The Moral Meaning of Recent Revisions to the SPJ Code of Ethics

Abstract

The field of journalism has experienced recent upheavals caused in part by shifts in technology, economic challenges, and questions about the concept of truth telling. This study compares the new version of the Society of Professional Journalists’ Code of Ethics with its 1996 version in an effort to determine how journalists who embrace the ethos of a profession have responded to these challenges, as reflected in the standards and practices outlined in their code. A framework for systematically reading codes is offered. The changes are examined in light of relevant moral theories.

Notes

^1. For more complete discussions of the role of civility in the development of human society and ways philosophers have conceived of the idea, see Becker (1988), Clayton and Edgar (2012), Davetian (2009), and Hall and Trentmann (2005).