of what is ethical and what isn't. These influences have produced in me what I would mainly call pluralistic values.

The other main factor that contributes to my ethical standpoint is a utalitarian streak that I believe is the foundation of much of the United State's constitution. While I am a religeous person, I don't believe that those views should be forced on anybody. I believe that ethics, especially in the media, require a utalitarian view if they are to function properly. Not everybody will believe the same or feel the same; therefore, it is the responsiblility of the media, and even the government to do what is best for the greatest number of people. I will say that there is more to it than that, we shouldn't blatantly cause harm to another included party, but ovelrall, I think this is a utalitarian view.

I find it interesting to note that my ethical views are slightly different when in different circumstances. In a government position I believe in different ethics than I do on a personal level. Ethics, to me, are very circumstantial.

roots appear

When hearing things like "ethical philosophy" it makes me think of something important and serious. However when I view my personal values I don't always see them in a serious note. Since growing up with a very opinionated family I was allowed to think pretty freely. That is within the perameter of a Mormon girl in a religious family. Don't get me wrong, I was raised quite well. I however feel at odds within even my religion and gender.

I was the only girl with three little brothers and masculine father. I was taught to do unto others as you want done unto them. However as I grew out of my little kid sharing stage I developed a more moderation concept. That finding a middle like Aristotle has proved helpful. However I always had a struggle with the gender differences. Then when Nancy told us about Carol Gilligan I just wanted to leap for joy. This could be something I viewed with personal experiences affecting ethical choices as well as your gender. I now must look into her more and continue digging into myself as well.

Ethics & Roots

I didn't really grow up with religion playing any part in my life at all. My parents really only provided ethical guidance when it was obvious that I screwed up. Although I screwed up quite often, I didn't often get caught. :-)

Although my parents didn't often provide direct moral guidance, they did somehow sneak in some guilt trip into my personality. I'm still trying to figure out how they managed that one. For years it was the personality trait of the said guilt trip which would guide me. For the most part, I think it did a pretty decent job.

I graduated from high school in 2003, and promptly flew from Maine to Utah to begin college. When I entered college I also joined the Air Force ROTC here at USU.

The US Air Force has a set of three 'Core Values', "Integrity First, Service Before Self, & Excellence In All We Do". Two years of Air Force ROTC and a month of Field Training has engrained in me, above all else, "Integrity First". Due to circumstances mostly out of my control, I am no longer in ROTC. But the training instilled in me a sense of integrity.

Going back in time a little now, I began dating someone back in Maine. We moved to Utah together, and dated here for a while more. Overall, we for a few years. When we broke up, I didn't take it very well. I conducted myself in a very poor manner, and lost a lot of self-respect over how I behaved.

Between an obnoxious guilt trip personality, ROTC, a poor breakup, most of my actions revolve around whether I think something’s ethical and whether I be able to respect myself or not.

I think that my perception about whether an action is ethical or not tends to be very virtue-based (Kant), but occasionally utilitarianism. For example, I generally consider lies unethical, but there are always the bizarre exceptions to the rule.

Sting Journalism

BBC Radio World Service carried a story this morning on a burgeoning niche in media called Sting Journalism, in which reporters go undercover to dig out and expose corruption in government. In some cases, amateur accomplices who are not professional journalists are recruited to aid in the process of discovering what the government is up to. The amateur accomplices occasionally employ their own brand of corrupt practices to get the story.

Here is a column by Vir Sanghvi on the ethics of sting journalism.

Living by the code

Here's the Society of Professional Journalists' Code of Ethics.

Journalism majors: Can you embrace this? Do you believe your chosen profession lives by it?

Non-journalists: What do you think? Do the mass media, in your experience, live by their own code?

Here comes a lifeline...

