The Concept of Moral Ecology in Media Sociology Research

Abstract

AbstractThis project provides an explication of moral ecology, tracing its roots from 19th-century scientific approaches to its 20th-century critical-cultural focus, and introducing its latest moral-psychology incarnation for future media research. While the rich media ecology scholarship has focused primarily on the realm of effects, emerging applications of the moral ecology concept are shifting that focus onto the sociological processes and organizational structures involved in the formation of moral dispositions and standards. This project promotes an argument for why moral ecology should be considered an essential focus of media sociology research in general and media ethics scholarship in particular. Such a focus spotlights the organizational-level factors that serve to help or hinder the ability of media workers to act virtuously and uphold professional norms.