The Center for Journalism Ethics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s School of Journalism & Mass Communication‘s Stephen J.A. Ward suggested in a May 2012 post that there’s a new type of media ethics — “media ethics as a form of media activism.”
“It is not media activism understood as critiquing news organizations and specific stories. It is a technology-powered online activism where we create the ethical media we want,” he explained. Ward argued that instead of “the study (and discussion) of norms” now the public is “creating the journalism they believe is lacking” therefore – “‘doing’ media ethics.”
Ward noted he wasn’t dismissing either traditional media ethics or activism, but rather
“(1) We have to extend our notion of media ethics to take account of the new areas of expressive media. (2) Media ethics can be done by creating your own ethical media. And (3), media ethics needs to deal with issues raised by the citizen’s power to create media.”
Check out Ward’s column on the center’s website.
Hat Tip: @PopTrashMoviee