Abstract
The mulberry trees stirred, and the prophet Ezekiel saw dead bones coming to life. The observer of mass communication ethics these days might feel like Ezekiel. It is a growth industry. The snippets of a decade ago have become a major body of scholarship.
The scope of interests is expanding. Cross-cultural concerns are growing. The earlier focus on printed news has widened to include electronic media, data management, advertising and public relations. A generic narrative ethics is beginning to appear. Theological ethics has not yet reached its potential, though it contributes more of late. Social responsibility gets some of the attention previously reserved for individual rights.
Issues important in the past are being readjusted. We were worried about violence, and still are, but the requirements of establishing a peaceful society are now attracting attention. The needs of the poor for appropriate media are being recognized. Studies of manipulation and ideology are coming into their own.
Normative ethics, long derogated, is increasingly seen as a sign of maturity, balancing the descriptive approach.
Finally, linkages are being established between such controversial but necessary fields as critical studies, feminist theory and applied ethics.
Fashioning a systematic ethical structure is like building a house in a hurricane. Working on it is often a thankless act of conscience, without guarantees. Media ethics may never attract the prestige, energy or resources of other communication fields, but the research outlined here indicates its intrinsic worth.
Recommended Citation
Christians, Clifford G.
(1991)
"Communication Ethics,"
Communication Research Trends: Vol. 11:
No.
4, Article 1.
Available at:
https://scholarcommons.scu.edu/crt/vol11/iss4/1