|
 |
 |
| Publications: Ethics Today Archives |
|
|
|
|
|
If you would like to receive our monthly electronic newsletter, please subscribe by clicking here. To read articles
from previous versions of Ethics Today, please visit the
Ethics Today archives. Published
by the Ethics Resource Center
**************************************************************************** ** A Word from the President: Media Ethics With scandals ranging from plagiarism and fraudulence to questions about the use of anonymous sources, there is no doubt that this has been a challenging year for media owners and practitioners. While the high profiles cases we've witnessed recently, like Jayson Blair and Jack Kelley, reflect glaring forms of misconduct in the media, most of the day-to-day violations occur in the gray matter between "right "and "wrong." What makes these ethical issues in the media so disconcerting is the relationship between the media's product-information-and public opinion, public policy and, as demonstrated by the reaction to Newsweek's story about the alleged desecration of the Koran, public action. More than ever, this is a time for media organizations and journalists to reflect on the values upon which they stand. Given this, we are pleased to dedicate this issue, in part, to media ethics. In addition to articles and resources on media ethics, this issue includes a link to our 2004 Annual Report. Just published, our Annual Report shares the ways in which we believe ERC has achieved our objectives in the past year and the areas where we hope to improve. We also highlight the activities yet to come-namely, helping organizations measure their impact in nurturing ethical assessment and evaluation- are now strategic areas of growth for our organization. Our 2005 National Business Ethics Survey (SM) (NBES)-- which is due out in the Fall -- is fast becoming a central source of information with regard to measures of program impact. Furthermore, in almost every engagement, we have collected data that now serves as a valuable resource to organizations that wish to benchmark against their peers. Throughout our research, protecting the privacy and confidentiality of those we survey is of critical importance to us. In this issue, we consider another field where confidentiality is a continuing topic of concern, with three guest columns on ethics in the media along with a list of links to relevant websites. Continuing this theme, Kenneth Johnson's fifth installment of his series on the revisions to the Federal Sentencing Guidelines for Organizations discusses the "litigation dilemma," that is, the concern that meeting the requirements for having an effective compliance and ethics program may provide potential litigants with a "roadmap to litigation" against the organization as well as conflict with claims of attorney-client and work product protections concerns and the desire to assure the confidentiality of those reporting misconduct. Patricia J. Harned, Ph.D. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ **
Who's Watching the Watchdog? By Knight Kiplinger Knight Kiplinger is Editor in Chief of The Kiplinger Letter and Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine. "Society relies upon a free, independent press corps to expose wrongdoings in politics, business and the professions, but the press-this feisty watchdog-is not immune from ethical problems itself. The last few years have seen steady progression of journalists, publishers and broadcasters grappling with ethical issues: made-up quotes, made-up sources, entire fabricated stories, political bias, advertiser influence over editorial content, and commercial messages masquerading as news. Most recently, we've seen the discrediting of CBS's story about George W. Bush's National Guard service and the recent Newsweek retraction about alleged desecration of the Koran by U.S. military personnel. These and other accuracy problems highlight the press' increasing difficulty in verifying information from anonymous sources, who often have an ulterior motive in planting a story with the press." In the rest of his article, Mr. Kiplinger discusses key ethics issues involving the media, including:
Read Mr. Kiplinger's article at: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ **
Journalism Must Evolve - and Quickly By Philip Meyer Philip Meyer is a Knight Professor of Journalism at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He also is a member of USA Today's board of contributors. "While it is tempting to cast the CBS reporting disaster as another moral lapse of the media, it's really more a matter of capacity. The tools of journalism have not kept up with the information age. Dan Rather was not out to get George W. Bush. He was out to get a good story. And the desire for a good story, in the face of competition from all of the varieties of new and old media, is a powerful - and sometimes blinding - incentive. Journalism used to be a craft of hunting and gathering. We looked for news, found it and delivered it. When information was scarce, the end users were so glad to get it that they didn't make much fuss about its quality. Now they care. And the "blogosphere" has enabled them to act on that care with some coordinated reality testing." Read the rest of Mr. Meyer's article
at: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ **
