Interviewing ordinary people: There is a host of ethical dilemmas, writes Luke Verdecchia, based on an interview with author Ruth Palmer, writing about the risks of being interviewed.
Pols Pitching Paper
Pols pitching paper: The New Orleans Advocate used local politicians in television ads for the paper. A bad idea says our ethicist. From the Ethics AdviceLine for Journalists archives.
Hollywood Female Reporters
Hollywood female reporters: They don’t take notes and will do anything for a story, writes Elizabeth Spadaccini about an interview with Sophie Gilbert at the Center for Journalism Ethics.
“While it might make dramatic TV, it’s an inaccurate depiction of both the ethical code and the process of journalism,” writes Spadaccini.
Believing Election Results
Believing election results: Pew Research Center finds Americans who get most of their political news on social media display less confidence in the public’s acceptance of election results, regardless of the winner, than those who mostly get this news in other ways such as cable TV, news sites or print newspapers, write Mark Jurkowitz and Amy Mitchell.
Sleep Whispering
Sleep whispering: Listeners value calming sleepcasts that make them snooze, but not podcasts, writes Nicholas Quah.
“The question that needs to be asked is: Why will people pay for Calm but not for the premium tier in a podcast app?” he writes.
Obscene Comics
Obscene comics: Artist Michael Diana is the first cartoonist in U.S. history to be jailed for obscenity, writes Meagan Damore.
Diana was sentenced in 1994 to prison, probation, community service and told to take a journalism ethics course, get a psychological exam, draw nothing obscene and avoid minors. He says public attitudes changed since the mid-1990s.
Religious Journalists
Religious journalists: The Columbia Journalism Review conducts a roundtable of journalists of faith.
“In newsrooms, religious practices often goes unspoken — but maybe it can be an edge,” says CJR, in giving the public information they don’t have.
Objectivity Explored
Objectivity explored: “The ideal of objectivity has led to an increase in ‘both-sidesism’ — often elaborate attempts to avoid showing favor to any person in a story,” writes Will Meyer.
Saving journalism will mean saving it from a false notion of objectify, he writes.
Poll Results Canceled
Poll results canceled: An electronic glitch is blamed for casting doubts on a poll of Iowa democrats, so results are not released, writes David W. Moore.
It matters that two media organizations and the pollster agreed to adhere to the highest ethical standards by not releasing data that might be faulty, he writes.
Mobile Reporting Ethics
Mobile reporting ethics: Ethicist David Craig lists tweets in which “these journalists highlighted a range of ethical challenges in mobile journalism.” From the Ethics AdviceLine for Journalists archives.
Ethics AdviceLine for Journalists 