Hermeneutical dimensions of a media ethic

Abstract

This article explores the concept of a communication ethic, with specific reference to news practice. Can communication be ethically neutral? I would argue that it cannot and will show that certain hermeneutical elements (or aspects of interpretation theory) not only make communication possible, but morally accountable as well. Guided by the philosophy of Hans-Georg Gadamer, I will draw on a recent presentation by Donald Matheson, who teaches journalism at Canterbury University, in New Zealand. Three obstacles in the path towards a fuller ethical vision of news practice are initially examined: an emphasis on verification of factual presentation at the expense of meaning-making, the inadequacy of ethical discourses of independence and distrust of sources, and the methodological relationship between ethical discourse and practice. An alternative conceptualisation of news practice challenges the bias against understanding implicit in traditional news practice, discovers an intrinsic role for the subjectivity of the journalist and comes to recognise the importance of what Jake Lynch terms an ‘ethic of responsibility’. To the same end of a more accountable media ethic, certain key concepts of Gadamer's hermeneutical philosophy, such as openness, listening, close distance and self-knowledge, are introduced and briefly discussed.