Media Ethics in South Africa By Johan Retief Dr. Johan Retief is a journalist, lecturer and the author of the book "Media Ethics - an introduction to responsible journalism," published by Oxford University Press (2002). "Media ethics in South Africa is currently deserving of a positive assessment - without fear of the contradiction or scorn such an opinion would have elicited in pre-1994 South Africa, where the ministry of justice was a joke reflected even in the popular movie "A Fish called Wanda." There are quite a number of reasons for this good news - a scenario remaining in stark contrast to the position in most of South Africa's neighbours and indeed, most of the continent of Africa." Read Dr. Retief's article at: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ** Media Ethics Resources on the Web The following websites offer a wealth of information about ethics in journalism and mass media.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ** Links to Media Codes of Conduct The following sites provide information about cross-professional and individual organizational codes of conduct:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ** Commentary on the Media from the Ethics Scoreboard The Ethics Scoreboard, created by ethicist
Jack Marshall, identifies and comments on current events that raise
ethical issues in seven segments of society, including business,
sports & entertainment, government & politics, science &
technology, professions & institutions, society in general and
the media. Recent pieces in the media section include commentary
on Newsweek, the Peabody Awards, Terri Schiavo, and the ethics of
protecting sources. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ **
The Amended Federal Sentencing Guidelines and the "Litigation
Dilemma" This series, by ERC Principal Consultant Kenneth Johnson, describes and comments upon the US Sentencing Commission's amended requirements for an "effective program to prevent and detect violations of law." "When the Federal Sentencing Guidelines for Organizations (FSGO) were first promulgated in 1991, the Sentencing Commission had as a goal fostering "good corporate citizenship." With any practice of good citizenship, there are costs and consequences involved. For the individual, good citizenship involves paying taxes and voting. But more, it requires a basic sense of compassion and civility, jury duty, staying informed on the issues, and voting with the community in mind. Good corporate citizenship has costs and consequences as well. Certainly the costs of the compliance and ethics program itself are not insubstantial, but more or less certain. Some of the uncertain costs are captured in the notion of the "litigation dilemma": the stream of consequences attributable to civil litigation, or the threat thereof, that may flow from having an effective compliance and ethics program. The purpose of this article, the fifth in the series, is to point to some of the potential costs and consequences of good corporate citizenship, within the context of the FSGO. The potentially adverse consequences discussed here do not argue against designing, implementing, and evaluating an effective compliance and ethics program. They are submitted as matters that governing authorities and organizational leadership need to anticipate." Read Mr. Johnson's fifth installment
of this series on the revisions to the FSGO at: Read the previous articles in this
series at: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ** The Loss of Public Trust in American Media In celebration of the third annual Society of Professional Journalists Ethics in Journalism Week, the Washington, DC, chapter of the Society for Professional Journalists (SPJ) and the National Press Club hosted a panel discussion, "The Loss of Public Trust in American Media: Can it Be Restored?" on May 16, 2005. Michael Getler, the ombudsman for The Washington Post, moderated the discussion with panelists Phil Meyer, UNC-Chapel Hill Knight Chair in Journalism; Roberta Baskin, the executive director of the Center for Public Integrity, a nonpartisan investigative reporting and research organization in Washington and; Paul Moore, deputy managing editor of The Baltimore Sun. The event fell on the day Newsweek retracted its story on U.S. military interrogators at Guantanamo Bay desecrating the Koran- bringing greater relevancy to the topic of anonymous sources. Moving the discussion beyond the well-known scandals of Newsweek, Jack Kelley and Jayson Blair, the group tackled important questions about the impact of corporate pressures on news journalism, the notion of fair and balanced reporting, and the possible implications of the burgeoning "blogosphere." ERC special Assistant to the President Kristin McDonald Casson attended the event to aid in research for this issue. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ** Pace Award Nomination Deadline Extended The deadline has been extended to June 20 for nominations for the ERC Fellow's 2005 Stanley C. Pace Leadership in Ethics Award. The Pace Award is presented annually by the ERC Fellows and honors an organization, individual or group of individuals displaying excellence in the ethics field and recognizes the recipient's accomplishments and contributions to ethical business conduct. The ERC Fellows will select the 2005 award recipient by vote at their July 2005 meeting. Read more about the Pace Award or get
