This new edition of a well-regarded, student-friendly textbook for journalism ethics has been extensively revised and updated to meet the needs of the 21^st century journalist working in the digital age.

• Educates aspiring journalists on ethical decision-making, with coverage of key applied issues such as the principles of fairness and accuracy, the duty of verification, the role of social media, the problems of plagiarism, fabrication, and conflicts of interest, business issues that affect journalism ethics, and questions relating to source relationships, privacy, and deception in reporting
• Includes extensive revisions to the majority of chapters, as well as six new “Point of View” essays, eight new case studies, and a full glossary
• Brings together the authoritative, engaging voice of a veteran journalist, the viewpoints of distinguished scholars and print, broadcast, and digital practitioners, and insights from complex, real-world case studies
• Supplemented by an annually updated companion website with resources for teachers and students, including: links to current articles discussing the subjects covered in each of the book’s chapters, and a teachers’ guide that offers sample syllabi, discussion guides, PowerPoint slides, sample quiz and exam questions, and links to audiovisual material

Gene Foreman spent more than half a century in journalism – 41 years as a reporter and editor and nine years as a teacher in the College of Communications at Pennsylvania State University, USA. He climaxed his newsroom career with 25 years as managing editor of The Philadelphia Inquirer, a period in which Inquirer staff members won 18 Pulitzer Prizes. Retiring in 1998, he joined the Penn State faculty. As the inaugural Larry and Ellen Foster Professor, he taught courses in journalism ethics and news editing. Since retiring from full-time teaching in 2006, he has continued as a visiting professor at Penn State. He coaches writing students and directs the Foster-Foreman Conference of Distinguished Writers, which has attracted more than 40 Pulitzer winners. In 2003, Foreman received two awards for excellence in teaching in the College of Communications, the Deans' Award and the Alumni Society Award. In 2013, the Alumni Society gave him its first Douglas A. Anderson Contributor Award in recognition of his work on behalf of the College and its students. In retirement, Foreman has also served distinguished visiting professorships at the University of Arkansas and Washington and Lee University. He was president of the Associated Press Managing Editors in 1990 and board member of the American Society of Newspaper Editors in 1992-95.

Foreword: Journalism Genes xvii

Preface xix

Acknowledgments xxi

Part I: A Foundation for Making Ethical Decisions 1

1 Why Ethics Matters in Journalism 3

2 Ethics, the Bedrock of a Society 15

3 The News Media’s Role in Society 23

4 For Journalists, a Clash of Moral Duties 39

5 The Public and the Media: Love and Hate 58

6 Applying Four Classic Theories of Ethics 78

7 Using a Code of Ethics as a Decision Tool 89

8 Making Moral Decisions You Can Defend 116

Part II: Exploring Themes of Ethics Issues in Journalism 131

9 Stolen Words, Invented Facts … or Worse 133

10 Conflicts of Interest: Appearances Count 151

11 The Business of Producing Journalism 174

12 Getting the Story Right and Being Fair 194

13 Dealing with Sources of Information 223

14 Making News Decisions about Privacy 241

15 Making News Decisions about Taste 268

16 Deception, a Controversial Reporting Tool 284

17 Covering a Diverse, Multicultural Society 306

18 Ethics Issues Specific to Digital Journalism 329

19 Ethics Issues Specific to Visual Journalism 349

20 Some Thoughts to Take with You 374

Glossary 377

Index 382