This presentation by Professor Linda Austin covers Chapter 6: Four Classic Theories of Ethics from The Ethical Journalist, a textbook by Gene Foreman. It is for her students in JNL-2105, Journalism Ethics, at the National Management College, Yangon, Myanmar.

1. Chapter 6
4Classic Theories Of Ethics
ByFlickruserVCalsidyrose

2. Decision-making tools
4 classic
theories of
ethics that can
help you
make moral
decisions in
journalism.
By Flickr user AJ Cann

3. The 4 Theories
1. Rule-based thinking.
2. Ends-based thinking.
3. The Golden Rule.
4. Aristotle’s Golden
Mean.

4. 1. Rule-based Thinking
• Follow the rule, no matter
what the consequences. “Let
the chips fall where they may.”
• Strength: Simple
• Weakness: Rigid. A journalist
with an ethical dilemma would
be paralyzed by indecision
• Also called: deontology from
the Greek (deon) for duty, or
duty-based thinking
ByPetterDuvander

5. 1. Rule-based Thinking
• Examples:
• Would never quote an
anonymous source.
• Would name a rape victim
• Would name a child charged
with a crime
• Would include all the
mistakes committed by the
dead person in that person’s
obituary
ByPetterDuvander

6. 2. Ends-based thinking
• Seek the greatest good for the
greatest number. “Ends can justify
the means.”
• Strength: Flexibility
• Weaknesses: Flexibility: decision
may be self-serving instead of
morally correct; and consequences
sometimes hard to predict.
• Also called:
• teleology from the Greek (telos)
for end, or
• consequentialism, or
• utilitarianism
ByPhilWhitehouse

7. 2. Ends-based thinking
• Examples:
• Would pretend to be
someone he or she is not if it
were the only way to get an
important story
• Would leave out harmful
facts from a person’s
obituary if they are irrelevant
to the story’s main point.
Would inflict only the harm
necessary to put the story in
perspective.
ByPhilWhitehouse

8. Rule-based or ends-based?
Did Robin Hood use rule-based or ends-based thinking?

9. 3. The Golden Rule
• Do unto others as you would
have them do unto you. Put
yourself in the place of the person
affected by the decision. Found in
all the world’s major religions.
• Strength: Easy to understand and
apply. Based on love, not self-
interest.
• Weakness: Cannot tell a journalist
how to decide among competing
stakeholders
• Also called:
• Rule of reversibility
ByWaitingForTheWord

10. 3. The Golden Rule
• Examples:
• Would not write a story
subjecting people to
ridicule because the
reporter does not want to
be ridiculed.
• Would not secretly
record a source because
the reporter would not
want to be secretly
recorded.
ByWaitingForTheWord

11. 4. Aristotle’s Golden Mean
• Avoids extremes to find a
moderate solution.
• Strength: May lead you to an
ethical resolution of an impasse.
• Weaknesses: Not every situation
offers a golden mean.
• Examples:
• Warning audience members
about a graphic photo
• Taxing tobacco, banning
advertising and sales to children
of tobacco, requiring warnings on
tobacco
ByImageEditor
Aristotle, Greek philosopher,
lived 385-322 B.C.

12. Blending Two Theories
Journalists can benefit from:
• The stability of newsroom
policies and ethics codes
(rule-based thinking) …
• While sensing when the
circumstances might dictate a
different solution (ends-
based thinking).
ByPetterDuvander
By Phil Whitehouse

13. When to break the rules
• Don’t decide on a whim to
deviate from policy.
• Analyze carefully to identify the
reasons for a different course.
• Consult with your supervisor.

14. In 1971, did The New York Times use rule-based or ends-
based thinking in deciding to publish the Pentagon Papers?
Rule-based or ends-based?

15. Question
In 1971, what would The New York Times have done if it used
rule-based thinking in the Pentagon Papers case?

16. Rule-based or ends-based?
In 2010, did The New York Times use rule-based or ends-
based thinking in deciding to publish the previously secret
cables released by Julian Assange of Wikileaks?

17. Question
In 2010, what would The New York Times have done if it had
used rule-based thinking in deciding whether to publish the
previously secret cables released by Julian Assange of
Wikileaks?