This book presents stories of young people who had to wrestle with an ethical dilemma at the beginning of their careers in the news or persuasion media. By following along as these young media professionals make their choices, you’ll begin to understand how to ask yourself questions, envision alternatives and justify the decisions you make.
All the stories in the book are true. The authors of the chapters know the individuals involved and have interviewed them to get details on what they thought and did as they tried to resolve their ethical dilemma. We had hoped to use real names throughout the book, and about half the chapters do use them. However, ethical issues involve debate and controversy, and sometimes it’s not possible to tell a complex story from one person’s point of view without making others look bad in ways that may not be fair.
Because the problems encountered by the young professionals in the book — including dishonesty, bias, sensationalism and conflict of interest — could happen in any media workplace, you’ll find the chapters organized not by profession but by types of issues. Even if you don’t plan to be a public relations practitioner, you can learn from the situations a PR professional encounters and how he or she handles them. Plus, it always helps to get acquainted with the tasks done in other professions as you enter the working world.
The pace of change in today’s media means that when ethical issues arise, even your boss may not be sure what to do. Each professional is the architect of his or her own credibility, and each individual’s credibility is key to establishing the credibility of the media as a whole. If you can build your ethical framework on sound theory and moral reasoning, you won’t instantly know what to do about every situation that develops, but you’ll be agile enough and confident enough to reason through it.
Lee Anne Peck, Ph.D. is professor emerita of journalism and media studies at University of Northern Colorado, Greeley. She currently teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in media ethics by special appointment for COlorado State University, Fort Collins. Lee Anne Peck's professional experience began in the 1970's; she continues to freelance and has worked for both online and print news organizations.
Her doctoral degree from Ohio University is in Journamism Ethics; her dissertation examined the effects of one media ethics course on students' ethical decision-making abilities. Peck's masters degree in philosoghy is also from Ohio University. Her thesis, "Foolproof or Foolhardy? Ehical Theory in Beginning Reporting Texts," examined the worthiness of minimal explanations of theory in the textbooks. Peck also has a Master's degree in English (Colorado State University) and in Mass Communication (University of South Florida). Her B.A. is in technical journalism (CSU).