scholarly journals Analysis of professional perceptions relating to the effectiveness of codes of ethics for journalists in Spain

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 511-528
Author(s):  
Marcel Mauri-Ríos ◽  
Silvia Marcos-García ◽  
Aitor Zuberogoitia-Espilla

Purpose Codes of ethics are important instruments in journalism, as they promote transparency and self-regulation of media, in addition to monitoring the quality of information. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the perceptions that Spanish journalists have of the effectiveness of codes of ethics and to evaluate the different personal and professional variables which condition this vision. Design/methodology/approach The methodology used in the present study is based on quantitative content analysis using the survey technique. This technique makes it possible to obtain empirical data on various key aspects of the profession that are determining factors in ascertaining Spanish journalists’ views of one of the instruments of accountability that is external to the media: general ethical codes. Findings The results show that Spanish journalists are largely confident in the effectiveness of ethical codes in their profession. Likewise, it was seen that variables such as age, professional experience or the media with which they work influence the perceptions that professionals have of such instruments. Originality/value If understanding journalism as a profession whose mission is to guarantee the citizens their right to information, then it is essential to be familiar with the tools provided by the profession itself to be accountable to the public regarding this professional mission. Hence the importance of instruments of accountability and the perceptions of the professionals themselves regarding their effectiveness.

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 87-100
Author(s):  
Neda Necić

Public relations, an important element of the media society, is a management function which helps establish and nurture the links of mutual communication, understanding, acceptance and cooperation between the organization and the surrounding public. The development of the public relations profession is commonly seen as a progressive evolution from unsophisticated and unethical early practice to the planned, strategic, ethical campaigns of the modern age. However, when discussing the practice of public relations in the XXI century, there are certain doubts, or rather, ethical conflicts. Being the key moral principle and the fundamental philosophical concept, truth should be the goal of every relationship and communication. However, in the public relations practice, truth is occasionally suppressed due to its partial placement. The process of communication itself functions to a significant extent through the mass media, and the violation of ethics in that respect is the trade in media space, which is a difficult form of violation of the philosophy of morality. The main purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of ethics and its development in public relations. This paper analyzes the ethics of public relations as a self-regulation platform for this profession. The application of ethical theories based on utilitarian and deontological approaches has also been discussed. In addition, codes of ethics applied in the PR profession are presented, as well as examples of unethical actions in the public relations profession.


2021 ◽  
pp. 177-191
Author(s):  
Juan-Carlos Suárez-Villegas ◽  
Ruth Rodríguez-Martínez ◽  
Jesús Díaz-Campo

This article analyses the opinions of citizens on the core values of the so-called Media accountability: truthfulness, independence, transparency, public participation and respect for peoples’ rights. It also analyses citizens’ perceptions of various deontological instruments to measure the effectiveness of compliance with these ethical values. The qualitative methodology used to carry out this analysis is part of the R+D+I research project “Accountability and Journalistic Cultures project in Spain. Impact and proposal of good practices in the Spanish media” (MediaACES), which has been achieved through six focus groups in different Spanish cities. The results of the analysis reflect the critical spirit of citizens towards the media due to the following factors: the absence of objectivity, the mixture of economic interests with their editorial line and an ambiguous participation of the public, which requires a better definition of their role within the information process. The conclusions derived from this analysis allow us to reflect on several aspects: among others, the competition in a deregulated market leads to infotainment and affects the quality of information, as well as the rights of people affected by the news. At the same time, the excess of information channels leads to greater disinformation, under the appearance of a spontaneous pluralism that is superfluous. Ethics, therefore, seems to be a necessary requirement to differentiate professional journalism from other inappropriate information channels and to guarantee the right to information of citizens.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jorge Armando López-Lemus

