Media Ethics Resource File

Articles

• Covering the Attack: Index by Topic
  Poynter faculty and others,
  Reports began on September 11, 2001.
  
  
• Forecast for the Future: Brights, with One Cloud
  Gregory Favre, August 23, 2001.
  
  
• A Mile High Controversy
  Gregory Favre, August 10, 2001.
  
  
• Oregon Rules
  Gregory Favre, July 27, 2001.
  
  
• Bob Steele's Talk about Ethics
  Regular Poynter.org Column.
  (Includes story index)
  
  
• The Name Game
  Bob Steele, October 18, 2000.
  
  
• When Disturbing Photos Run
  Kenny Irby, Tran Ha, and Larry Larsen
  September 22, 2000.
  
  
• Ethics, Diversity, and, Photography
  Kenny Irby, September 22, 2000.
  
  
• Religion and Public Life
  Roy Peter Clark, September 11, 2000.
  
  
• A Thoughtful Look at Suicides
  Al Tompkins, July 17, 2000.
  
  
• Protecting Lives and Principles
  Bob Steele and Al Tompkins, June 26, 2000.
  
  
• Virtually There:
  One Teacher's Lessons in Cyberspace
  Aly Colon, June 23, 2000.
  
  
• A Journey Through the 'Ethical Minefield'
  Tran Ha, April 17, 2000.
  
  
• Media Plays Fast, Loose with Ethics Online
  Victor Merina, March 6, 2000.
  
  
• When Money and Ethics Collide Online
  Aly Colon, February 14, 2000.
  
  
• Shining a Spotlight on Ethics in Decision-Making
  Aly Colon, January 25, 2000.

• A Message about Reporting Methods:
  Make No Mistake
  Bob Steele, August 1999.

• High Standards for Hidden Cameras
  Bob Steele, August 1999.

• Codes of Ethics...and Beyond
  Bob Steele, April 1999.

• Talking Ethics: Competition vs. Consideration
  Bob Steele, Jim Naughton, and Valerie Hyman,
  Oct. 21, 1998.

• Storytelling About AIDS: A Duty of Care
  Bob Steele, Oct. 19, 1998.

• Hidden Cameras: High-Powered and High-Risk
  Bob Steele, Oct. 19, 1998.

• How a Minneapolis Journalist Turned
  a Difficult Situation into a Human Triumph
  Bob Steele, Oct. 19, 1998.

• Computer-Assisted Reporting Challenges
  Traditional Newsgathering Safeguards
  Bob Steele and Wendell Cochran, Oct. 19, 1998.

• A Sample Protocol for Ethical Decision-Making
  in Computer-Assisted Journalism
  Bob Steele and Wendell Cochran, Oct. 19, 1998.

• New Media Bring a New Set of Problems
  Fred Mann, May 1998.

• Monicagate
  Jim Naughton, Feb. 16, 1998.

• The President, the Intern, and the Media:
  Journalism Ethics Under Seige
  Deborah Potter, Feb. 16, 1998.

• The Ethics of Information Selling
  Nora Paul, May 1997.

• ABC and Food Lion:
  The Ethics Questions
  Bob Steele, April 1997.

• O.J. Simpson and the Backlash
  Against Cameras in Court
  Scott Libin, October 1995.

• The Ethics of Civic Journalism:
  Independence as the Guide
  Bob Steele, June 1996.

Tipsheets / Guidelines

Identifying Juveniles
Al Tompkins, Feb. 29, 2000.

Reacting to School Shooting in a Productive Way
Al Tompkins, Feb. 29, 2000.

Who Said That? Guidelines for Evaluating Sources
Bob Steele and Al Tompkins, August 1999.

Guidelines for Covering Hostage-taking
Crises, Prison Uprisings,Terrorist Actions
Bob Steele, July 1999.

Transmitting Values:
A Guide to Fairer Journalism
Keith Woods, July 1999.

Ask These 10 Questions
to Make Good Ethical Decisions
Bob Steele, June 1999.

Guidelines for Interviewing Confidential Sources
Bob Steele and Al Tompkins, May 1999.

Respecting Privacy Guidelines
Bob Steele, May 1999.

Guidelines for Interviewing Juveniles
Al Tompkins, May 17, 1999.

Doing Ethics for Photojournalists
Kenny Irby, Aug. 1, 1997.

Deception/Hidden Cameras Checklist
Bob Steele, February 1995.

Guiding Principles for the Journalist
Bob Steele, December 1994.

Ethics Case Studies

• Wall-to-Wall Coverage:
  Four Poynter Faculty Critique the Growing Trend
  Bob Steele, Jill Geisler, Lillian Dunlap,
  and Al Tompkins, Aug. 11, 1999.

• Coverage of the Kennedy Crash:
  The Crisis of Celebrity Journalism
  A Conversation between Roy Peter Clark
  and Bob Steele, July 1999.

• Journalism and Tragedy: The Littleton Shootings
  Bob Steele, April 28, 1999.

• The Amazing Growing Sweater
  By Robert F. King with commentary
  by Kenny Irby, Aug. 1, 1997.

• The Dallas Morning News & Timothy McVeigh:
  Our Story, Process Correct
  Ralph Langer, May 1997.

• Until We Know, Let Us Challenge
  Bob Steele, May 1997.

• We Don't Do Rumors:
  But Sometimes, It Might Not Hurt
  Joann Byrd, October 1996.

• Journalists and Jewell:
  Teaching Old Watchdogs the Right Tricks
  Bob Steele, Keith Woods, and Joann Byrd,
  October 1996.

• Picture Homicide: A Crucial Sense of Reality
  Kenny Irby, July 22, 1996.

• Megan's Law: "Naming" a New Ethical Dilemma
  Keith Woods, June 13, 1996.

• The Bummer Beat
  Bob Steele and Christopher Scanlan, May 1996.

1. Journalists and Tragedy
2. "Was I Wrong?" A Reporter's Reflections on the Death Beat
3. "The Bummer Beat: TV Reporting on Tragedy and Victims"
4. Covering Victims: A Case Study
5. Handle with Care: The Victim's Perspective
6. Reporting on Victims: Professional Advice
7. How to Hold a Workshop on Victim Coverage
8. Journalists and Trauma: Secondary Victims

• Media Feeding Frenzy
  and the Abducted/Abused/Amnesiac/Runaway
  Scott Libin and Jay Black, Feb. 23, 1996.

• "NIGGER" A Case Study in Using a Racial Epithet.
  Keith Woods, November 1995.

• An Essay on a Wickedly Powerful Word
  Keith Woods, November 1995.

• Unabomber Case Holds Lessons For All Journalists
  Keith Woods, Aug. 8, 1995.

• The Post, The Times, and the Unabomber
  Keith Woods, Aug. 8, 1995.

Seminar / Conference Work

• Journalism Values & Ethics in New Media.
  Poynter Institute Conference, February 1997.
• Journalism Values in an Era of Change
  Poynter Institute Conference, February 1996.