Importance Of Taste And Decency In The Media

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Chapter 1: Introduction
Context 1.1

Real news feeds the globalized world like no other modern industry. It is a source of information that citizens cannot help but adopt as the “truth”. The truth in the media is sometimes altered to become less offence to its audience. This relates to the ethics of taste and decency.
“The whole topic of taste and decency is fraught with controversy. This is an area of free expression which, in a free society sends up warning signals quicker than anything else.”(Chris Frost, 2009. 166).
In this quote Frost alludes the meaning of taste and decency which is what is known as a limit on freedom of expression for journalists. It’s an area that covers issues such as sex, nudity and violence explicit pictorial or video images and is a particular concern on broadcasters, newspapers and magazines.

However the topic has become questionable, whether or not the media are using taste and decency concerns as an escape route to censorship. It has become a debate and discussion on how journalists uphold standards of taste and decency that then probably become a case of censorship.

With on-going issues around the world that are being portrayed in images and video on war and suffering and other raised issues of taste and decency like violence and sex; protecting the audience is what is debated. Is it right to portray explicit or graphic images in the media?

In the literature review I will attempt to present concrete insight into whether or not the media are protecting the public and maintaining taste and decency standards or using censorship to hide information. This is where I will look at a selection of news stories that illustrate the concern of taste and decency it will explore how the and why the media...

... middle of paper ...

...derstanding of the crisis Moller (1999).

However the price of censorship should come with a question of whether it hinders freedom of speech. Former London bureau chief for Reuters Jodie Ginsburg stated,

"Defending freedom of expression is not an easy task but it is a vital one. If we want to live in a world where everyone is free to speak, write, publish or perform without fear of persecution then we need to champion those rights every day. (Social Media And It’s War on Censorship; 2012).

Chapter 3: Methodology

As mentioned in my introduction the aim of this paper is to In this chapter I will review and evaluate the different methods and studies I have conducted and researched in. I will investigate examples of how common censorship is presented in the media. So I far I have tended to focus on the reporting of death and violence and how it can cause offence.

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