Deon and Telos: How Journalisms Are Evolving Their Ethical Approaches

Survey evidence shows a deontological ethical ideology remains dominant in global journalism, underpinned by a cultural value of detachment. This article opens by considering the strain imposed on these precepts in US corporate media while covering the Trump White House—ultimately to breaking point with the defeated president’s campaign to overturn the result, attempting to co-opt news organisations in the process. Feedback loops of cause and effect have, in any case, been exposed in today’s extended media, making the involvement of journalism in stories—through influence on audience responses and source behaviours—impossible to overlook. At the same time, new journalisms are emerging and growing, which adhere instead to a teleological ethical ideology. They openly identify themselves with external goals, and appeal for funds from donors and supporters on that basis. The article then goes on to present original data from analysing statements of aims and purpose put out by 12 news organisations working in four of these new fields: Peace Journalism; Solutions Journalism; Engaged, or Participatory Journalism; and Investigative Journalism, respectively. These represent a growing edge in journalism, it is argued, since they are positioned to respond positively to the changed conditions brought about by political and technological forces, which were illustrated by the Trump crisis. The study points to the changes in institutional arrangements now needed, if the structural foundations for their survival and success are to be strengthened.

The effect of consumers' religiosity on consumer ethics: the mediating role of ethical ideology

PurposeReligious doctrines generally encourage people to behave ethically. However, in daily life, individuals notice inconsistencies between religious beliefs and behavior, leading them to ask, in the context of commerce, why religious consumers would behave unethically. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of consumers' intrinsic and extrinsic religiosity on their ethical behavior. Specifically, the moderating effect of ethical ideology on the relationship between Indonesian consumers' religiosity and their ethics was examined by means of a survey.Design/methodology/approachThe data derived from the questionnaire were complemented by convenience samples of Indonesians living in Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta (DIY) in central Java. The researchers distributed 600 questionnaires in two major shopping malls and several housing areas in the region, of which 467 were completed and returned, for an overall response rate of 77.8%.FindingsThe results indicated that the participants' intrinsic religiosity negatively impacted their ethical beliefs and was mediated by their idealistic ethical ideology. The present study also found that idealism had negative effects on three of the four dimensions of the consumer ethics scale (CES) (actively benefiting, passively benefiting and questionable behavior), while relativism had positive effects on two of the dimensions (passively benefiting and questionable behavior.Research limitations/implicationsOne limitation of the present study was that the analysis did not distinguish among the religions practiced by the respondents to the questionnaire.Originality/valueThis is one of the first few studies investigating the mediating role of ethical ideology in a religious society. This study contributes to the literature on these issues in theoretical and managerial terms by extending the Hunt-Vitell theory (1986) to the context of consumer ethics.

Moving Into the Media World: The Moral Psychology of Emerging Adults in Journalism and Communication

A growing body of psychology-based scholarship identifies emerging adulthood as a distinct, transitional stage of life and work characterized by several features, wherein relatively little is known regarding moral development. This study is part of a 3-year, longitudinal project involving recent graduates across six U.S. universities who studied journalism and media-related fields. Guided by emerging adulthood, moral psychology, and media exemplar research, this study analyzes results for 110 graduates who completed an online survey regarding their personality traits, virtuous character, moral reasoning, and ethical ideology. It constitutes the first detailed portrait of moral identity of emerging adults in media-related fields.

Moral Resilience in Nursing Education: Exploring Undergraduate Nursing Students Perceptions of Resilience in Relation to Ethical Ideology

Introduction Moral resilience has recently been proposed as one strategy to address moral distress in nurses and nursing students. Central to nursing students’ capacity for moral resilience is how they understood and enact resilience with an element of realism, suggesting an ethical, ideological influence. Resilience is shown to differ significantly across students, and possibly because of a disconnect between a students’ perceived resilience and their ethical ideology. Yet, resilience seldom has been explored in relation to ethical ideology. Objective This study aims to explore self-reported resilience in relation to ethical ideology in undergraduate nursing students, compare differences in scores, and explore relationships between study variables and selected demographic characteristics. Methods A descriptive cross-sectional research design was followed. An online encrypted survey was conducted among a convenient sample of nursing undergraduates who met the eligibility criteria and provided implied informed consent. This study complied with ethical principles outlined in the Canadian Tri-Council Policy Statement for research with human subjects. Ethical approval was secured from the University’s Research Ethics Board. Data were analyzed using mean scores, standard deviations, independent sample t-test, variance analysis with post hoc–testing, and Pearson correlation to explore differences in perceptions and associations between study and selected demographic variables. Results Undergraduate students have a high level of self-reported resilience. Statistically significant differences in self-reported resilience across selected demographic variables were observed. The association between resilience and ethical ideology was not significant. Ethical relativism was significantly correlated with age and year of study. Conclusion Findings suggest that faculty cultivating resilience in nursing students pays attention to gender’s influence discourses in students’ perceptions of resilience and ethical ideology and provides students with opportunities for ethical self-reflection and dialogue to critically examine their ethical ideological perspectives and the influence these may have on moral resilience development. Implications for future research are discussed.