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Is it the highest mission of marketers to switch buyers to their particular brand? Or to induce people to buy and consume more and still more goods? The author of this article wonders: How useful is this mission? To how much respect does it entitle marketers? Are they anxious enough for social approval to assume more social responsibility? The writer likens marketing to an "adolescent giant"--anxious for approval, but torn between selfishness, materialism, and altruism. But he believes that marketing will mature into a more helpful, effective, and respected member of society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To review the ethical problems posed by the participation of psychiatrists in various forms of lay media and propose a method of resolving quandaries in this area.Conclusions: We review the potential ethical problems that arise when psychiatrists make contributions to the lay media, particularly when commentary and opinion reflects the views of the individual rather than the profession. The issues raised by the North American injunction known as the "Goldwater Rule" are pertinent to Australasia, particularly when media statements made by psychiatrists may seem to diminish the profession through politicisation, polemic, or bringing the profession and the field into disrepute. We propose a series of reflective questions to assist psychiatrists in Australasia to deliberate on the potential ethical problems arising from their participation in media activities. We conclude that it is for the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists to formulate an approach to situations where the media activities of Fellows raise such problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following the death of Osama bin Laden in the late hours of May 1, 2011, many print newspapers throughout the United States and the world ran front-page coverage of his death the following day. Although public support for bin Laden's death was largely consistent, newspaper headlines across the country varied in their presentation of the story, from “Got the Bastard!” to a more stoic “bin Laden dead.” Content analysis derived from the model of intuitive morality and exemplars (MIME) was applied to explain variance in headlines as a function of the dominant political philosophy found in different areas of the United States—philosophies rooted in moral salience structures. The MIME suggests a reciprocal relationship between basic motivations underlying moral judgment for distinct audiences and media content produced for those audiences. Consistent with predictions, findings suggest that newspapers in conservative-leaning regions presented the story as a patriotic “killing” (an emphasis on authority and loyalty), whereas newspapers from liberal-leaning regions were more likely to present it in terms of justice restoration (an emphasis on fairness and reciprocity). [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), commonly known as “drones,” are a military technology now being developed for civilian and commercial use in the United States. With the federal government moving to develop rules for these uses in U.S. airspace by 2015, technologists, researchers, and news organizations are considering application of drone technology for reporting and data gathering. UAVs offer an inexpensive way to put cameras and sensors in the air to capture images and data but also pose serious concerns about safety, privacy, conflict of interest, perspective, and credibility. This research examines the early ethical considerations among drone journalism developers and digital information activists. It places those considerations against the backdrop of utilitarian ethical theory applied to journalism to suggest additional layers of reasoning that must be applied to drones in reporting. Finally, it suggests articulation of ethical guidelines and transparency with the public as means to address inevitable adverse effects of use of this technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Today's complex literate environments require contemporary authors to focus on the ethical responsibilities of media creation. This study highlights 12th graders in California who produced a documentary on Latino immigration and chronicles the complex interactions between student-generated media, critical literacy, and ethics. Findings highlight two interrelated ethical tensions related to the filmmaker-subject relationship: the intertwined issues related to reciprocity and relations of power and the personal and political representation of Latino immigration to the United States. An essential component of critical literacy is for students to develop meta-awareness of the choices they make within media production: to reflect on one's choices and the potential impact of these choices on others. Educators should recognize the ethical responsibilities of media making such as students' interpersonal relationships and potential sociopolitical issues of representation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prompted by the claim that media help fuel a culture of blame in Western societies, this monograph investigates narratives of blame in U.S. journalism. The monograph begins with a theoretical exploration aimed at developing a justifiable model of blame for the news media. It then moves to an empirical exploration of blame narratives in the top U.S. news stories from 2010. Finally, the monograph puts the normative model up against the descriptive narratives and offers an ethical assessment of news media practices as they relate to blame. Based on that assessment, the monograph offers enhancements to the normative model, which are intended to more usefully guide future practices. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This study examines the potential role of morality subcultures in mediating the relationship between one's nationality and the preferences for three movie (drama, action, horror) and three TV (comedy, news, sports) genres in a sample of US and German students ( N = 453). Morality subcultures were derived from research on Moral Foundation Theory (MFT), which conceptualizes morality as being shaped by first intuitive processes and later moral reasoning. We proposed a dual mediation model with two latent domains of morality: individualizing foundations indicative of a more liberal perspective and binding foundations indicative of a more conservative outlook. Although direct effects of one's nationality on media genre preference were found, moral salience of these two moral foundations partially mediated this relationship for the genres action, drama, news, and sports. These data support emerging research on the importance of using morality subcultures to understand the appeal of various forms of media entertainment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the concept of Media Burn, a set of ideas that explores the effects of television and fame on the human personality. The author reflects on several cultural icons from the twentieth century and how their personalities were impacted by television and media exposure including those involved in the Chicago, Illinois, Conspiracy Trial of 1970, including the activists Abbie Hoffman, Rennie Davis and Lee Weiner. The author's online video archive, located at mediaburn.org, is also discussed.