a nomination form at: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ** Publications and Media Coverage -- "Goldfield CEO accepts blame for performance," Florida Today, May 25 In an article announcing that the head of Goldfield Corporation had turned down a bonus, saying he was to blame for the company's less-than stellar performance, ERC Board Chairman Stephen D. Potts said that a chief executive at any company declining a bonus is "uncommon, but not unique.". If the performance of a company has slipped, he said, "it's not right or proper to have the CEO or other officers get bonuses . . . unless there are circumstances that are clearly beyond the CEO and the company." Read this article at:
The Better Business Bureau reprinted excerpts from two March 2005 Ethics Today pieces -- Dr. Pat Harned's president's column and Rielle Miller's research paper on Moral Courage -- in their electronic newsletter. http://www.enewsbuilder.net/reporteronline/e_article000390739.cfm?x=b11,0,w ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ --- ERC Board Chairman Stephen D. Potts
participated in the inaugural Bentley Global Business Ethics Symposium,
a day-long gathering of international experts, corporate leaders
and academics focused on best practices and challenges in business
ethics and ethics education. Mr. Potts joined ERC Board Member Barbara
Kipp, Partner and Global Leader, Ethics and Business Conduct and
US Firm Chief Privacy Officer, PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP, and
attorney Scott Harshbarger, Murphy, Hesse, Toomey & Lehane,
LLP, on a panel entitled "Broadening our Understanding of Risk
Management" on Monday, May 23 at Bentley College in Massachusetts. -- ERC President Pat Harned presented at several conferences during the month of May, including the following:
-- Along with Character Development Manager Katie Sutliff, Dr. Harned also presented a webinar on "Assessing Ethics" for the Credit Union National Association (CUNA) on May 25.
Research for the National Business Ethics Survey 2005 is underway, with the final published report due out later this year. If you would like to be notified by email and receive a free copy of the executive summary when the report is available for purchase, please follow the link below to submit your name and email address. Submit your name for NBES notification
at: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ** Support Organizational Ethics Research (and get NBES 2005) The National Business Ethics Survey (NBES)SM has proven to be of great value to organizations, as it identifies the issues and challenges facing our nation's employees that must be addressed in order to create and sustain an effective ethics program. The 2005 version of the study will undertake additional analysis of compliance practices, communications efforts by corporations, and industry-specific measures. We are in need of sponsors to enable us to expand the survey to allow for increased representation of prominent industries. Sponsors of this effort will help create a widely used and highly respected resource that business leaders, educators, and researchers like yourself can use to advance ethics and integrity in your workplace, schools and society. Donors of a tax-deductible contribution of $50 or more will receive a complimentary copy of our 2005 NBES and acknowledgment as a sponsor in the publication. Make a contribution to the 2005 NBES
at: For more information or to make a major contribution, contact Development Manager Allison Pendell-Jones at allison@ethics.org. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As a non-profit organization, the Ethics Resource Center depends on contributions from many generous donors. Without their dedication and trust, many of the programs and projects highlighted in this newsletter would not be possible. ERC thanks the following for their contributions of general support:
We acknowledge with appreciation contributions to the NBES Customer Campaign from the following:
ERC is extremely proud to report that we've again achieved our goal of 100% giving by our Board of Directors. We are grateful to each of them for their hard work, dedication, and commitment to ERC. We invite you to join our loyal contributors
in lending your support. You can make a tax-deductible credit
card donation online at: To find out about other ways to contribute,
go to: The Ethics Resource Center (ERC) is a non-profit, non-partisan educational organization exempt from taxation under the Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. All gifts are tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
PLEASE NOTE: Ethics Today will be published 10 times this year, with the July and August issues combined into one. ======================================================= Copyright (c) 2005 Ethics Resource
Center. All rights reserved. Please contact ethics@ethics.org for information about reproducing any of the information contained within this newsletter or on our web site. Back issues of Ethics Today are available online at: /today/et_archives.html For questions about your subscription, please email ethicstodayonline@ethics.org The Ethics Resource Center, 1747 Pennsylvania
Ave., NW, Suite 400 =======================================================
|
About ERC •
Advisory Services
•
Research
• Character
Education •
Resources
• News
•
Publications
• Fellows
• Support
ERC • Contact
Us
Ethics Resource Center,
1747 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Suite 400, Washington, DC 20006
Telephone 202-737-2258 Fax 202-737-2227 E-mail ethics@ethics.org