Media Ethics

An Introduction to Media Ethics

welovejjc — Thu, 22 May 2008 13:45:28 +0000

Media

Ethics

the means of communication that reach or influence people widely

A set of principles of right conduct

In today’s context, news media, entertainment media and advertising media are the three most common forms of media. News, entertainment and advertising media are communicated via broadcast media and print media.

Media Ethics

Deals with specific ethical principles and standards of media.
In simpler terms, it deals with what is morally right or wrong in the field of media.

In today’s context…

Most forms of media are given the freedom to exercise free expression and speech in the way they wish to present a certain set of information to the public. However, this does not mean that the media should be used by both the producers and the public without any consideration for ethics.

Thus, to ensure that media ethics is practiced when handling the media, certain laws and guidelines have been passed to gauge the ethical level in which the media is used.

Violations of Media Ethics

welovejjc — Tue, 22 May 2007 13:56:39 +0000

1. from the MEDIA ORGANIZATION’S VIEWPOINT

1a) ETHICS VS DOLLARS
Media organizations recognize that most people are attracted to stories that contain violence, sex, death, and other negative associations. Thus, it is possible that these organizations may forgo certain media ethics in order to inculcate these negative associations into the media to ensure that it receives good publicity, thereby ensuring that the media organizations are able to bring in cash for the company.

1b) PARAMETER FOR MEDIA ETHICS

Different societies have different views on what is deemed socially acceptable. For example, movies that contain explicit sexual scenes may not be very well accepted by the majority in a conservative society as these movies may promote the novelty of free sex.
On the other hand, more developed countries may hold an opinion that exposure to such materials will prepare an individual in facing sexual situations.

2. from the CONSUMER’S VIEWPOINT

2a) ETHICS VS DOLLARS
With the existence of the Internet, it is undoubtedly much easier to download materials such as mp3 and movies from the net. Hence, many have been caught compromising their ethics to save a few bucks by downloading illegal software from the Internet.

2b) MORAL VALUES
There are individuals that misuse the media for self-benefits, especially since the Internet has been made accessible to the public. The use of Internet as a global networking site has caused it to be the number one target of hackers worldwide to infiltrate the systems of large corporations, causing the organizations to lose millions of dollars. Furthermore, there are individuals that hack into their mates’ or an unknown individual’s account through the internet, causing the loss of privacy for the targeted victim. Such actions are indeed the very anti-thesis of how media ethics should be portrayed.

Consequences of Violating Media Ethics

welovejjc — Mon, 22 May 2006 14:50:30 +0000

Due to an increasing negligence by certain media organisations and consumers in upholding media ethics, certain laws have been passed to maintain the media ethics in a society.

- Punishment for Wi-Fi theft (Under Computer Misuse Act)
- Fines for copyright infringements by both large bodies such as Kazaa and individual parties
- Allowing certain materials to be accessible to only a certain group of people by implementing movie ratings e.g. NC16, M18, R21

Many have questioned these laws that have been put in place. We will now tell you why it is necessary for these laws to be passed.

IMPORTANCE OF UPHOLDING MEDIA ETHICS

1. Economy

- the practice of copyright infringement may cause entertainment industries to close down due to the lack of income, causing thousands working in the entertainment sector to lose their jobs.

2. Social

- a society will be able to groom the media industry to its full potential by upholding media ethics such as refraining from getting involved with copyright infringement.
- Thus, the media industry may be able to bloom well, giving rise to greater entertainment productions such as local music and movies.

3. Political
- a nation in which its citizens do not uphold certain media ethics may be looked down upon, since the actions of its citizens reflects the dynamics of the nation. Hence, if a nation is filled with individuals that are willingly doing illegal downloading, the country may be looked upon as a society that does not uphold upright principles. Thus, leaders of the other nations may become wary when forming alliances with such a nation.