Week 8; Ethics in Communication

Ethics in Communication
Donna Mieklejohn 
Ethics Theory:

• Deontology 
• Consequentialism 
• Virtue Ethics

Deotology:
- Rules
- Principals
- Duties

You will do the right thing by following the rules.

Consequentialism:
- It's getting a 'good' or 'right' outcome that matters
- Never mind how we got there
- The end may justify the means
- The greatest good for the greatest number

Virtue Ethics:
- Does it allign with the type of person I want to be?
- "Goodness" comes from morally good habits of character
- Aristotle identified 'virtues' such as courage, temperance, justice and prudence.

Doctrine of the Mean
 - Courage is the mean between rashness and cowardice

Week 7; Commercial & Public Media

Commercial Media vs Public Media

Public Media - In General; media whose mission is to serve or engage the public
Players: ABC,PBS, NPP, Arte, NHK, CBC etc.

‘The difference between commercial broadcasting and public broadcasting is the difference between consumersand citizens’
–Nigel Milan (former Managing Director of SBS)

Four Main Functions of the Public Media:
1. Nation Building
2. National Heritage
3. National Identity
4. National Conversations
 
According to the BBC, one of the big players in public media, the aim of public media is to deliver public value which they define as three main objectives:

1. Embedding a 'public service ethos'
2. Value for license fee money
3. Weighing market value over market impact

Commercial Media -  Profit driven media production that survives or fails based on business success.

Commercial media operates to serve the purposes of the investors and stakeholders of this business and therefore must be primarily focused on profitability rather than authenticity. Its business is generating 'audiences' and through creating these audiences they generate profit by selling advertising to them.