Verified Document

Ethical Decision Making Media Are Research Paper

Beneficence could be applied to helping law enforcement. As the decision at hand consists of two mutually exclusive options, one of these obligations would need to be overriding. It is most likely that for the journalist this would be to communicate all of the information in keeping with the journalistic code of ethics. This approach, however, does not represent a resolution of the ethical dilemma so much as it represents a cop-out. The decision as to the absolute obligation is too subjective. If the decision-maker was going to "go with his gut," there was no need to treat the issue as an ethical dilemma in the first place. The notion of an ethical dilemma is given short shrift by a system that argues there is a dilemma but the answer is to do whatever you want and argue that this choice was the absolute obligation all along. Pluralism may yield a response in this situation, but it yields no insight and is therefore a poor choice of an ethical decision-making model. An ethical dilemma is born of a choice between to equally reasonable options. When the media is confronted by the knowledge that deliberately withholding information...

Parts of this document are hidden

View Full Document
svg-one

Journalistic ethics do not exist for their own sake. They exist to serve the needs of a specific constituency, the general public. It is the benefit to this public that should therefore serve as the guidepost for the resolution of this ethical dilemma. While some schools focus on the potential outcomes to theoretical future victims of the criminal, it is unreasonable to resolve on ethical dilemma on a possibility, unless that possibility is in fact a near certainty. In this situation, the future is sufficiently lacking in clarity to provide a meaningful guidepost. This may hint that utilitarianism is an inappropriate means by which to resolve this dilemma, but that is not the case. Utilitarianism can and should be used to resolve this dilemma, but strictly on the basis of known outcomes. And in that case, it is known that withholding the information has known consequences; revealing the information does not have known adverse consequences, only assumed ones, and even those do not affect the public at large.

Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Ethics
Words: 1300 Length: 4 Document Type: Term Paper

Ethics According to the dictionary definition, ethics refer to the "set of principles of right conduct, or more specifically, "the rules or standards governing the conduct of a person or the members of a profession." Ethics and morals are closely related, but ethics is the term more commonly used in the professional realm, whereas morals generally refer to guidelines for personal behavior. Both ethics and morals are reflections of beliefs and

Ethics
Words: 1440 Length: 5 Document Type: Term Paper

The ethics of the design research demands that 'the research is valid and that threats to validity have been taken into account', and reporting has been accurate and sufficient details have been listed and supplemented for the clarity and appropriate interpretation of the research content, furthermore 'in qualitative research, it is important to be particularly careful about how to choose direct quotations from the data in the research, and ensure

Ethics in a Computerized Society
Words: 2132 Length: 7 Document Type: Research Paper

This may be done without the consent of the owner of the information thus also infringing on their right to privacy. Education has also been revolutionized greatly by technology. As a result of technological advancements it is now possible for teachers and students to communicate over thousands of miles. Instructors are also able to give assignments which students can submit despite the distance. In this way, technology has enabled global

Ethics in My Sisters Keeper
Words: 2090 Length: 6 Document Type: Discussion Chapter

Ethics, Morality, & Medicine in My Sister's Keeper Ethics & Morality Ethics, Morality, & Medicine in My Sister's Keeper Ethics, Morality, & Medicine in My Sister's Keeper Both ethics are morality of topics of philosophical discourse. Ethics is sometimes also referred to as moral philosophy. Moral philosophy or ethics may defend, recommend, and/or systematize behaviors that are right and wrong. Morality could be explained as the context within which ethics are codified. Morality is

Ethics in For-Profit and Not-for-Profit Companies
Words: 1058 Length: 3 Document Type: Annotated Bibliography

Ethics in for-Profit and Not-for-Profit Companies *****************this assignment*********** Annotated Bibliography Annotated bibliography: Ethics in for-profit and not-for profit companies Barkemeyer, R., Holt, D., Figge, F., & Napolitano, G. (2010). A longitudinal and contextual analysis of media representation of business ethics. European Business Review, 22(4), 377-396. This article is a survey of the contemporary media's representation of business ethics, encompassing a meta-analysis of 62 international newspapers. Particularly in the U.S., the emphasis was upon 'hot' scandals

Ethics in an Organization Ethics Are the
Words: 1738 Length: 5 Document Type: Essay

Ethics in an Organization Ethics are the values and principles that a person utilizes in order to rule his actions and choices. In an association, a code of ethics is a set of moralities that direct the organization in its programs, rules and choices for the corporate. The ethical attitude an association uses to conduct commerce can affect the standing, efficiency and also what is considered to be the bottom line

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now