From journalism ethics to communication ethics

Abstract

In the chapter, it is argued that journalism ethics as we know and practice it are no longer adequate for dealing with mediated communication in the digital media landscape. What is needed is a move from journalism ethics to communication ethics. Whereas journalism ethics is career-oriented, communication ethics is human communication-oriented. Communication ethics provide a broader ontological foundation for dealing with the multimodality of the communication of and in the digital media landscape, including the communication of the media user whose interactive communication is increasingly in the spotlight. The chapter explains the characteristics of the new digital media landscape and its impact on the nature of mediated communication, critiques normative media theory as the foundation of journalism ethics, explores mediatization theory as a foundation for communication ethics applied to the media, and puts forward the basic tenets of communication ethics as a replacement of journalism ethics.