1. Find a current case involving a journalism ethics issue. It has to be something in the news during the past six months. There has to be some connection with journalism. You can find current media ethics controversies from a variety of places online (and you might find others elsewhere):
• Poynter ethics and trust page, https://www.poynter.org/media- news/ethics-trust/
• Columbia Journalism Review (put “ethics” in search area), https://www.cjr.org/
• iMediaEthics, https://www.imediaethics.org/
• Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, https://www.scu.edu/ethics/focus-areas/journalism-and-media- ethics/resources/articles/
• Go to Google and type “journalism ethics” or other keywords and then click on “News” in the top toolbar to get recent news stories about such issues. You might find something interesting!
2. Lay out the ethical issue (e.g., journalists not being truthful, causing harm, not being transparent with the public, not being independent of government or other institutions, etc.) and dilemma (the two or more choices the journalist has – all having pros and cons) If it isn’t jumping out at you, take a look at the SPJ code of ethics and look at the bullet points. Usually, most media ethics dilemmas are about reporting truth/information needed for the public versus that information harming someone (usually a source, the public, yourself, your company). Or, sometimes it’s about a conflict of interest, such as accepting money or being too close to a source (lack of independence). Or, sometimes it’s placing loyalties with someone or something other than the general public. If you read through the SPJ code of ethics you’ll see the main issues pop out at you. Boil down the ethical dilemma in one sentence, which will help you work through it if it’s clear in your mind.
3. Summarize the facts of the situation in a long paragraph. List the URL for the source.
4. Identify the potential paths or choices that are available. It might be publishing the material or not publishing the material. Maybe a compromise path is possible. Identify the pros and cons – the positive and negative outcomes – of each path. This can be a paragraph.
