Media and digital media ethics Uppsala 12/ Katarzyna Płaneta-Björnskär Department of Informatics and Media Uppsala University

 Social and political theory of the press  Professional theory and practice of journalism  The public as citizens (public opinion)  The public as audience  The media market  The state and its agencies  Interested parties in the society affected by media

 Press councils  Professionalism in journalism Objective, independent, informative journalism.  Journalistic codes of ethics

Responsibility - assigned - contratced - self-imposed ” To have responsibility ” Accountability - as liablity - as answerability ” To act responsible and to take responsibility ” Responsibility and accountability

 Public service  Objectivity  Autonomy  Immediacy  Ethics

 Truthfulness of information  Clarity of information  Defence of the public rights  Responsibilities in forming public opinion  Standards of gathering and presenting information  Respecting the integrity of the sources

Provide accurate news Treat rebuttals generously Respect indivdual privacy Be thoughtful when using pictures Listen to every side Be cautious with publishing names

Political pressures Economic pressures Source tactics and strategies Technological possibilities and constrainsts Organizational possibilites and constraints  Pressures by interest groups, owners and advertisers  Pressures by audiences  Dangers of journalistic routines: sources, frames&myths, newsworthiness

Entman (1993: 53): ‘[selecting] some aspects of perceived reality and mak[ing] them more salient in a communicating text, in such a way as to promote a particular definition of a problem, causal interpretation, moral evaluation, and/or treatment recommendation for the item described’.

 Politics and media – agenda crossroads? - The question of mutual influence - Event-responsive agendas  5 types of frames: - Multicultural - Emancipation - Restriction - Victimization - Islam as a threat

 Speed and easiness – ”greased information”, easy to copy and affecting privacy  Convergence – bringing together what once was distinct  Scale and scope of communication - billions of people are active users; international and global reach; cross- cultural encounters  Activity and interacitvity - ethics is not an issue for them in the media but for us; digital media becoming more ”social”; distributed responsibility  Fluidity of digital media changeable, new forms

Utilitarianism and consequentialism assessing the costs and benefits (short-term, long-term) Deontology focus upon adherence to independent moral rules or duties; failing to follow one’s duty is immoral; Kantian Categorical Imperative as a rational deontology. French moralism (teleology) oriented towards the goal of keeping social and ethical order, for a better social life

Feminist ethics and ethics of care: from reward-punishment to individual autonomy: pre-conventional, conventional, post-conventional morality; highlights the role of social relations, emotion and justice; eco-ethics Virtue ethics cultivating excellence as a human being; developing practical reason and capacity for judgment; attention to emotions and learning Confucian ethics breaking up with atomic self - we are relational beings; striving after completeness and harmony; filial piety and propriety African ethics ubuntu idea: a person is defined through relationships with others; personhood under construction

Ethical absolutism/monism - universal norms valid for all - often seen as ”our” and ”others” norms Ethical relativism - all norms are culturally dependent - no guidelines for relating different systems Ethical pluralism - there are basic shared norms, values - these are practised and interpreted in different ways - establishes a middleground between EA and ER - dialogical process listening and accepting difference

Danish cartoons controversy, (Berthaut 2007; Miera 2009)  Freedom of speech - between universalism and relativism  Four media discourses: a) liberal fundamentalism, b) liberal pragmatism, c) dialogic multiculturalism, d) religious/ethnic fundamentalism  Islam as a public issue: between ‘western’ values and cultural recognition