Lessons on ethics in news reporting textbooks, 1867-1997

Abstract

An a l y s e s of more than 300 textbooksfound that the development of lessons on ethics in news reporting and writing textbooks clearly mirrored the development of scholarship in media ethics. Substantial discussion of ethics did not appear in textbooks until the 1920s and 1930s, and after a 40-year absence, returned in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. However, the author argues, the potentialforfurther advancement of ethics lessons among news reporting and writing textbooks remains n question mark. Text discussions of ethics are still not prominent, and important moral and intellectual questions in journalism are overlooked.