Conversing Ethics in India’s News Media

This paper identifies the significant ethical challenges expressed by journalists and editors working in media companies in the city of Hyderabad, India. Keeping those dilemmas and challenges in mind, the authors propose economist and Noble laureate Amartya Sen’s capabilities approach as a theoretical outline for the development of future journalism ethics curricula. The major challenges described by the journalists and editors were cross-media ownership, which fosters a political economy focused on revenue generation rather than journalism for public good; problems with the publication of inaccurate information, which are now precipitated by the omnipresence of social media; and a culture of “democratic deficit” where journalists find it increasingly difficult to practice journalism safely and to report about poverty, corruption, crime, environment, caste, and gender. The specific knowledge systems from Sen’s capabilities approach suggested for integration are the study and coverage of injustices in a democratic society; the focus on whether people have flourishing lives that give them the opportunities, freedoms, and choices they need; and economic and political freedoms that give journalists an understanding and appreciation for reporting on inequality and strengthening democratic institutions.     

如何承受"娱乐"之祸——反思法制新闻的娱乐化

目前,娱乐经济大行其道,一些媒体为了追求经济效益,传播内容庸俗,连以法律宣传为目的、性质严肃的法制新闻也不能避免.可见,对法制新闻娱乐化的弊端进行反思显得十分必要和紧迫:一要反思法制新闻娱乐化的弊端形成的主要因素,如经济原因、受众需求等;二要反思解决弊端的有效对策,如加强对媒体的管制、强调媒体的社会责任、发展公共媒体等.     

Determinants of diachronic information seeking among communication intermediaries

While the study of the ethical use of new technologies in journalistic work is imperative given the widespread use of such technology, such studies are few and far between, particularly for the developing world. This paper provides results of an exploratory, qualitative study of Indian journalists’ views about the ethical use of new computer and Internet-based technologies for news gathering and reporting in India. New digital technology was widely accessible to the respondents, but not all journalists were given the tools by their employers. Opinions about ethical news practices using new technology were mixed and revealed a few grey areas. English language national newspapers tended to indicate that their standards were strict and that ethical violations, exacerbated by new technology, occurred mostly in vernacular newspapers. On the whole, respondents had not heard often of other organizations or individuals committing unethical practices such as plagiarism and lack of attribution using new technology. Still, some beliefs indicated uncertainty about ethical practice or breach of ethical principles. The findings of this study have implications for journalism education and on-the-job training of Indian journalists, as well as for formulating ethical codes of journalism, particularly with regard to new media. Indian codes focus more on the roles journalists should play in society and do not provide very specific tactical guidance for everyday news gathering. Coupled with lack of training, this creates a situation where perceptions about journalistic ethics are sometimes vague and variant.     

Business Ethics on the World Wide Web

Abstract

This timely chapter on business ethics includes Web sites of portals, professional associations, and resources on the social responsibility of business.     

CORRECTING THE RECORD

Contemporary journalists are, on a daily basis, adopting new work practices to remain relevant in the changing media environment. This study examines these changing practices to determine if, and how, they have been accompanied by changes in journalists’ abilities to enact traditional ethical standards in the newsroom. It posits that by examining the performance of ethics by news actors, as opposed to ethical standards themselves, the importance and impact of changing news practices can be realized and addressed. To illustrate these changes, I explore the use of news corrections as a means for maintaining journalistic accountability. The findings suggest that key attributes of the contemporary news environment, including the rapid speed with which online information is transmitted, and the increasing participation of news consumers in the media environment, can help journalists in their quests for accountability. However, other changes associated with the online news environment, such as the ease with which online information can be erased from history, and the continuous evolution of newsroom technologies, highlight the need for journalists’ ongoing pursuit of new techniques to ensure that the standard of accountability is maintained.     

Critical factors for evaluating the public value of e-government in Sri Lanka

This paper aims to identify the critical factors for evaluating the public value of e-government in Sri Lanka from the perspective of the delivery of public services and the efficiency of public organizations. To fulfill these aims of the study, a conceptual framework is developed based on a comprehensive review of the related literature by considering the delivery of public services and the efficiency of public organizations. With the collected survey data from Sri Lanka, the conceptual framework is empirically tested and validated by performing a confirmatory factor analysis using structural equation modeling. The study shows that the delivery of quality information and services, user-orientation of information and services, efficiency and responsiveness of public organizations, and contributions of public organizations to the environmental sustainability are the critical factors for evaluating the public value of e-government in Sri Lanka. As the first study in examining the critical factors for evaluating the public value of e-government in Sri Lanka, the findings of the study would be of practical significance to the continuous development of e-government in Sri Lanka and other countries in the world.     

