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Ethics in Journalism: The Past and Now

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From the times of Walter Williams to now, journalism and especially ethics have been changing. Ethics in journalism is very important for journalists in today’s society. Williams was a 20th century journalist that founded the first American journalism school, the School of Journalism at Indiana University (Ibold). He brought a global perspective to journalism at a critical point while American journalism and code of ethics were developing (Ibold). Everything changes with time. So, has ethics in journalism changed from the past to now? And are ethics more important now than they may have been in the past? Ethics in journalism has changed from the past to now and it is more important now than it may have been just 20 years ago.

The history of journalism goes all the way back to the late 19th century in the United States (“Ethics Gaps” 3). Newspaper reporting and editing actually began in English and business departments at first (“Ethics Gaps” 3). Then, journalism schools began in the early 20th century in colleges such as Indiana, Columbia, Missouri, Illinois, and Wisconsin (“Ethics Gaps” 3). As said above, Walter Williams founded the first American journalism school at Indiana University. He created his own original code of ethics. Ibold states “Williams was confronted with pluralism and globalization, just as he and other key figures in American journalism’s history were shaping journalism into a profession and an academic discipline.” His two main points of his code were global responsibility and awareness of difference around the world. He suggested a “Christian, American, pastoral model” to set the global standard for journalism (Ibold). But soon after, his code began to change.

There has been a dramatic s...

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...l Role Worldwide: A Cross-National and Cross-Organizational Study of Codes of Ethics." Mass Communication & Society 14.1 (2011): 71-92. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 25 Jan. 2011.

Ibold, Hans. "Walter Williams, Country Editor and Global Journalist: Pastoral Exceptionalism and Global Journalism Ethics at the Turn of the 20th Century." Journal of Mass Media Ethics 25.3 (2010): 207-25. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 18 Jan. 2011.

Singer, Jane B. “Journalism Ethics Amid Structural Change.” Daedalus 139.2 (2010): 89- 99. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 19 Jan. 2011.

"Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics." Quill (2004): 80. Communication & Mass Media Complete. EBSCO. Web. 25 Jan. 2011.

Spivak, Cary. “Short on Ethics?” American Journalism Review 32.3 (2010): 58-63. Communication and Mass Media Complete. EBSCO. Web. 19 Jan. 2011.
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