Guest lecture Dr John Harrison started the lecture to ask us decide whether it is ethical or unethical. He wants us to know how we measure the ethics from our point of view before telling us what ethics is.
As I always know ethics is plays a very significant role in journalism. A journalist with a heart for people, reporting the truth, revealing hidden facts and want to contribute something positive to the world can live the name JOURNALIST.
If a journalist lost his ethics by reporting news to create chaos or misguide the public.
This lecture talked about ethics especially in the advertising.
Everyone's perspective on ethics is different, so how to the regulators measure what's good or bad? Ethical or unethical? Right or wrong?
Ethical theories can help to identify all these. There are 3 paradigms of these theories. Dr John Harrison said every ethical theories fits into this three categories.
This first framework is about rules, principals and duties. Deontology basically sets a guideline for people who practice journalism on what they can do and what they cannot do. By following it, you will do the right thing. For example, MEAA, PRIA, AFA, AANA CODE. Second, Consequentialism, is all about the root word - consequence. It did not concern on how you do it. As long as the outcome of the situation is correct and benefits the majority and what most people thinks is right, you are doing the ethical things. The greatest good for greatest number. Last but not least, Virtue. Unlike deontology which is sets externally by people, virtue is implicit value that derived out of human behaviour such as habits, moral value and characteristic. So if you think you are doing the wrong thing, you're unethical!
He also talks about The mean. Courage is the mean between rashness and cowardiceJustice is the mean between the in-justice of overzealous and excessive law and the injustice of lawlessness.
As the guest lecture said, there will never be choosing the best framework. Each of them are equally important in journalism.
Virtue ethics drives a journalist to reveal and report the ugly truth even though they may not follow the legal ways. As long as the consequences is the best for all, the news should be exposed. Deontology has to exist to control this profession so that people don't make up stories out of nothing.
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