Playing by a Different Set of Rules

The notion that journalists in an interconnected world increasingly share values typically associated with the so-called “professional model” has gained considerable currency with scholars arguing that ideas such as a belief in journalistic autonomy, public service, objectivity, and the significance of ethics are widely espoused by journalists on a global scale. Underlying this conceptualization is a taken-for-granted assumption regarding the adoption of journalistic values that originated in Western democracies which neglects how they are embraced in non-Western contexts. This paper examines newsroom values in India’s regional television channels, which have emerged as a major news source in the country. Findings indicate that in the case of Indian regional television, local socio-political and economic factors undermine the adoption of professional norms derived from the Anglo-European model by Indian journalists who see such norms as having little functional value or relevance to their work.     

重视新闻职业道德体系的建构——从山西繁峙大矿难记者受贿说开去

山西繁峙金矿主向有关新闻记者送现金和金元宝作为“封口费”事件的发生 ,再一次向我们敲响了警钟。如果仅将记者这个职业视为养家糊口、安身立命的饭碗 ,把这个职业所特有的神圣感、社会责任感、历史使命感完全抛诸脑后 ,对一个记者的成长乃至媒介的发展 ,甚至对整个社会都将产生不可估量的负面影响。新闻职业道德准则需要从业者身体力行地遵守维护。建构新闻职业道德体系的已迫在眉睫     

Disengaged Ethics

Drawing upon scholars who call for an open and inclusive approach to journalism ethics, this paper examines empirically three recent efforts to develop or revise codes guiding journalistic practices. It explores the code developers’ intentions in their work and the values they embraced, finding widespread interest in serving the public and representing community interests. However, as new technologies and emphasis on participatory approaches have the power to reshape journalism, work on these ethical codes involved almost entirely closed processes exclusive to journalists and professional organizations. Such exclusivity calls into question the dedication to serve the public and encourage participation. It also squanders an opportunity to understand the interests of varying publics and how these might inform journalistic work, while simultaneously keeping the public from better views of journalistic practices, norms, and principles.     

International trends in health science librarianship part 12: South Asia (India,Pakistan and Sri Lanka)

This is the 12th in a series of articles exploring international trends in health science librarianship. This issue describes developments in health science librarianship in the first decade of the 21st century in South Asia. The three contributors report on challenges facing health science librarians in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. There is consensus as to the need for education, training and professional development. Starting in the next issue, the focus will turn to Africa, starting with countries in southern Africa. JM     

Ethical Boundaries among Freelance Journalists

This article sheds light on the professional role of freelance journalists and examines ethical dilemmas faced by Norwegian freelance journalists. Freelancers and self-employed journalists have to manage their own financial interests and secure their income, as well as the professional ethics of journalism. Finding themselves placed between autonomy and precarity, these freelancers are also engaged in non-journalistic activities, such as PR, because these kinds of jobs usually pay better than news work. This article discusses freelancers and ethical dilemmas. Further, it addresses how freelancers deal with the blurring borders between journalism and PR.     

The media–terrorism symbiosis: a case study of Mumbai attacks, 2008

There has been a long-standing debate among scholars, policy-makers, politicians and journalists about the relationship between terrorism and the news media for whom terrorism is usually a newsworthy story. A primary focus of the debate is to investigate the media–terrorism symbiotic relationship. This paper explores this relationship through a qualitative, thematic analysis of how British TV news channels covered a major terrorist incident after the 9/11 – Mumbai attacks 2008. It examines the interpretive theme of ‘awe, terror and chaos’, and how it is selected, prioritized and developed in the presentation of the events which spread over a period of more than 72 hours. Additionally, it considers the kind of political and organizational factors that might shape or modify the editorial decision-making processes and ideological assumptions that may lie behind such coverage. Ultimately, the study maintains that British TV news outlets play an important role in mediating terrorist messages and focus primarily on images of terror and violence during the coverage of Mumbai attacks. While there are key differences between public and commercial TV news in the style and presentation of coverage, with the former being more careful in approach, the news channels concentrate on televising death and injury and the propagation of chaos and confusion in the affected city.     

Spotlight

Against a backdrop of pessimism about the future of investigative reporting, this study reports major findings of a survey of mainly US-based investigative journalists (N?=?861). Although respondents reflect some of the current negative discourse, they also report high perceptions of autonomy and job satisfaction and say resources for investigative reporting are maintaining and even increasing. The survey provides empirical indication of the migration of investigative journalists to nonprofit newsrooms, with nonprofit journalists offering especially positive appraisals of the state of their craft. Also explored are investigative journalists’ professional role conceptions as well as perceptions of the nature of their relationship with the public and public policymakers.     

Organizational storytelling as a method of tacit-knowledge transfer: Case study from a Sri Lankan university

Sri Lanka has a long history and culture of storytelling but the use of stories for transferring tacit knowledge is absent. This paper is the first to examine the application of orgnisational stories as a method of tacit-knowledge transfer management tool in the library domain.

