Key Philosophers and Concepts in Journalism Ethics

The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few or the one.

Utilitarianism

Which Greek philosopher believed that our perception of truth was like watching shadows on a cave wall?

Plato

Which philosopher is most associated with utilitarianism, and applied the concept to freedom of the press?

John Stuart Mill

Which Areopagitica advocated for an end to government censorship of the press - as long as you agreed with his beliefs?

John Milton

Which founding father wanted to include a written clause protecting freedom of the press in his draft of the U.S. Constitution?

James Madison

Which philosopher is a Deontologist?

Immanuel Kant

Someone concerned with the categorical imperative.

Deontologist

Which lawsuit did The Washington Post join, as depicted in the Tom Hanks/Meryl Streep movie The Post, after publishing reports from The Pentagon Papers?

New York Times Co. v. U.S.

Which journalist sued her employer after being barred from covering issues of sexual assault?

Felicia Somnez

What were the three tweets Felicia Somnez posted about?

Kope Bryant rape allegation

In which case did journalists lie about their resume and employment history to get jobs at a national grocery chain, leading the court to rule they were trespassing?

Food Lion v. Capital Cities/ABC

Which news organization sued the Trump administration for being banned from the White House after continuing to use the phrase 'Gulf of Mexico' in its stories?

The Associated Press

Which NBC program, hosted by Chris Hansen, organized meet-ups between would-be pedophiles and actors pretending to be underage?

To Catch a Predator

Which organization sent a cease and desist letter over its unwilling participation in a college football algorithm, claiming it was a conflict of interest?

The Associated Press

Which Chicago Cubs fan caught a foul ball and faced intense backlash from sports fans during a game at Wrigley Field?

Steve Bartman

Which news magazine darkened O.J. Simpson's skin tone in his mugshot?

TIME

Which author of American Prison went undercover as a prison guard while not hiding his identity as a reporter?

Shane Bauer

To which country did Judith Miller erroneously report that aluminum tubes were being sent to be used for making weapons of mass destruction?

Iraq

Which reporter made the controversial decision to jump into the surf to help a sinking boat of refugees get to shore?

Ed Bradley

Which character did journalist and abolitionist Horace Greeley create to point out hypocrisy with an objective approach to the issue of slavery during the Civil War?

Mr. Facing-Both-Ways

What is a rational decision-making process between two moral choices called?

Ethics

What unproven media tactic can be a symptom when the news seems to ignore cases of indigenous women who have gone missing?

Missing white women syndrome

What term, referring to a kind of reporting popular in the early 20th century that did not strive for objective truth, comes from the colorful ink used to print a comic strip in two New York papers?

Yellow journalism

What sales concept helps us visualize how news organizations can 'convert' audience members into paying customers?

Conversion funnel

What Enlightenment movement concept, which guides the ethical aims of most journalists today, means a rational, replicable, and observable definition of truth?

Objectivity

What are the four main principles described in the Society for Professional Journalists Code of Ethics?

Society for Professional Journalists Code of Ethics

What foundational sentence, carved on the outside of Umphrey Lee, establishes freedom of the press in the United States?

First amendment to the U.S. Constitution

What kind of journalism digs up information that would otherwise be hidden from the public light?

Watchdog journalism

What crime photos disproportionately depict people of color in news coverage?

Arrest mugshots

What was the first 'Whole Earth 'Lectronic Link,' or WELL?

Social media platforms

The transactional relationship between a news consumer and a news producer, where the consumer pays for access to a regularly published source.

Subscription model

The newspaper editor known for saying, 'You furnish the pictures. I'll furnish the war.'

William Randolph Hearst

The early 20th-century newspaper editor who doggedly covered the lynchings of Black men in the Jim Crow South.

Ida B. Wells

The young woman who recorded the murder of George Floyd, showing that he did not suffer a 'medical incident' as police initially claimed.

Darnella Frazier

The newspaper publisher who believed journalists could be independent-minded but opinionated.

Horace Greeley

The publisher found not guilty after he published true comments about the local governor, according to a colonial American court.

John Peter Zenger

The reporters who broke the Watergate story, leading to the resignation of President Richard Nixon.

Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein

The press secretary who was the victim of an attempted assassination and is the namesake of the White House press briefing room.

James S. Brady

The fictional pirate captain who tells us that codes, like a journalist's code of ethics, are 'more what you'd call guidelines than actual rules.'

Captain Hector Barbosa

The author who wrote a stomach-churning book about meatpacking in Chicago and was an ardent socialist.

Upton Sinclair

Upton Sinclair's book about meatpacking in Chicago.

The Jungle

According to a NiemanLab analysis, cities with robust newsrooms have more mayoral candidates.

NiemanLab analysis

The German craftsman who brought movable type to Europe, though it was invented centuries earlier by Chinese printers.

Johannes Gutenberg

The publisher charged with libel for printing critical articles about the colonial governor, but was found not guilty, establishing the principle of press freedom in America.

John Peter Zenger (libel case)

The editor of The New York World, known for practicing 'yellow journalism' to sell more copies.

Joseph Pulitzer

The publisher of the New York Globe (later New York Age), born into slavery in Florida, who maintained objectivity in criticizing both political parties for failing Black voters.

T. Thomas Fortune

The pioneering journalist known for her investigative reporting, particularly her undercover work in a mental asylum.

Nellie Bly

'Police said' coverage fills space, informs the public about crime, is generally accurate, and drives traffic to news sites but often lacks critical context and can be incomplete.

'Police said' coverage

The foundational principles of Silicon Valley's political economy impact how media companies make decisions about freedom of speech today, focusing on free speech while prioritizing profits.

Silicon Valley's political economy

The conflict arose when ESPN and the AP objected to being included in the BCS ranking system, with concerns over conflicts of interest and reputation.

BCS and ESPN/AP conflict

An intellectual movement that promoted reason, individualism, and free press, shaping modern journalism and the importance of informed public discourse.

The Enlightenment

Truth has evolved from being memorable (Ancient Greeks) to being defined by authority (Medieval), with various philosophical perspectives influencing its understanding.

Changing definitions of 'truth'

Ethics refers to philosophical discussions about choices between moral options, while morals are religious or agreed-upon principles that provide rules for living.

Ethics vs. Morals