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify the influence exerted by a quality management system (QMS) under ISO 9001: 2015 on the quality of public services organizations in Mexico. Design/methodology/approach The methodological design was quantitative, explanatory, observational and transversal, for which a sample of 461 public servants from the state of Guanajuato, Mexico was obtained. To test the hypotheses, a structural equation model (SEM) was developed through the statistical software Amos v.21. For the analysis of the data, software SPSS v.21 was used. Regarding the goodness and adjustment indices of the SEM (χ2 = 720.09, df = 320, CFI = 0.933, TLI = 0.926 and RMSEA = 0.05) which, therefore, proved to be acceptable. Findings According to the results obtained through the SEM model, the QMS under ISO 9001: 2015 is positively and significantly influenced tangible aspects (β1 = 0.79, p < 0.01), reliability (β2 = 0.90, p < 0.01), related to response quality (β3 = 0.93, p < 0.01), guarantees (β4 = 0.91, p < 0.01) and empathy (β5 = 0.88, p < 0.01) of the quality related to public services in Mexico. The study’s key contribution is that it discovered that implementing a QMS in accordance with the ISO 9001: 2015 standard has an impact on the quality of public services, with the most influential quality of response. Similarly, the assurance and dependability of service quality turned out to be important in providing public service quality. Research limitations/implications In this paper, the QMS was only evaluated as a variable that intervenes in the process of obtaining quality in public service under the ISO 9001 standard in its 2015 version. In this regard, the results’ trustworthiness is limited to the extent that the findings may be generalized in the state of Guanajuato, Mexico’s public service. As a result, the scientific community is left primarily focused on service quality to promote new future research. Practical implications The ISO 9001: 2015 standard’s QMS is one of the tools for success in both the commercial and government sectors. However, there are practical limitations, which focus on the time during which managers exercise their vision in the public sector: first, the dynamics that managers play in public policy; second, the length of time they have served in public office; and third, the interest of directors of public institutions to improve the quality of service provided by the government. Other practical consequences concern organizational culture and identity, public servant commitment, senior management or secretaries of government, as well as work and training. Originality/value The findings of this paper are important and valuable because they foster knowledge generation in the public sector through the ISO 9000 quality area. A model that permits the adoption and implementation of a QMS based on the ISO 9001: 2015 standard in public organizations that seek to provide quality in their services offered to the user is also presented to the literature. Similarly, the paper is important because there is currently insufficient research focusing on the variables examined in the context of public service in Mexico.


2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 737-752 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sherine Farouk ◽  
Fauzia Jabeen

PurposeResearch about ethical governance and corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the United Arab Emirates is still in its infancy. This study aims to explore the public sector employee’s perception toward ethical climate, codes of ethics and CSR and its impact on organizational performance. This research sheds light on the link between formalized ethical procedures and employee responses including CSR, organizational engagement and organizational performance.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from 426 middle-level public sector employees in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, using structural equation modeling to test the proposed hypotheses.FindingsThe findings of this study suggest that an ethical climate is an important organizational component, and that the incorporation of effective codes of ethics and CSR initiatives is desired. Perceptions of public sector employees are positively influenced by the organization’s ethical climate and CSR activities, which in turn affect organizational performance.Research limitations/implicationsThe study provides managerial insights for improving the ethical climate and CSR within the public sector context in the United Arab Emirates.Practical implicationsThe study offers implications for public sector employers and points out that public sector employers should formulate policies to boost the ethics and CSR environment at workplace to attain competitive advantage.Originality/valueThe paper contributes to the literature by being one of the first to study organizational ethical climate and CSR within a Middle Eastern public sector context and offers implications for theory and practice.


