Legal and Ethical Issues
(No, you don't have to take the course again. :-) )

In this country, there are two forms of restraint on the powerful media:

EXTERNAL RESTRAINTS: Laws and rules imposed from the outside, primarily by government.
INTERNAL RESTRAINTS: Ethics imposed from the inside, primarily by individual journalists and by the profession at large.

We seek to MINIMIZE external restraints. The First Amendment guarantees broad (though not universal) protection for free speech, by individuals and by the media.

Therefore, the need to MAXIMIZE internal restraints becomes greater than it would be in a society with less press freedom.

Another way to look at this:

* The law gives us RIGHTS.

* Ethics gives us RESPONSIBILTIES.

ISN'T THIS REALLY ABOUT MORALS? No, not exactly.

MORALS are rooted in cultural customs, which eventually lead to laws. Laws are forms of external (governmental, religious and so on) control.

ETHICS are rooted in character, which grows out of individual choices and decisions. It takes practice to be an ethical person.

The key for journalists, then, becomes developing the ability to make good decisions -- on deadline. The ability to draw on sound reasoning rather than your gut reaction comes with practice. But you can build on a relatively few:

* Philosophical frameworks.

* Guided questions, which serve as steps toward rational choices.


Three Philosophical Approaches