Chapter 1: Institutional Pressures
The cases in this chapter deal with the ethical dilemmas
of internal and external pressures in the business world.
• How can a business influence news?
• Is news reporting a business or a service?
• What does the public have a right to know?
Chapter 1 Cases
• Case 1: The New York Times Fires Jayson
Blair
• Case 2: CNN in Baghdad
• Case 3: The Time Warner Colossus
• Case 4: NBC and GM’s Pickup
• Case 5: The Wichita Experiment
Case 1: The New York Times fires
Jayson Blair
• Facts– Empirical Definition
• Values
• Loyalties
• Principles
• What does the Potter Box tell
us about Blair, The New York
Times, and the scandal?
• Was Blair promoted too
swiftly?
• When should supervisors step
in and reprimand a reporter?
• Jayson Blair created facts and
quotes, thus destroying
reputations. Should this blatant
disregard for ethical journalism
garner a six-figure book deal?
Case #: Additional links
Daily Briefing – A database of articles related to
the Jayson Blair scandal.
The Jayson Blair Project – How did he bamboozle
The New York Times?
What Went Wrong? – Did the accusations of
plagiarism effect the public’s view of the media?
The Scandal behind the Scandal – This article
explores the aspect of affirmative action as it
applies to the Jayson Blair case.
Case 2: CNN in Baghdad
• Facts– Empirical Definition
• Values
• Loyalties
• Principles
• What should CNN have
done with its information
about the arrests, tortures
and murders in Iraq?
• How could CNN have
kept reporting if they had
been thrown out of the
country?
• Is not reporting a story
the same as lying?
Case 2: Additional links
Eason Jordan's Statement – The original
statement CNN’s Baghdad affiliate made
in The New York Times.
CNN's Iraqi Cover-Up – An opinion piece
promoting honesty above all things.
CNN thrown out of Baghdad – The results of
Jordan’s announcement.
Silence of the CNN Lambs – Did the
suppression of information hurt people in
the long run?
Case 3: The AOL Time Warner
Colossus
– Empirical Definition
• Values
• Principles
• Loyalties
• Facts
The family tree of AOL Time Warner
and subsidiary companies
AOL
America Online
Internet provider
Cartoon Network
Time magazine
Sports Illustrated
People Magazine
HBO/ HBO video
Turner
Warner
Brothers
Time
Austin Powers
movie franchise
Batman
movie franchise
Matrix
movie franchise
TNT
CNN
MGM film library
Covers of magazines owned by
Time Warner devoted to
projects funded by Time
Warner.
•Can a parent company give an
unbiased opinion of things it
has produced?
•In what ways are these
mergers beneficial? In what
ways are they harmful?
•When mergers of multibillion
dollar companies sour, should
the government help
financially?
Case 3: Additional links
Media Conglomeration: A Threat to Press
Freedom? – This article discusses a company’s
ability to be unbiased.
Media Consolidation – A history of the FCC’s
stance on media giants and what mergers mean
for small business.
Time Warner – The official company site includes a
history and list of companies owned by Time
Warner.
AOL/ Time Warner Merger – A database of articles
relating to Time Warner.
Case 4: NBC and GM’s Pickup
• Facts – Empirical Definition
• Values
• Principles
• Loyalties
A sales brochure for the 1986
model GMC pickup truck.
• Was the accident that sparked
Dateline’s investigation the fault
of General Motors?
• What elements of Dateline’s
“Waiting to Explode” segment
were unethical?
• What repercussions should
NBC and Dateline experience?
• How can news magazines
strike a balance between
entertainment and
dependability?
Case 4: Additional links
Cars in the News – This article discusses other
instances in which news magazines have gone
too far in reporting vehicular safety.
Where NBC Went Wrong -This article lists reasons
why such exposes are so common yet
controversial.
Lawyer Frenzy - This article lists reasons why such
exposes are so profitable for lawyers.
Video of Dateline’s Apology – The disgraced news
magazine apologizes to General Motors and the
public at large.
Case 5: The Wichita Experiment
• Facts – Empirical Definition
• Values
• Principles
• Loyalties
• What are some examples where talking
about an unpopular subject has bettered
society?
• Can a news source give patrons what they
want without “dumbing down” the paper?
Aristole’s Golden Mean
Profit
What the reader wants
Cheap, easy entertainment
Social responsibility
“spinach journalism”
oblivious to reader
• What would the balance of
Aristotle's golden mean look like?
Case 5: Additional Links
Wichita Eagle – read the newspaper
involved in the case.
American Society of Newspaper Editors –
newspaper code of ethics.
Knight-Ridder – This site contains
information on the Knight-Ridder
corporation.