The Scopes trial of 1925 drew many reporters to Dayton, Tennessee, to report on what they expected would be the final blow to ignorant fundamentalism. They came with many preconceived notions about Dayton, the people of Dayton, William Jennings Bryan, and creationism. Close examination of pretrial, trial, and posttrial coverage in eight…

A national sample of journalists, consisting of 700 television news photographers, newspaper photographers, television news directors, newspaper editors, and journalism educators, was asked to evaluate the ethical conduct in eight situations involving alleged invasion of privacy by photography. The respondents found journalistic conduct to be…

Examines how investigative journalists work within the unresolved tension between detached observation and active moral agency. Concludes that investigative journalism may oversee the reinforcement of dominant moral values, but may also preside over the definition and development, as well as the debasement and dissolution, of those values. (MS)

The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has paid journalists, used information from unpaid journalists, owned foreign media outlets, planted stories, and put the lid on other stories throughout its 30-year history. Journalism makes a good cover for agents because journalists can ask questions without arousing suspicion. It has been estimated that…

In every advanced culture, there exists some kind of understanding between a profession and the people it serves. In the case of mass communication, such an understanding is for the most part an informal compact whose terms are understood more or less tacitly. As the terms of this agreement are renegotiated from time to time--disagreements…

By scrutinizing the extensive and growing literature on media ethics and media codes, as well as the current history of litigation in libel cases, this paper analyzes the risks presented by journalistic social responsibility in the context of expanding tort liability for what might loosely be called journalistic malpractice. Following a review of…

Because modern terrorism threatens democratic values such as personal liberty, free expression, and the limitation of institutional authority, it raises ethical problems for journalists who are drawn into a symbiotic relationship with those who threaten or use violence against a community. Recent terrorist incidents in the United States involving…