If you're having trouble reading the assignment for tomorrow's class (the notes on philosophers) from the link on the syllabus, try this one instead:

http://webs.wofford.edu/kaycd/ethics/index.html

Ethics, values and what not

I'm new to the blogger, as are all of us, and just wanted to say a bit about what I value, as it is a blog about media ethics (and as it is an assignment.) I would say the top five things that I value are: devotion to God, family, and friends; honesty; morality; kindness; and determination. I don't really believe that the media upholds many of these values in its pursuits, but rather values ratings, money, fame, and drama. The one thing that I will say for the media and its goals, is that it does value truth and letting the world know about what is really going on. I am happy that they do try, but believe that they are too concerned with ratings and sells to publish some of what they should. It isn't entirely there fault, as we as consumers determine what they print by what we buy. I won't say that excuses them, but it does explain their actions.

Moultonic Values

Since the Media Ethics class is doing an exercise sorting out declarations of personal values from perceptions of media values, I thought it might be fair to unveil any mystery about my values.

My values have changed a bit since I first did a Values Clarification Exercise a few decades ago. Back in the late 70's, when I was in mid-career, I listed my values as Creativity, Wisdom, Integrity, Achievement, and Freedom.

Today, I would list them as Insight, Innovation, Creativity, Functionality, and Peace.

I haven't thought too much about Media Values, but it occurs to me that Storycraft, Attention, Accuracy, Integrity, and Leadership are typical media values.

It occurs to me that one of the biggest challenges facing the media is the need to tell a coherent and compelling story without compromising the essential truth.

I imagine there must be times when a news-oriented journalist envies the gifted novelist. Fiction-writing is a great scam. A novelists gets to tell the truth while pretending to lie.

Larry & The World

Anchor Name larrysworld

In scrolling down, you will find two other posts about Brokeback Mountain and Larry H. Miller; Miller’s Goal & Larry H. miller pulled Brokeback.... I guess that I just didn’t realize the scale of this action, but apparently it’s gained worldwide attention. I thought that most of the buzz was just confined to Utah, but I’m assuming that when the Newsweek article says “Even in predominantly Mormon Utah, where one theater owner cancelled its scheduled showings” (4^th paragraph down), it is referring to Larry H. Miller. According to the Salt Lake Metro, “Media outlets in China, the U.K. and Australia carried the story”.

Another headline from the slmetro.com said “Megaplex 17 Also Pulls Transamerica”, which is about a “a pre-operative male-to-female transsexual”. This is the first time I’ve even heard about this movie, so maybe I’m just out of the loop….again. I wonder if this will also cause a big stir in the blogosphere. Maybe we'll hear more about Larry Miller. Keep your eyes open!

a student's values are planted

To start off... My name is Angel Larsen. I am majoring in print journalism and am excited to be a senior. I live in Brigham City with my husband, two cats, one dog (hopefully two soon) and about 45 cows. Enough about that for now.

What I view as important (not in any order):
Family
Financial security (especially as a farmer)
Honesty
Willingness to admit mistakes
Religion

What I think the media values:
Celebrities
Money and profit
Truth
Fair or unbiased reporting
Awards

I think that my personal values have evolved through my experiences. Having moved a lot in my life I had to depend on family over friends. As an elementary student we moved sometimes twice a year. I learned to quickly appreciate my family and for them to be some of my closest and greatest friends. Also as a young child I learned to be honest and admit when you are wrong. I watched as my father quit a job because he was not willing to "fix" financial records for his company. This showed me that honesty was more important than a job. That a person can replace a job but not honesty. Marrying a farmer again exemplified the importance of honesty. With my husband's example he has shown that people respect an honest, poor person over a dishonest, rich person. With my marriage came the end of the financial security I knew growing up. Now trying to prepare for the future is risky because we don't know if milk will stay or drop in price. With my belief that honest people succeed falls in religion. Throughout my life it has helped me make it through all the moves and problems. Enough blabber...onto the media.