2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 416-431
Author(s):  
Myriam Martí-Sánchez ◽  
Desamparados Cervantes-Zacarés ◽  
Arturo Ortigosa-Blanch

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyse how the media addresses entrepreneurship and to identify the attributes linked to this phenomenon. Design/methodology/approach The sample is defined in terms of a linguistic corpus comprised of content related to entrepreneurship drawn from the digital editions of the three most important Spanish economic newspapers for the period 2010–2017. Word association and co-occurrence analyses were carried out. Further, a non-supervised clustering process was used as the basis for a thematic analysis. Findings Correspondence between social and media patterns related to the entrepreneurship phenomenon is revealed by the results. It is shown how attributes such as “success”, “innovation”, “ecosystem” and “woman” appear as very relevant and are linked to different co-occurrence scenarios. Relevant thematic groups are also identified related to lexical associations such as innovation, digital economy and public policies linked to entrepreneurship. Research limitations/implications It is important to emphasise that this study has identified and explored relationships between words, but not their evolution. Furthermore, conclusions cannot be drawn concerning whether there are differences in how each newspaper has dealt with entrepreneurship because of the way the corpus was constructed. Originality/value The study provides empirical evidence that helps to identify the way media approaches entrepreneurship. The authors carried out the analysis on the media contents and not on the perception of the public on the phenomenon.


2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 86
Author(s):  
Narayana Mahendra Prastya

Tulisan ini bertujuan untuk menganalisis aktivitas hubungan media yang dilakukan oleh Universitas Islam Indonesia, saat kejadian Tragedi Diksar Mapala UII. Kejadian tersebut merupakan krisis karena tidak diduga, terjadi secara mendadak, dan menimbulkan gangguan pada aktivitas dan citra organisasi. Hubungan media adalah salah satu aktivitas yang penting dalam manajemen krisis, karena media massa mampu mempengaruhi persepsi masyarakat terhadap satu organisasi dalam krisis. Dalam situasi krisis sendiri, persepsi dapat menjadi lebih kuat daripada fakta. Batasan hubungan media dalam tulisan ini adalah dalam aspek penyediaan informasi yang terdiri dari : (1) kualitas narasumber organisasi dan (2) cara organisasi dalam membantu liputan media. Data penelitian ini diperoleh dengan mewawancarai wartawan dari media di Yogyakarta yang meliput Diksar Mapala UII. Hasilnya menunjukkan bahwa media membutuhkan narasumber pimpinan tertinggi universitas. Informasi yang diperoleh dari humas universitas dirasa masih kurang cukup. Dalam hal upaya organisasi membantu aktivitas liputan, UII dinilai masih kurang cepat dan kurang terbuka dalam memberikan informasi. The purpose of this article is to analyse the media relations activities by Islamic University of Indonesia (UII), related to crisis "Tragedi Diksar Mapala UII". This incident lead to crisis because it is unpredictable, happen suddenly, disturb the organizational activities, and make the organization's image being at risk. Media relations is one important activites in crisis management. It is because mass media could affect the public perception toward an organization. In crisis situation, perception could be stronger than the fact. The limitation of media relations in this article are information subsidies. Information subsidies consist of : (1) the quality of news sources that provided by the organization, and (2) how organization facilitate the news gathering process by the media. The data for this article is being collected from interview with journalist from the mass media in Yogyakarta. The results are media want the top management of the universities as the news sources. The information that being provided by public relations is not enough. The university also lack of quickness and lack of openess.


2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (6) ◽  
pp. 726-739 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jon Pierre ◽  
B. Guy Peters ◽  
Jenny de Fine Licht

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to study the changing relationship between auditing and evaluation. Over the past several years, supreme auditing institutions (SAIs) in a number of advanced democracies have evolved from conventional auditing institutions to becoming increasingly concerned with assisting policy change and administrative reform in the public sector; tasks that are traditionally associated with evaluation. The paper discusses the potential consequences of this development for the SAIs themselves as well as for the audited and reforming institutions and for policy-making. Design/methodology/approach The paper uses qualitative method and draws on the extensive literature on auditing and evaluation. The analysis has also benefitted from the authors’ recent comparative research on SAIs. Findings The findings, summarized in six points, are that the growth of auditing in areas previously assigned to evaluators, has led to a shortened time perspective; stronger emphasis on the administration of policies; increased focus on efficiency of the audited entity; greater independence from the evaluated organizations; a shift in receiver of information toward the legislature and/or the public; and improved communication. Practical implications Evaluation as a professional and scholarly field has developed theories and advanced methods to assess the effectiveness of public programs. The growth of auditing may thus change the focus and quality of policy evaluation. Originality/value The paper speaks to both scholars and practitioners. To the best of the knowledge a similar analysis has not been done before.


