Journalism Ethics for the Digital Age

Journalism is being transformed by the digital revolution. Journalists working for media organisations are having to file and update stories across multiple platforms under increasing time pressures. Meanwhile, anyone with sufficient literacy skills and access to the internet can aspire to practise journalism, and many are doing so.

And yet journalism in any form still depends for its legitimacy on the observance of ethical principles and practices. For example, it has to maintain a commitment to telling the truth, and to minimise deception and betrayal; deal with conflicts of interest; protect sources and their confidences; know how to report traumatised and vulnerable people; and know when to respect privacy.

Journalism Ethics for the Digital Age covers all these areas and more. It traces the ethics of journalism from their origins in philosophy to the new problems brought about by digital technology, with practical examples to show how these values and principles can play out in the real world. An invaluable tool for ethical decision-making, this is a book for professional and self-declared journalists - as well as students in the disciplines of journalism, media, communications, and applied ethics. It has been written in a way that also makes it accessible to the intelligent general reader.