Hot Topic - Media Ethics

In The Digital Order, Is Freedom Of The Press Obsolete? - December 3, 2012
Freedom of the press has endured, as a legal concept, for nearly five hundred years when kings were stopped from seizing printing presses. Much has changed since then. The press is sophisticated and a big business, though both diminishing under the digital roar. Perhaps the legal language needs attention.

Bare Naked Principles - August 27, 2012
For commercial businesses, say free-market absolutists, no single principle carries more weight than profit. To a standard more lofty than puerile pennies comes the media sector, wearing public service, interest and values proudly. Virtue is in the beholding.

Deconstructing The Power Of The Press And Other Book Deals - May 31, 2012
For the news media to speak truth to power assumptions are that power – and the powerful – are not coagulated with those speaking, lest confusion reign. Power may be the ultimate social force, bigger than money and often more fun. But confusion is a force unto itself when sown carefully into the fabric.

Post Journalism And The Attention Deficit - April 5, 2012
Theater and journalism generally keep their separate spaces. Both, though, are venues for a good story, which attracts viewers, listeners and readers. The values of journalism – objectivity and facts – seem passé in an attention-obsessed world. Welcome to post-journalism.

Working The Cannibal Angle - December 22, 2011
The public is confused. Business leaders are confused. Politicians are confused. With all that confusion, the best game going is something like Trivial Pursuit. Except in this game the winner eats the other players. Yumm!!

Media On Trial: Innocence Denied - December 1, 2011
Hacks and paparazzi, they are to blame. Scurrilous media bosses, blame them too. Forget not the politicians and celebrities with secrets. Tar and feather them all!

Media Ethics Is A Silly And Vitally Important Debate - November 17, 2011
Turn it one way and a free press is the essential voice of democracy. Turn it another and it’s an emblem of power. At a different angle it’s just a big business. Ethics are important no matter which way you see it.

James Murdoch Fails CEO Exam - November 10, 2011
There are, we know, no final exams for aspiring CEO’s. We take a test before driving an automobile and several before flying a jet aircraft. There’s even, usually, an examination required to become an accountant, lawyer or brain surgeon. Those chosen to lead organizations employing and serving tens of thousands, millions arguably, arrive at the corner office by other means.