2021 ◽  
Vol 24 (324) ◽  
pp. 183-200
Author(s):  
Katarzyna Giereło-Klimaszewska

The contemporary functioning of the media is inextricably linked with what is happening in the world ofpolitics. The case of the Mafra corporation and the behaviour of its owner Andrej Babiš shows how throughthe interrelations of these two spheres the media can influence the shaping of political decisions, opinionsor preferences in the elections. The penetration of business and political interests, related informal layoutsand dependencies as well as high media instrumentation allow us to claim that today the process ofoligarchisation of the Czech media is highly advanced. This is connected with the increasing concentrationof ownership of media companies and intervention of the owners into the published content, but also withchanges in journalism itself. The media cease to be a “watch dog” controlling the authorities and caringabout the quality of public debate. Instead, they are creating reality, more and more openly, attemptingto manipulate the public, which results in less and less trust on their part and poses a serious threat todemocracy.


Author(s):  
Zeljka Lekic-Subasic

Difficulties that women face in the media professions and discrimination against women's access to decision-making posts within the media is a problem that transcends national borders. Becoming a greater part of this particular workforce would help to expand both the amount and quality of visibility for women – in news, television, and public sphere in general. Public service media (PSM), as broadcasting, made, financed, and controlled by the public and for the public, with the output designed to reach everyone and reflect all voices, should treat gender equality with the utmost importance. The existing data indicate however that, although some progress have been made, there is a lot to be done: while women among European PSMs represent 44% of the workforce, the number falls to less than 25% at the higher and executive positions. This chapter analyses the efforts made by the European Broadcasting Union's members and the measures they recommend.


2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 291-310 ◽  
Author(s):  
Silvia Iacuzzi ◽  
Andrea Garlatti ◽  
Paolo Fedele ◽  
Alessandro Lombrano

PurposeThis paper aims to set out the case for integrated reporting (IR) and its potential to lead to change in the public sector by examining it in practice and analyzing the challenges associated with its implementation.Design/methodology/approachThe paper investigates the role of IR in the public sector through the development of a theoretical framework applied to a case study focused on the University of Udine in Italy.FindingsIR can be considered more as an incremental than a groundbreaking transformation of existing arrangements and approaches. The analysis revealed that the vagueness, complexity and intrinsic discrepancy between the IR concept and its operationalization brought the University of Udine to challenge and debate the IR approach and ultimately, to reconceptualize and implement its own version that better fitted its strategic aims, its intended audience and its status as a public entity.Research limitations/implicationsThe application of the findings to other contexts should be further investigated, while the analytical framework should be applied to different settings and could be enriched to add knowledge and sharpen the paradigms of integrated thinking and value co-creation. Moreover, the interviews focused on people directly involved in the preparation of the integrated report, excluding other stakeholders. Further research could explore their perceptions of IR and focus on their understanding of the IR as well as the value co-creation process.Practical implicationsThe findings provide decision makers with insights about how IR can be promoted to enhance its impact on value co-creation. The key processes to be considered for a public organization are integrated thinking and value co-creation, while the key aspects to be investigated in an integrated report for the public sector are materiality and stakeholder engagement. Yet, the IR framework is missing indications on how to account for stakeholders' inputs, outputs and outcomes in a value co-creation process, which is fundamental in a public service logic.Originality/valueThe results shed further light on two fundamental phenomena in the public sector, namely, integrated thinking and value co-creation. The paper also answers the call for more empirical research on IR's rhetoric and practice and on its concrete role in the value creation process.


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