This article presents an analysis of virtuous journalism as demonstrated in the award-winning movie Spotlight. It analyzes Spotlight using key concepts from virtue ethics theory – arête, p...

Social media, often regarded as the precursor to artificial intelligence, has been a focal point of ethical debates over the past decades. Recently, with its entanglement in discussions surrounding...

This article presents an interview study that investigates student journalists’ perception of ethics and moral reasoning. It aims to understand how student journalists – an important indicator for the future of journalism, yet an understudied group – perceive and practice ethics. Fifteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with student journalists from three different independent college newsrooms. The findings suggested that the student journalists have an instrumental perceptions of ethics, seeing ethics as rules that must be followed. When confronted with ethical dilemmas, (...) which the student journalists may misidentify, they tend to consult editors and follow advice without asking for explanations. Most student reporters demonstrate moral reasoning at Kohlberg’s preconventional and conventional levels, with editors reaching the post-conventional level. The findings underscore the necessity for a more integrated ethics education. Based on the results, the article raises concerns, points out challenges, and suggests opportunities for ethics education in student media. (shrink)

Volume 40, Issue 1, January-March 2025, Page 59-63.

In Spring 2024, our field is gifted with two new books from renowned scholars. Teaching Media Ethics, edited by Nicole Kraft and Kathleen Bartzen Culver, is an invaluable resource for all educators...

Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools and digital infrastructures are rapidly advancing. In early November 2023, OpenAI unveiled ChatGPT-4 Turbo, an enhanced ChatGPT model. This next generation model...

For its first issue in 2023, Journalism and Communication Monographs published Stephen Bates’s research, titled “Busybodies With Time on Their Hands: Accountability, Research, and Resistance.” The...

When teaching the Internet section in the introductory class a year ago, I used to cover only Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 eras. This year, what some termed as “Web 3.0” becomes an inevitable topic. While t...

Our world in 2022 is immersed in challenges and tragedies. The Covid-19 pandemic continues to be a constant theme in our lives and in the news. As I write this essay, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine e...