Assignment

Write a 750- to 1,100-word paper that contrasts ethically responsible and irresponsible news reporting.

Answer the following questions:

• What is journalism's ethical responsibility to society?
• When, if ever, is deception permissible in journalism?
• What ethical obligations do reporters have to their sources?
• Under what conditions is a journalist ethically obligated to maintain privacy?

Illustrate your response to each question with at least two examples: one example of ethically responsible reporting, and another example of ethically irresponsible reporting.

Consider the following:

• Consider using contrasting examples of coverage of the same issue to highlight differences between journalistic practices that are ethically responsible and irresponsible. You may use case studies from any of the assigned chapters of Media Ethics, or you may conduct external research using popular news sources, issues, and coverage.

• Remember that this assignment asks you to compare different approaches to news reporting; sources that simply provide opinion or commentary should not be used as examples.

Reference at least two peer-reviewed articles.