Morals and the media

Confronted daily with decisions on how to present their stories, what to write and what not to write, journalists and the media are frequently accused of sensationalizing, of choosing to report the bad news, and of misquoting those they review. In this substantially updated edition of Morals and the Media, Nick Russell addresses many of the concerns the public has about the media as he examines why the media behave the way they do. He also discusses how values have been developed and applied and suggests value systems that can be used to judge special situations. This revised edition covers the many changes in the Canadian media in the last decade, including further concentration of media ownership, media convergence, online journalism, the rise of the web log, and the tightening economic pressures on the industry as a whole. While much of the debate in this field has focused on conditions in the United States, Russell points out that the ethical issues that arise in Canada are often substantially different from those in the US. In the US individuals have the protection of the First Amendment, but it is the very different Charter of Rights and Freedoms that determines the rights of Canadians, and also the laws that relate to the media. Morals and the Media will be of great value in journalism courses and an important resource for journalists, as it offers criteria for analyzing complex situations and reaching justifiable decisions. Finally, it will be of interest to the general reader, as it gives insights into how the media work and provides a yardstick by which to judge their performance.