Journalism Ethics and Regulation

Journalism Ethics and Regulation looks closely at the ethical considerations, moral dilemmas and challenges the practicing journalist faces every day. It provides journalism students and trainee journalists with the tools to make informed ethical decisions in their working lives.

In addition, Journalism Ethics and Regulation guides students through the maze of regulatory frameworks and codes of practice which they often find tough to negotiate.

As technology changes traditional journalistic practice and democratises news gathering, the journalist's path through the ethical and regulatory frameworks has become tougher to negotiate. As high-profile celebrity cases such as Catherine Zeta-Jones' vividly illustrate, conflicts between the law, ethics and the public’s right and desire to be informed are not easily resolved. It could also be argued that a market-dominated approach has dispensed with social responsibility and given priority to profit over ethics, and to circulation over public responsibility.

This comprehensive volume addresses the ethical considerations, dilemmas and challenges the practising journalist faces, each minute, every day. Providing context and practical advice, it explores an area of crucial importance for the 21st century, thoroughly equipping the reader with the information and tools to negotiate this challenging area knowledgeably, practically and responsibly.

Main features

• Comprehensive coverage of core ethical issues, such as the ethics of news gathering, intrusion and privacy, and the difficulties of achieving truth, accuracy and objectivity under pressure
• Provides journalists with the tools to make informed ethical decisions in their day-to-day working lives
• Looks at what underpins ethics both in terms of everyday, minute-to-minute decisions and from where – historically and philosophically – codes and practices have emerged
• Extensively illustrated with topical examples and synthesises the major recent research into the area
• Considers the differences in regulation (both self- and statutory) and practice between print and broadcast journalism and how these distinctions are blurring and changing
• Provides detailed coverage of the main codes of practice and regulatory bodies – PCC, Ofcom, BBC, NUJ – in the UK and beyond

This book has been written for students and trainee journalists, working journalists and editors, and indeed for any student of the media.

Chris Frost is Professor and Head of Journalism at Liverpool John Moores University. Before moving into teaching he worked in newspapers for more than twenty years as a journalist and editor. He is the author of Media Ethics and Self-Regulation, Reporting for Journalists and Designing for Newspapers and Magazines, is a former president of the National Union of Journalists and chairs the NUJ's Ethics Council.

' This book is a timely, comprehensive and indispensable handbook for journalists and a rallying cry for all those who believe ethical journalism is not just possible but an essential part of a free media in a democratic society. Using real life examples Chris Frost's book is both a practical tool which deserves a place on every journalist's desk and an unbeatable guide to the origins, failures and successes of media regulation in the UK and beyond.'

Jeremy Dear, General Secretary of the National Union of Journalists