1. Home
  2. CMNS
  3. CMNS 455: Media Ethics (Rev. 4)

CMNS 455: Media Ethics (Rev. 4) Report a Broken Link

This course provides an introduction to the different philosophical views of ethics; a critical examination of the rights, responsibilities, limitations, and abuses of media in democracies such as Canada and the United States; and an analysis of emerging pressures to redefine journalism as a reliable, responsible process of accurate reportage and critical commentary on our society. Students completing the course will better understand the use and abuse of sources, research materials, quotes, the positioning and concealment of information, plagiarism, ethics (as it relates to the coverage of criminal and terrorist acts), and the role of the news media in exposing or validating public prejudices.

Unit 1: Codes of Ethics and the Information Professional

Chowning, J.T., & Fraser, P. (2007). Ethics Background. In An ethics primer (pp. 15–28). Seattle WA: Northwest Association of Biomedical Research.
Ward, S. J. A. (2005). Objectivity: Ancient, Early Modern, Positivist. In The Invention of Journalism Ethics (pp. 37–86). Montreal, CA: MQUP.
Ethics Code of the Society of Professional Journalists
Government of Canada’s Policy on Communications and Federal Identity

Click on the headings "Context" and "Objectives and expected results" to reveal the policy statements and objectives.
Code of Ethics of the Canadian Public Relations Society

Unit 2: Ethical Intentions vs. Actual Practices

Chapter 1: Values and Evaluation in Russell, N. (2006). Morals and the media: Ethics in Canadian journalism (2nd ed.). Vancouver: UBC Press. 
Chapter 2: The Nature of News in Russell, N. (2006). Morals and the media: Ethics in Canadian journalism (2nd ed.). Vancouver: UBC Press. 
Alia, V. (1998). Indigenous peoples and media ethics in Canada. Cultural Survival Quarterly, 22(2).
Haas, T., & Steiner, L. (2006). Public journalism: A reply to critics. Journalism, 7(2): 238–254.

Unit 3: Journalistic Formats: Narratives and Media

Chapter 16: Different Media: Different Problems in Russell, N. (2006). Morals and the media: Ethics in Canadian journalism (2nd ed.). Vancouver: UBC Press. 
Lasica, J. D. (2003, August 7). Participatory journalism puts the reader in the driver’s seat. Online Journalism Review.
Ward, S. J. A., & Wasserman, H. (2010). Towards an open ethics: Implications of new media platforms for global ethics discourse. Journal of Mass Media Ethics, 25(4), 275–292.

Unit 4: What Does It Mean to Be "Ethical"?

Chapter 3: The Role of the Media in Russell, N. (2006). Morals and the media: Ethics in Canadian journalism (2nd ed.). Vancouver: UBC Press. 
Ward, S. J. A. (2005). Philosophical foundations for global journalism ethics. Journal of Mass Media Ethics, 20(1), 3–21.

Unit 5: Four Information Models

Eisman, A. (2003). The media of manipulation: patriotism and propaganda—mainstream news in the United States in the weeks following September 11. Critical Quarterly, 45 (1/2), 55–72.
Black, J. (2001). Semantics and ethics of propaganda. Journal of Mass Media Ethics, 16(2/3), 121–137.
Calabrese, A. (2005). Casus Belli: U.S. media and the justification of the Iraq war. Television & New Media, 6(2), 153–175.

Unit 6: Reality and Representation

Ward, S. J. A. (2005). Objectivity and after: The twentieth century. In The Invention of Journalism Ethics (pp. 214–257). Montreal, CA: MQUP.
Chapter VI: Stereotypes in Lippmann, W. (1922). Public opinion. New York, NY: Macmillan.
Chapter VII: Stereotypes as Defense in Lippmann, W. (1922). Public opinion. New York, NY: Macmillan.
Chapter VIII: Blind Spots and Their Value in Lippmann, W. (1922). Public opinion. New York, NY: Macmillan.
Chapter 1: From News Gathering to News Making: A Flood of Pseudo Events in Boorstin, D. (1962). The image: A guide to pseudo-events in America. New York, NY: Vintage Books.
Deuze, M. (2006). Liquid journalism. Political Communication Report, 16(1).

Unit 7: The Pursuit of Truth

Broersma, M. (2010). The unbearable limitations of journalism: On press critique and journalism’s claim to truth. International Communication Gazette, 72(1), 21–33.
Hernandez, C. (2007, January 23). The fine line between hype and news. Columbia Journalism Review.
Chapter 11: Playing Fast and Loose with the Truth in Russell, N. (2006). Morals and the media: Ethics in Canadian journalism (2nd ed.). Vancouver: UBC Press.

Unit 8: Money and Power

Chapter 5: The Media and Money in Russell, N. (2006). Morals and the media: Ethics in Canadian journalism. (2nd ed.). Vancouver: UBC Press.
Chapter 6: Conflict of Interest in Russell, N. (2006). Morals and the media: Ethics in Canadian journalism. (2nd ed.). Vancouver: UBC Press.
Hrynyshyn, D. (2005). Review essay: The mainstreaming of media critique. Canadian Journal of Communication, 30(4), 673–679.
Wilkinson, P. (1997). The media and terrorism: A reassessment. Terrorism and Political Violence, 9(2), 51–64.

Unit 9: Wrangling the News: The Roles of Public Relations and Media Organizations

Chapter 8: Manipulating the Media in Russell, N. (2006). Morals and the media: Ethics in Canadian journalism. (2nd ed.). Vancouver: UBC Press.
Fitzpatrick, K., & Gauthier, C. (2001). Toward a professional responsibility theory of public relations ethics. Journal of Mass Media Ethics, 16(2/3), 193–212.

Unit 10: The Ethics of Reporting on Justice and Violence

Chapter 9: Naming Names and Revealing Sources in Russell, N. (2006). Morals and the media: Ethics in Canadian journalism. (2nd ed.). Vancouver: UBC Press.      
Chapter 12: Fair Game: The Media and Privacy in Russell, N. (2006). Morals and the media: Ethics in Canadian journalism. (2nd ed.). Vancouver: UBC Press.
Chapter 13: Blood and Guts: The Media and Violence in Russell, N. (2006). Morals and the media: Ethics in Canadian journalism. (2nd ed.). Vancouver: UBC Press.
McCleneghan, J. S. (2002). “Reality violence” on TV news: It began with Vietnam. The Social Science Journal, 39(4), 593–598.

Unit 11: Codes of Conduct

Chapter 18: Codes of Conduct in Russell, N. (2006). Morals and the media: Ethics in Canadian journalism (2nd ed.) Vancouver: UBC Press.
Ben Moussa, M. (2007). Al Jazeera: The inside story of the Arab news channel that is challenging the west [Review article]. Canadian Journal of Communication, 32 (1), 149–152.

Unit 12: A Free Press ... In Spite of Everything?

Chapter 17: Righting Writing Wrongs in Russell, N. (2006). Morals and the media: Ethics in Canadian journalism (2nd ed.). Vancouver: UBC Press.
Chapter 4: Freedom of the Press in Russell, N. (2006). Morals and the media: Ethics in Canadian journalism (2nd ed.). Vancouver: UBC Press.
Shapiro, I., Albanese, P., & Doyle, L. (2006). What makes journalism “Excellent”? Criteria identified by judges in two leading awards programs. Canadian Journal of Communication, 31(2), 1–16.
Katju, M. (2011, June 2). Freedom of the press and journalistic ethics. The Hindu.