MDIA1002 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Media Ethics, University Of New South Wales, Academic Integrity
02/05/18 UNSW notes | MDIA1002 Monique Munro
1
Media & Communication Contexts
Week 9 notes
MDIA1002 Lecture
Ethics and you
• An Introduction to ethics
+ Ethics are for everyone
o Ethics for Uni lectures
o Ethics for social media users
+ Need to think about all of the time
+ Ethical dilemmas rarely have easy answers
- Moral philosophy, involves systematic, defending and recommending concepts
of right and wrong behaviour
- Quotes: Acknowledge quotes, include references, citations
- Ethics matter for media practitioners
+ Media practitioners have power,
o Influence public opinion
o Intrude of people private and professional lives
o Hold powerful figures accountable
+ Everyone has the power to self-publish (an opportunity taken for granted but was
inconceivable to the generations before)
o Grew up with it
o Used to use typewriters in the office
+ You have the power to establish and communicate with the audience
+ Power to join groups online and make your opinions known about people, organisations,
politicians, etc
+ Poe to ifluee othe peoples ies ad emotional equilibriums
o Can make someone feel very good or bad (eg, Facebook
comments)
- Ethics for students
+ Aadei itegit: The ualit of eig hoest ad
haig stog oal piiples
+ Aadei isodut: A tpes of heatig that
occurs in elatio to a foal aadei eeise
o Eg, Plagiarism
o Working with academic integrity module 2018
- In conclusion
+ Ethics are relevant for you as a social media user
+ Ethics are relevant to you as a university student
+ Ethics will turn out to be particularly relevant if you
end up working in the media
+ Research suggests that behaving ethically correlates
ith ieased happiess: The effet of ethis o happiess is oughl siila to
that of a modest increase in income, being married or attendig huh Hae
S. 2009)
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
02/05/18 UNSW notes | MDIA1002 Monique Munro
2
• Ethics and philosophy
+Ethics are complicated and fascinating
+Epistemology
+Philosophy is useful and can make you feel good!
+ The consolations of Philosophy Alain De Botton
- “oates stageess disussed oe i the eading)
+ ugly, unpopular
+ Committed to knowledge
+ Questioning of common sense
1. Deontology or duty- based ethics
- A set of rules you obey no matter what
+ eg, the 10 commandments
- Focuses on the moral value of acts themselves
- Argues that some actions are intrinsically moral and that we have a duty to do
what is right according to the ethical properties of the art itself (Fleming, 2008)
- You dot tell the tuth eause it is epediet to do so, ut eause it is the
right thing to do (ibid)
- ‘efes to oal peepts that ed at applies aoss the oad Keep ou
od, Dot ude ioet people, tell the tuth, ad so o iid
- The antithesis of the idea that an ethical end justifies an unethical means
- Meaning: I simpl dot do that
2. Consequentialism or outcome-based ethics
- Involves
+ Assessment the moral value of an act in terms of its consequences
+ Striving to act in a way that bring about good outcomes
+ Accommodating the idea of an end justifying a means
- The predominant form of consequentialism is utilitarianism whose basic formula
is that we should act in such a way as to increase the greatest happiness for the
greatest number of people (Fleming 2008)
- Meaning: I can do that if it is for the greater good
- Example
3. Virtue ethics
- Emphasises virtues or moral character rather than duties, rules or consequences
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Ethics and you: an introduction to ethics. + ethics are for everyone: ethics for uni lectures, ethics for social media users. + need to think about all of the time. Moral philosophy, involves systematic, defending and recommending concepts of right and wrong behaviour. Intrude of people private and professional lives: hold powerful figures accountable. + everyone has the power to self-publish (an opportunity taken for granted but was inconceivable to the generations before: grew up with it, used to use typewriters in the office. + you have the power to establish and communicate with the audience. + power to join groups online and make your opinions known about people, organisations, politicians, etc. + po(cid:449)e(cid:396) to i(cid:374)flue(cid:374)(cid:272)e othe(cid:396) people(cid:859)s (cid:448)ie(cid:449)s a(cid:374)d emotional equilibriums: can make someone feel very good or bad (eg, facebook comments) + a(cid:272)ade(cid:373)i(cid:272) i(cid:374)teg(cid:396)it(cid:455): (cid:858)the (cid:395)ualit(cid:455) of (cid:271)ei(cid:374)g ho(cid:374)est a(cid:374)d ha(cid:448)i(cid:374)g st(cid:396)o(cid:374)g (cid:373)o(cid:396)al p(cid:396)i(cid:374)(cid:272)iples(cid:859)
