This volume addresses some of the central issues of journalism today -- the nature and needs of the individual versus the nature and needs of the broader society; theories of communitarianism versus Enlightenment liberalism; independence versus interdependence (vs. co-dependency); negative versus positive freedoms; Constitutional mandates versus marketplace mandates; universal ethical issues versus situational and/or professional values; traditional values versus information age values; ethics of management versus ethics of worker bees; commitment and compassion versus detachment and...

This volume addresses some of the central issues of journalism today -- the nature and needs of the individual versus the nature and needs of the broader society; theories of communitarianism versus Enlightenment liberalism; independence versus interdependence (vs. co-dependency); negative versus positive freedoms; Constitutional mandates versus marketplace mandates; universal ethical issues versus situational and/or professional values; traditional values versus information age values; ethics of management versus ethics of worker bees; commitment and compassion versus detachment and...

Less than two months after the September 11 tragedies, a group of scholars gathered at Washington and Lee University to advance ideas on whether there can be a universal set of moral values toward which media professionals may look for guidance. Those conference scholars, whose works appear in this special issue, both challenge and reinforce conventional wisdom. An entertaining and useful centerpiece launches the discussion, suggesting four standards that tend to be universal, but need discussion to attach themselves to journalism. This is followed by a look at the ambiguity of codes relative...