The study had two objectives; 1) To explore the potential of storytelling to transfer tacit knowledge from the Librarian to the junior executives. 2) To examine whether captured stories serve the pursuit of knowledge by the junior executives. Two research questions were formulated to achieve these objectives. The first research question (RQ1) How can the tacit knowledge of a retiring senior executive be captured through stories? was framed and addressed to achieve objective one and the second research question (RQ2) Can the captured “stories of work” benefit knowledge workers in their pursuit of tacit knowledge? was framed and addressed to achieve objective two. The study was based on primary data collected from the Librarian and executive staff of the Library by means of two Interview Schedules and the entire study was underpinned by an extensive review of research literature related to organizational storytelling. Qualitative as well as quantitative methods were used to analysis and interpretation data.

The findings of the study proved in response to RQ1 that organizational stories can be captured using a six-step process and a story capturing model which could be used by the other researcher emerged from the research. Nevertheless, findings also established that the comprehensiveness of the tacit knowledge that could be captured through stories would depend on the degree of confidentiality of the contents of the stories. Therefore all stories could not be recorded as they are told. Responding to RQ2 the findings proved that, captured “stories of work” can be used for the benefit of knowledge workers in their pursuit of tacit knowledge.

Based on these findings it was recommended that, the library should take initiatives to exploit the already prevailing habit of organizational storytelling in the library as a method of transferring tacit knowledge in a deliberated manner and for this several activities were recommended.

The findings were based only on a single case, in a single organization carried out during a six-month period, within the boundaries of a specific organizational and social culture. Therefore additional case studies would be necessary to test the validity and reliability of the story capturing model.

This research is the first of its kind carried out in the library domain of Sri Lanka. Therefore it provides significant insights on which future researchers can build their studies.     

Accountability,democracy, and globalization: a study of broadcast journalism in India

This paper shows that globalization of the Indian broadcast landscape, despite market pressures, has allowed Indian journalists to seek accountability from the government, and has given audiences a broadcast voice. While increasing pro-market focus of news content diminishes emphasis on public service and democratic debates, in many instances, broadcast journalists give voice to the voiceless and seek accountability from the police and political actors. By analyzing news content and journalism practices of several English and Hindi 24-hour news channels, this paper addresses the question as to what extent television journalism's watchdog function continues to strengthen the democratic system and increase democratic participation in India.     

JOURNALISTS' MORAL JUDGMENT ABOUT CHILDREN

This study used a controlled experiment to examine the ethical decision-making of 99 professional journalists in the United States to see if they held different attitudes, made different decisions, and used different levels of moral judgment when stories involved children than when they involved adults. It found that these journalists were significantly more concerned with protecting children's privacy, keeping them from harm, and ensuring informed consent than they were for adults. But they did not use significantly higher levels of moral judgment for children than adults, nor did they withhold children's photographs significantly more often than adults'. The journalists in this study believed they were protecting children from harm but did not carry through with those beliefs. It is important that the news media treat children well because having children's voices in news stories is vital to understanding their worlds and reporting on injustices against them.     

Journalism in Disguise: Standpoint Theory and the Ethics of Günter Wallraff’s Undercover Immersion

ABSTRACT

Deception is a key element of immersive undercover journalism, achieved through the omission of information, the perpetuation of misconceptions, or possibly the assumption of a false identity. Usually when proponents defend going undercover, they use the-ends-justify-the-means arguments; that despite the journalist’s duplicity, public benefit outweighs the dishonesty that lies at the heart of the practice. Yet, such statements are usually made in the absence of in-depth theoretical analysis. This paper seeks to redress this by applying Standpoint Theory, testing it against the work of Günter Wallraff, Germany’s lauded but controversial undercover journalist who uses disguises to report on that country’s marginalized and disadvantaged. While the authors applaud Wallraff’s exposure of the deplorable illegal and immoral dealings he uncovers, and do not seek to dismiss the significant results he has achieved, this paper uses the case study of his work to test the applicability of Standpoint Theory to undercover journalism, concluding that even under this accommodating theory, there may be ethical limits to journalism’s most ethically contentious practice.     

From “Selfies” to Breaking Tweets

The aim of this paper is to analyse the different ways in which journalists negotiate representations of their professional and personal identity on social media platforms. We argue that the differing representations of personal and professional identity on social media correspond to the professional, organisational and institutional tensions that have emerged in this new space. Using qualitative interviews with various journalists and editorial staff from Australian media organisations across television, radio, print and online publications, we indicate that journalists present their personal and professional identity on social media in three different ways. The first group create public, professional social media accounts, but also create secondary, private accounts that are only accessible to personal networks. The second group either choose, or are required by their media organisation, to only have a professional presence on social media; that is, they have public accounts that are only associated with their media organisation and display only their professional activities. The last group merge a professional and personal identity on their social media sites, showing aspects of their personal and their professional lives on publically available accounts.