I think that what the media values and does are not always the same things. When it comes to people, only the famous or unique or law-breaking people seem to make the news. Everyday citizens are often ignored. I don't think by mistake but because it is hard to sell stories without important people or events happening. However, if a reporter looks hard enough, everyone has a unique story to tell. Sadly, a concern with money has overrun the reporting in some media publications. Selling that five more subscriptions becomes more important than getting that source that truly has a story. With the money problem has also evolved an award obsession. Who got that? Or who received such and such is more important than reporting now days. However, sometimes the problems with the media overshadow the positive aspects. Most newspapers or broadcast stations still try to find the facts and truth and report unbiased stories. It just seems that the negative hides the positives.

Values & Such

Anchor name Values

I'm David Kennedy. I grew up along the northern coast of Maine. I'm a junior, majoring in computer science. My Blog is http://apt13times.blogspot.com Some of my top values are integrity, knowledge, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Okay, the last three sound like I just copied them, but seriously....I think they're good ones. I feel that the media values a good story, ratings, disaster, knowledge, and freedom.

At one point in our history, the media would try to ‘protect’ people like the president. For example, people’s views of Franklin Roosevelt (not Teddy Roosevelt) didn’t need to be tainted by the images of his physical handicap, so they were rarely shown. However, in modern times, it seems as if the media views themselves as the guard against ‘Big Brother’. That is, it is their responsibility to bring to light the scandals, cover-ups, and secrets. The word The History Channel uses is 'WatchDog'. As obnoxious as this can be at times, I think that these tendencies stem from the respectable values of knowledge and freedom.

Although I'm not going into the media, I figure that learning a few more ethics could be good for anyone.

Speaking of the Media's ethics, there's a cartoon portraying the Media As A 'Double Edged Sword'.

Memoirs: Fact, Fiction or Storytelling License?

The Poynter Institute, the New York Times, The Washington Post, USA Today, Newsweek, Time Magazine, and the Christian Science Monitor (among many others) are all carrying stories this week, in the wake of recent disclosures that a best-selling memoir endorsed by Oprah Winfrey's book club blurs fact and fiction in the interest of good storytelling.

A slavish attention to factual detail can make a story impenetrably dense. A little hyberbole can spice up a tale, by bringing out the inherent drama. It's a fine line between sticking to the facts and weaving a coherent story that holds the reader's attention.

Death & Politics

Supreme Court upholds Oregon assisted-Suicide Law. (MSNBC)
At first glance, it seems that the only interest here is the right to suicide for the terminally ill. But upon closer inspection, I found there to be some political points of interest.

The Supreme Court upheld the law 6-3, with Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Thomas and Scalia, voting against. This must imply, by the process of elimination, that the other Justices (Stevens, O'Connor, Kennedy, Souter, Ginsburg, & Breyer) must have voted for. See A Listing Of Justices.

Those Justices considered conservative voted against, while those considered moderate and liberal voted for. O'Connor, well known for being a 'Swing' voter, has announced her plan to retire. To replace her, President Bush has nominated Samuel Alito. Conservatives hope that Alito will be able to swing the Supreme court to the right, and Justice Kennedy is expected to become a more influential swing voter with O'Connor's retirement. Kennedy is a conservative who sometimes swings towards the liberal side in cases involving topics like gay rights and capitol punishment.
See More Cases Currently In The Supreme Court

Into the pot, already boiling...

Hello, out there!

Welcome to the grand adventure -- Utah State University students in JCOM 4010, Mass Media Ethics, will push far beyond boring research papers this semester and blog our explorations here.

Our goals?

-- Banish the darkness by shedding light on the subject so it becomes more than a tired old joke ("Media ethics? Isn't that an oxymoron?").

-- Discover models and tools that make ethical decisions clearer, and read a few philosophers (Aristotle, Mill, Kant, Rawls and others) who thought well and deeply about ethics.

-- Practice thinking our way to clarity by writing. It's really true: we often don't know what we think about an event or case until we try to write it clearly.

There's more, but that's enough to let you know what you're into here. Join us, please!