The Hutchins Commission's notion of media responsibility is being re-invigorated by the Corporate Social Responsibility/sustainability movement among U.S. and European corporations, though media companies tend to lag behind in adopting these programs. One exception is Britain's Guardian News & Media, which has adopted a social auditing system to examine how its operations meet its core ethical values. This study applies a concept of collective responsibility in evaluating the social audit for its ethical value. Considering truth-telling, media diversity, social betterment, and stewardship as fundamental dimensions of responsibility, the study finds the social audit a credible approach to overcoming the persistent criticism of responsibility; that is, that the concept is too vague and poorly elaborated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study uses quantitative and qualitative methods to examine television newsroom policies regarding video news release (VNR) usage. Some news directors will use VNRs under three conditions: (1) lack of alternative footage; (2) if it is packaged as news, as opposed to highly commercial, content; and (3) clear source identification. A significant portion of newsrooms have no formal policy on VNRs—pointing to a lack of consensus across US broadcast journalism. As newsrooms grapple with VNR use, news workers will need to move beyond issues of VNR construction and attribution toward determining what makes a VNR an ethical avenue for fulfilling journalistic obligations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this article is to investigate how Swedish and US elite newspapers framed the publication of cartoons of the Muslim prophet Mohammad in a Danish newspaper in September 2005, and the events that ensued from that publication. These cartoons proved to be very controversial, and, since the original publication has been reprinted several times, continue to stir controversy. In order to investigate how different frames emerged in the news coverage, the study includes all news articles published in the selected newspapers during a six-month period from the first publication of the Mohammad cartoons. Methodologically, the study uses quantitative and qualitative content analysis. Theoretically, the study is based on framing theory and international news determinants. The results show some interesting differences as well as similarities. In the conclusions, four propositions that might be explored in future research are offered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses issues regarding the regulation of video news releases (VNR) of the Federal Communications Commissions (FCC) in the U.S. It is stated that the government-compelled disclosure of the use of VNR-sourced information in newscasts raises complex issues concerning the scope of the first amendment freedom for broadcast journalists and the right of the public. Since the government faces problems in intruding on the editorial control and discretion of broadcast journalists, it is suggested that the government should first give principles of media ethics an opportunity to work before it punishes broadcasters. Moreover, it is averred that broadcast journalists must have the chance to respond to public disclosure of their practices through self-regulation.

He discusses the role of media in influencing the U.S. population toward a widespread assent to the invasion of Iraq and in silencing critics. He opines that the U.S. media neglected the opposition to the war and reported with bias. He discusses the role of journalism in fostering national dialogues and suggests on giving consideration to professional ethics.

When the Federal Communications Commission considered revamping its policies, many political activists argued that media conglomerates had failed to meet their duties to protect freedom of speech. Moveon's dispute with CBS over its proposed Superbowl advertisement and Michael Moore's quarrel over distribution of his documentary, Fahrenheit 911, are cases in point. In matters of pure entertainment, the public expect companies to avoid offensive programming. The press, on the other hand, may well be forced to offend some audience members in order to create a viable forum for political dissent. As journalism and entertainment are increasingly inter-linked, an in depth moral analysis of the media corporation and its obligations becomes increasingly important. I explore Kantian, Utilitarian, and Rawlsian analyses of corporate obligation in the aforementioned cases. I then examine whether or not these results suggest anything more generally about the sorts of mission statements and ethical policies that ought to be endorsed by media conglomerates and whether non-business institutions also require changes. Ultimately, I suggest that at a minimum, media institutions should view the duty to promote the representation of diverse views in a democracy as an imperfect moral and civic duty rather than making programming decisions solely by reference to profit. Ideally, greater access to media access should not be increased for the most powerful unless doing so at the same time increases free speech opportunities for those who currently have the least access. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reviews the literature on self-regulation. Definition; Advantages and disadvantages of self-regulation; Conditions for the success of self-regulation; Effectiveness of self-regulation; Analysis of uses of self-regulation in the media; Factors in the success or failure of self-regulation in media; Self-regulation in the context of the Internet.

Considers ethical issues involved in press freedom in relation to the citizens' right to know in the United States. Conceptions of the right to know; Constitutional basis for press freedom; Rights and responsibilities of the public and media in relation to the First Amendment; Relationship between relevant rights and responsibilities under Kantian ethical principles.

Explores the moral challenges of journalists in truth telling and minimizing harm in covering community notification laws in the United States. Context of Megan's Law; Implication of the law for sex offenders; Suggestions for journalists in verifying information received from police; Role of journalist in providing public awareness regarding notification information.

Explores the influence of media ethics course on changes in the value system by students in the U.S. Reflection of one's personal value system; Division of the value system into subgroups; Examination of the values of mass communication students before and after training in mass media ethics.

