Media Ethics Beyond Borders A Global Perspective

This volume explores the construction of an ethics for news media that is global in reach and impact. Essays by international media ethicists provide leading theoretical perspectives on major issues and applies the ideas to specific countries, contexts and problems, addressing such questions as: Are there universal values in journalism? How would a global media ethics do justice to the cultural, political, and economic differences around the world? Can a global ethic based on universal principles allow for diversity of media systems and cultural values? What should be the principles and norms of practice of global media ethics? The result is a rich source of ethical thought and analysis on questions raised by contemporary global media.

Stephen J.A. Ward is the James E. Burgess Chair in Journalism Ethics and director of the Center for Journalism Ethics at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Wisconsin in Madison. He previously was director of the Graduate School of Journalism, University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. He has a Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Waterloo, Ontario. His research interests include global journalism ethics, the philosphical foundations of media ethics, and theories of objectivity.
Herman Wasserman teaches media and cultural studies at Sheffield University, UK, and is associate professor extraordinary of journalism at Stellenbosch University, South Africa. He is a former Fulbright Scholar at Indiana University, and a former fellow of the Ethics Colloquium at the University of Missouri School of Journalism. He is the editor of Ecquid Novi: African Journalism Studies and on the editorial boards of several journals, including the Journal of Mass Media Ethics and the Journal of African Media Studies.

Introduction: Why Global Media Ethics?

Section One: Universals, Theory, and Global Ethics

Chapter 1: The Ethics of Universal Being/Clifford G. Christians

Chapter 2: Connecting Care and Duty: How Neuroscience and Feminist Ethics can Contribute to Understanding Professional Moral Development/Lee Wilkins

Chapter 3: A Theory of Patriotism for Global Journalism/Stephen J.A. Ward

Chapter 4: Media Ethics: Towards a Framework for Media Producers and Media Consumers/Nick Couldry

Section Two: Global, Local, and Critical Theory

Chapter 5: Media Ethics and Human Dignity in the Postcolony/Herman Wasserman

Chapter 6: Postcolonial Theory and Gobal Media Ethics: A Theoretical Intervention/Shakuntala Rao

Chapter 7: Moral Philosophy as the Foundation of Normative Media Theory: Questioning African Ubuntuism as a Framework/Pieter J. Fourie

Section Three: Applications and Case Studies

Chapter 8: Negotiating Journalism Ethics in Zambia: Towards a "Glocal" Ethics/Fackson Banda

Chapter 9: Journalistic Ethics and Responsibility in Relations to Freedom of Expression: An Islamic Perspective/Ali Mohamed

Chapter 10: Media Ethics in Ethiopia/Gebremedhin Simon