COMM 409HNews Media Ethics

3 credits · Communications · Penn State

Ethical problems in the practice of journalism; principal public criticisms of news media; case study approach. COMM 409H News Media Ethics (3) Ethics is about doing the right thing - which, in the news business, is rarely as easy as it sounds. Is it ever OK for reporters and photographers to intrude on grieving families? Is it ever OK to lie to get information? Are the sex lives of politicians and celebrities our business? COMM 409H will give students a fuller understanding of how journalists do their jobs and how they should make ethically sound decisions. This class is more about learning to ask the right questions than learning the right answers. We'll rely on recent news coverage to get us in the habit of working through the moral dilemmas that reporters routinely confront.