New Approaches to Journalism Ethics

Dennis Muller, University of Melbourne, Australia – ‘I found the idea of broadening out our appreciation of the scope of journalism ethics to include the non-rational dimensions very appealing, and I think it would add substantially and valuably to the current ethics literature […] ignores the very large contributions made by the social contractarians – Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau – whose influence can be clearly discerned in journalism’s codes of ethics […] doesn’t pay enough attention to the information-gathering dimension, except where it proposes to deal with privacy […] I’d certainly draw on a book like that for my course readings – not the whole book, but a chapter or two.’

Natasha Whiteman, University of Leicester, UK – ‘I very much like the idea of looking beyond traditional ethical frameworks in order to consider the non-rational dimensions of ethics […]This book has the potential to have international appeal; a wider selection of case studies (including for example examples from China/Asia) might broaden the appeal even further.’

Patrick Lee Plaisance, Colorado State University, USA – ‘The proposal’s aim to build upon the ‘moral foundations’ theory of Jonathan Haidt & colleagues is exciting and unprecedented. In fact, it reflects a broader push in media ethics scholarship to systematically incorporate such moral psychology methods & theories […] Nowhere is any effort to bring attention to Confucianism, the African concept of Ubuntu or other non-Western conceptions of justice & their usefulness in media ethics […] I am surprised that the proposal does not provide any content addressing the intersection of journalism ethics and media technology’

Mike Jempson, University of the West of England, UK – ‘Applying different systems to a variety of case studies should be of interest to students, in helping them assess their own ethical stance […] I see no specific reference here to the main non-western ethical traditions.’