Talk about ethics

Dr. Bob Carey at Digital Rangefinder brings up a great point about ethics that extends beyond the photojournalistic realm where he’s focused: We have to talk about them for them to become shared practice.

So if you’re working at a newspaper, magazine, a wire service, or a student; talk to your colleagues and professors about ethics. Ask what is acceptable and if you are walking in the gray zone.

I think the main point Bob is making (read the rest of his blog post) is that talking about ethics shouldn’t be something we just do in a “training session” or in a classroom at the end of the senior year. We should talk about ethical decisions in the same environment where we talk about headline type, ledes and story ideas. Not necessarily a “web-centric” focus here, but certainly something that we need to discuss as we’re utilizing the web more and more.

UPDATE: I just saw this again at Journalistopia, and it’s worth a read: Journalism ethics in an understandable nutshell.

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