Media, Markets, and Morals

The media, including new media, affects each of us in myriad ways on a daily basis, entertaining us, informing us, and shaping our opinions. It is a fundamental institution of contemporary society. This book investigates the moral role of the media, both ‘old’ and ‘new’, and develops and applies an original ethical framework based on the inherent ethical structure of information. It shows how the media as disseminators of information, online and offline, are committed by their role morality to distinctive ethical demands, which apply to both media organizations and those who work for them.

The book also considers the challenges and temptations which stand in the way of meeting those demands; it does so by focusing on the domination of the media by large organizations, many of which are multi-million dollar, powerful commercial enterprises, driven by financial imperatives which can be in tension, or even conflict, with the role morality of the media.

The authors apply their account of the role morality of the media to specific morally problematic practices and question how ethical behavior can be promoted within the media.