The articles in this issue span the globe and focus on recurring media ethics issues: the nature and quality of responsible and independent journalism, the search for universal standards, and how to best educate the media professionals of tomorrow.
The first addresses shifting conceptions of journalistic independence in the United States, studying NFL “in-house” team writers. Are they journalists or cheerleaders? Through a series of largely on-the-record interviews, Sean Sadri and colleagues explore how in-house football reporters articulate the inherent tension between journalistic standards and public-relations obligations.
The second article goes global. The struggle to articulate a global media ethical framework that is neither relativistic nor imperialistic remains a preoccupation among some scholars. Anthony Löwstedt and Natalia Hatarova, surveying the grand sweep of cultural history and reaching back to ancient Egypt, attempt to extract a set of flexible norms that may serve as a “common ground” for just such a framework.
South Africa recently instituted a system for ethics complaints about news coverage to boost responsible journalism. Surveying the complaints data, Sisanda Nkoala and colleagues conclude that most news organizations generally have a good track record, with a select few drawing the most complaints.
And finally, a focus on the relationship between media technology and education. Media instructors and professionals alike continue to grapple with the promise and perils of generative AI. What do media students need to know, and how to best shape ethical training? I-Huei Cheng and Seow Ting Lee explore how student ethical ideology and internship experience appear related to attitudes and ethical concerns about chatbots.