By Ryan J. Thomas
Thomas offers a prediction of what press regulation in the U.K. will be like after the News of the World was caught telephone hacking—using unethical means to achieve the most titillating ends.
Photo: Ben Sutherland
By Manny Paraschos
Paraschos compiles earlier mentions of Rupert Murdoch that have appeared in these pages.
By William R. Davie
Davie looks at some of the lessons to be learned from the demise of Rupert Murdoch’s News of the World and all who sailed in her.
Photo: Ben Sutherland
By James H. Burnett
When CBS-TV aired the July 4th Boston Pops concert and the following fireworks display in 2011, was it news? Entertainment? Both? Real or unreal? The Boston Globe takes this matter seriously.
Photo: © Stephen Orsillo
Science and Sanity
BY MARTIN H. LEVINSON
Martin H. Levinson describes relationships between general semantics and media ethics.
By John C. Merrill
Return to one of Merrill’s favorite exemplars: Niccolo Machiavelli. Maybe we should pay more attention to pragmatic—or even selfish—ethical behavior. It is certainly more in keeping with the standards of most human beings…isn’t it?
Photo: Mpclemens
By Jack Breslin
Breslin considers if the victim of a crime should lose all vestiges of privacy when the media pack of reportorial and photographic wolves (or dogs?) is turned loose.
Photo: Cartoonist 2006
By Nadia Dala
Dala explores how the ultra-conservative blogosphere set the agenda for mainstream media’s acceptance of "Islamophobia" after 9/11.
By A. David Gordon
Gordon takes an early look at an ongoing story and asks why so few media outlets—local or national—took so long to cover the Penn State child sex abuse scandal.
Photo: Terri Ogan
By Gary Gumpert and Susan Drucker
Gumpert and Drucker muse on what the roles of television should be when a sport enthrones a form of “cheating” as part of its appeal to spectators.
Photo: Keith Allison
By Ormond Smythe
Smythe wonders if Stephen Colbert is "for real." After all, the television satirist has established an actual money-raising Super-Political Action Committee—like the big guys.
Photo: Yodel Anecdotal
By Ali Noor Mohamed
Mohamed examines traditional African moral principles and asks why the media haven’t used them to help mend the shocking starvation disaster in the Horn of Africa.
Photo: Edu-Tourist
Harwood is glad to be able to report that the term "media ethics" has finally achieved definitional acceptance in an important new dictionary.
Photo: University of Dublin
By Monica A. Link
Link argues that institutions of higher education need to teach the philosophy of film, rather than merely use film to teach philosophy.
Photo: Pburt207
Regarding Edward Wasserman’s "The Dilemma of the Evil but Truthful Source”"published in Spring 2011.