The Journalist's Moral Compass: Basic Principles

By Patrick R. Parsons, Patrick Parsons, Steven Knowlton

Book Overview

What basic ethical principles should guide American journalists to help them justify their invasion of an individual's privacy, to be objective in their reporting, to avoid being influenced by government or economic controls? A wire service and newsroom veteran and a sociologist and scholar in mass media/communications have designed a philosophical guide for students, scholars, and practitioners to use as a kind of moral compass. Key excerpts from some of the most important writings on the subject from Milton to Louis Brandeis, from Plato to Sissela Bok, and from Adam Smith to John Merrill deal with some of the most serious contemporary issues in journalism today. This short text also includes the Society of Professional Journalists' Code of Ethics and a full index.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0275951537
• ISBN13: 9780275951535
• Release Date: January 1995
• Publisher: Praeger
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 0.89 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.2" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Essential Philosophy for Journalists and Media Watchdogs

This is a unique collection of writings and book excerpts providing a philosophical and ethical background for anyone interested in the ethics of journalism or the media system. These go as far back as Plato in ancient times, to the medieval musings on free speech by John Milton and Francis Bacon, which in turn started the press freedom concepts later brought to fruition by the likes of John Locke and "Cato," which are all presented here. The book proceeds to more modern examinations of the ethics and issues behind the press, including powerful submissions by media watchdogs such as Ben Bagdikian and A.J. Liebling. The book ends on a strong note with the prophetic but problematic findings of the 1947 Hutchings Commission and the rebuttal by John C. Merrill, which are strongly leftist and rightist respectively, and wrap up the modern realms of thought from all sides of the matter. The only problem with this volume is that some of the writings have been fragmented and edited due to space concerns, making some submissions difficult to follow (such as the essay by Samuel Warren and Louis Brandeis). In the case of book excerpts such as these, the editors should have considered a more intensive review-style description of each book's main points. [~doomsdayer520~]