Beyond clickbait and commerce

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Rather than ethics being an issue that raises its head from time to time as commonly believed by some, Frost argues ethical problems are ‘dealt with almost on a minute-by-minute basis in journalism’ (p. 4). The book is of tremendous scope and so quite sensibly treats its subject in two sections, although disappointingly these sections are not distinguished as such in the table of Contents, which would have made navigating easier. The first section (Chs 1-13) examines journalistic ethics and attempts to provide tools for good or moral decision-making; the second (Chs 14-21) covers regulation of journalism in the UK, Ireland and elsewhere, and often makes use of case studies. While it may seem a trite matter, throughout the book and in each of the arguments he presents, Frost goes to considerable and commendable effort to start at the start. By way of an example, the first chapter deals with morality and asks the question: what are ethics? Frost’s answer not only provides a definition, but builds a nuanced and historicised snapshot of ethics – starting with the Greek ethikos, meaning ‘of or for morals’ – by revisiting classical philosophy for its discussion of morality and leading eventually to the development of a ‘language of morals’ (p. 17). In a later discussion of the morality of reporting, such painstaking care at the start leads Frost to make this important observation: A journalist needs to determine right from the start of any story why he or she is covering it. If the reasons for covering it are morally, not just commercially, viable, or if the moral reasons for using the story outweigh the moral arguments against, then the journalist should aim to publish. However, it also needs to be looked at in another way: is a story not being covered because it is morally, or merely commercially, unjustifiable? (p. 46). Other chapters on ethics cover what makes a good journalist, the importance of truth-telling, privacy and intrusion, reputation, and importantly, the internet. The second section on regulation includes histories of print regulation in the twentieth century, and press regulation in the twenty-first, where Frost discusses the Leveson Inquiry as well as the lead-up to it in some detail. The second section also covers broadcasting, codes of conduct and press and broadcasting regulation systems in the UK and Ireland, as well as a final chapter on the international experience. In addition, ten appendices cover (mostly British and European) codes of practice, ethics guidelines, and regulatory bodies. Copyright 2016-2/3. Ethical Space: The International Journal of Communication Ethics. All rights reserved. Vol 13, No 2/3 2016 115
While the book is unashamedly UK-focused, its broadly based discussions, case studies and theoretical underpinning, and the fact that the Leveson Inquiry sparked debate on ethics among journalists world-wide, should ensure it provides interest for journalists, students and teachers everywhere. Disappointments are few: some chapters included helpful recommendations for further reading but there could have been more; the glossary seems unnecessarily brief; and there were more than a comfortable number of errata (mainly typos). The glaring omission is of a separate chapter on regulating the internet. While certainly a developing, if not thorny and complex topic, it would seem that regulating the internet – impossible as it might seem – is likely of paramount importance given the uncertain future faced by print journalists and broadcasters alike. Also not covered are the public’s perceptions of the journalist, which can prey on the viability of a reporter’s modus operandi. In part, such perceptions are recently tarnished, but also it must be said they have been poor for some time. For example, as Ian Richards writes for A companion to the Australian media (2014), ‘for most of the 19th century, journalists were widely viewed as a rough and ready lot’ (p. 153). While Frost does not broach these last matters at all, this should not detract from our appreciation of the overall project. For while a brief history of the journalist as figure and a deeper exploration of possible regulation of the internet are desirable, they would merely add context to what is already a comprehensive and important volume. Glenn Morrison Journalist and author Northern Territory, Australia 116 Copyright 2016-2/3. Ethical Space: The International Journal of Communication Ethics. All rights reserved. Vol 13, No 2/3 2016
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Beyond clickbait and commerce The e
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Contents Editorial Looking beyond t
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EDITORIAL Looking beyond the tradit
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These questions of independence are
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of the work produced by foundation-
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Crisis Center, for example, has a g
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library that spotlights progress in
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journalists working on the developm
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Note on the contributor Dr Mel Bunc
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2014). One response has been to par
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and/or distributed by ENGOs to mobi
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democratic dissent’, while DeLuca
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ecording the interviews, I engaged
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spent two weeks collecting images a
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Although photographs of spirit bear
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up the article ‘Pipeline through
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Alexandra Garcia, iLCP communicatio
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killed/, accessed on 27 December 20
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Dave Harte ‘Tell it like it is’
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Veronica Coatham and Lisa Martinali
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which content its audience is most
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in the 1990s and early 2000s. Borge
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in Leeds, he notes the valuable rol
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Yet the nature of the journalism at
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Foucault, Michel (1980) Power/Knowl
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Unitec research colleagues; media p
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voice in seven unique contexts was
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therefore, challenging to strike th
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7 The Pacifica Mamas, ‘matriarchs
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sharing approach to collaboration,
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programme, and they wanted the spot
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and that I was entrusting myself to
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ecosystem (Cooren 2015b). In a 2015
Page 68 and 69: Saifoloi, Malama, Stowers-Ama, Jarc
Page 70 and 71: informed citizenry. Most see journa
Page 72 and 73: While there is no universally accep
Page 74 and 75: news organisation are decisions to
Page 76 and 77: is largely seen as unethical to ask
Page 78 and 79: open to paying for content. Others
Page 80 and 81: Conclusions Overall, oppositional n
Page 82 and 83: Foster, Michelle (2012) Calling the
Page 84 and 85: Judith Townend ‘Charitable journa
Page 86 and 87: In the second category, where the r
Page 88 and 89: Among the issues is the Charity Com
Page 90 and 91: House of Lords (2012) House of Lord
Page 92 and 93: press in a democracy to campaign, l
Page 94 and 95: The tribunal’s decision For the p
Page 96 and 97: charitable journalism may be recogn
Page 98 and 99: Denis Muller Conflict of interest:
Page 100 and 101: Tanner et al. (2005: 187) identify
Page 102 and 103: to its audiences. To engage in jour
Page 104 and 105: creating a commercial climate in wh
Page 106 and 107: that a sponsor would have no role i
Page 108 and 109: Items about Dove not labelled as sp
Page 110 and 111: their public-interest responsibilit
Page 112 and 113: Murtha, Jack and Gourarie, Chava (2
Page 114 and 115: Recognising the shadow elements of
Page 116 and 117: admits that ‘systematic’ may be
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