This issue addresses a wide range of vital media ethics questions – gender inequity, moral language in news, child-targeted marketing, and why journalists use fake names to protect themselves.
First, gender inequity in news. In some ways, Spanish journalism has been at the forefront of gender-equality efforts to eradicate sexist and masculinist habits. Maria Iranzo-Cabrera and her colleagues provide an assessment of that progress with a study focusing on the experiences of “Gender Editors” across the country. While the editors have made strides in affecting newsroom culture, the researchers conclude that such editorial positions remain limited by institutional and organizational dynamics.
Second, moral language in news. As we all know, the journalistic use of subjective language in news narratives can raise questions of bias, yet is also arguably a key component of good storytelling. What might the use of “morally loaded” language tell us about journalistic tendencies? Mengyao Xu and Zhujin Guo apply Natural Language Processing and Moral Foundations Theory to explore this question, concluding that yes, newswriting might exhibit “liberal” tendencies, but that does mean it betrays a liberal bias.
Third, both explicit and implicit advertising strategies targeting children continues to pose a significant media ethics issue. Eunjoo Choi examines how pervasive is the use of implicit brand integration tactics in YouTube videos aimed at kids. She finds product placement continues to be a dominant form, and the dearth of disclosure prompts her suggestion for more aggressive child-protection policies.
And finally, fake bylines as survival strategy. The journalism done in much of the world does not reflect that seen in Europe and North America. For example, journalists in Central Asia routinely use fake names for bylines on their work. Kazakh researchers Bahtiyar Kurambayev and Karlyga Myssayeva explore why they do so in the developing journalism cultures of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.