Discusses the mass media's influence on the ethics of public life. Press' watchdog role in monitoring the conduct of government officials; Control, ethics, laws, technology, organization and the content of news stories; Partisanship and selective news values; Reporting techniques and effectiveness of the mass media.

Focuses on U.S. senator Brock Adams' withdrawal from his reelection campaign after 'The Seattle Times' reported allegations of sexual abuse against the senator. Newspaper's justifications for publishing the allegations; Effect of the news articles on the image of Adams; Ethical issues associated with the newspaper's publishing of the article.

Investigates the use of de-facto cigarette advertisements in feature films in the U.S. Efforts of circumventing federal regulations; Avoidance of mandated warnings on advertising; Concern over the endorsement of popular celebrities in special placements.

The present study, conducted immediately after the 2020 presidential election in the United States, examined whether Democrats' and Republicans' polarized assessments of election legitimacy increased over time. In a naturalistic survey experiment, people (N = 1,236) were randomly surveyed either during the week following Election Day, with votes cast but the outcome unknown, or during the following week, after President Joseph Biden was widely declared the winner. The design unconfounded the election outcome announcement from the vote itself, allowing more precise testing of predictions derived from cognitive dissonance theory. As predicted, perceived election legitimacy increased among Democrats, from the first to the second week following Election Day, as their expected Biden win was confirmed, whereas perceived election legitimacy decreased among Republicans as their expected President Trump win was disconfirmed. From the first to the second week following Election Day, Republicans reported stronger negative emotions and weaker positive emotions while Democrats reported stronger positive emotions and weaker negative emotions. The polarized perceptions of election legitimacy were correlated with the tendencies to trust and consume polarized media. Consumption of Fox News was associated with lowered perceptions of election legitimacy over time whereas consumption of other outlets was associated with higher perceptions of election legitimacy over time. Discussion centers on the role of the media in the experience of cognitive dissonance and the implications of polarized perceptions of election legitimacy for psychology, political science, and the future of democratic society., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Discusses the effects of media market segmenting of specialty magazines for older readers. Examples of disappearing or vague references to age; Views on whether aging should be a specialty market; Lesson learned in covering aging; Role of the media in the shifting perception of aging.

In the United States, the wide ideological divergence in public confidence in science poses a potentially significant problem for the scientific enterprise. We examine the behavioral consequences of this ideological divide for Americans' contributions to medical research. Based on a mass survey of American adults, we find that engagement in a wide range of medical research activities is a function of a latent propensity to participate. The propensity is systematically higher among liberals than among conservatives. A substantial part of this ideological divide is due to conservative Americans' lower confidence in science. These findings raise important issues for the recruitment of subjects for medical studies and the generalizability of results from such studies.

Discusses the reasons for the epidemic of falsification and deception in journalism in the United States. Overview of several cases which reflected the loss of currency of truth in the media and popular culture; Views on the spread of media lies.

Cases of adolescents in organ failure who refuse solid organ transplant are not common, but several have been discussed in the media in the United States and the United Kingdom. Using the framework developed by Buchanan and Brock for surrogate decision-making, I examine what role the adolescent should morally play when deciding about therapy for life-threatening conditions. I argue that the greater the efficacy of treatment, the less voice the adolescent (and the parent) should have. I then consider how refusals of highly effective transplant cases are similar to and different from refusals of other lifesaving therapies (eg, chemotherapy for leukemia), which is more commonly discussed in the media and medical literature. I examine whether organ scarcity and the need for lifelong immunosuppression justify differences in whether the state intervenes when an adolescent and his or her parents refuse a transplant. I argue that the state, as parens patriae, has an obligation to provide the social supports needed for a successful transplant and follow-up treatment plan, although family refusals may be permissible when the transplant is experimental or of low efficacy because of comorbidities or other factors. I conclude by discussing the need to limit media coverage of pediatric treatment refusals., Competing Interests: POTENTIAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST: The author has indicated she has no potential conflicts of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2020 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.)

The article focuses on disruption of privacy by television broadcasts related to bioethical arguments. It mentions description of live medical television shows related to observation of patient's resuscitation in the New York Hospital with observation of violation for privacy. It reports association of the Hospital over violation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) by broadcasting patients in the television program "NY Med" without their consent.

Introduces a series of articles on mass media ethics. Public Relations Society of America's code of ethics; Evolution of the Isral Broadcasting Authority's code of ethics; Journalistic codes of ethics in the United States.

Comments on the ethical aspects of terminal care and a patient's right to die. Comments on the publicity surrounding the deaths of Pope John Paul II and Terry Schiavo; Critique of the media attention given to the health conditions and death of the Pope; Details of the Schiavo case, in which the patient's family pursued legal battles over the removal of life support systems; Impact of the Schiavo case on political culture in the U.S.; Comments on legislation related to euthanasia and assisted suicide in Great Britain; Moral and ethical aspects of a patient's right to die.