phd journalism ethics

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Missouri School of Journalism

University of missouri, media law, ethics and policy.

The Media Law, Ethics and Policy doctoral area allows you to address the latest ethical, legal and regulatory concerns confronting journalists and strategic communicators.

Faculty and students in this area study such topics as persuasion ethics , journalists’ ability to fulfill their normative functions in times of economic and technological change , the historical evolution of American broadcasting policy , comparative legal analysis and censorship .

You will join a team of scholars that blends traditional social scientific methods – qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods – with historical, legal and philosophical methods. This pluralistic approach to research excellence means you develop research that is of theoretical and practical interest. You graduate with a robust understanding of the normative and legal framework in which journalism and strategic communication operate.

The Missouri School of Journalism has a longstanding reputation as a leader in media ethics, law and policy research. You will work closely with highly productive scholars who have published and edited books and authored articles in top-tier journals. Together, you will build your research skills that can lead to co- and single-authored papers as a doctoral student.

Call 573-882-4852 or email us at [email protected] .

You are welcome to explore your research interests with doctoral faculty who specialize in this area.

• Professor Margaret Duffy
• Associate Professor Jared Schroeder

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Doctoral Program

Our doctoral program is among the best programs in journalism and media in the U.S.  Led by faculty with distinguished research and publication records – many with professional journalism or media experience – our program is designed to equip students with a strong theoretical grounding and versatile research methods.  Graduates of our four-year program can go on to positions in the academy, and they also may join think tanks, advocacy and non-governmental organizations and professional associations working with information and media systems.   

We offer a far-reaching array of electives and research opportunities. The faculties’ fields of interest broadly include news and media engagement; online incivility; digital media; mis and disinformation; the digital divide and information equity; media law and policy, including the impact of Artificial Intelligence and algorithms on media; journalism and democracy; global media systems; media and representation; visual communication studies; critical data studies; social media and platform studies; media economics, among other topics.  Please look at  faculty bios  and description of research opportunities  to learn more about current projects.   

Our program incorporates many opportunities to undertake research independently or to work with groups associated with research centers, institutes or research groups. We have an excellent record of participation with the major professional associations including the Association for Education in Journalism and Media Communication ( AEJ MC ), the International Communication Association ( ICA ),  the International Association of Media and Communication Research ( IAMCR ), the Association of Internet Research ( AoIR ), as well as smaller highly focused forums such as The Research Conference on Communications, Information and Internet Policy. 

Interdisciplinary Work

Our students also participate with the many interdisciplinary  Portfolio Programs  on campus.  Moody College is home to three such programs, including the  Communication, Information and Cultural Policy  program focused on media systems, directed by some of our faculty.  Additionally, summer internships with professional or research programs are sometimes sponsored by associated research institutes.  Students have taken advantage of UT’s  Archer Program , and the multi-University COMPASS program associated with the Technology and Information Policy Institute.   

Program of Work 2023-2024

Doctoral Handbook 2023-2024

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Ph.D. in Mass Communications

Our doctoral program in mass communication, jointly administered with the Department of Life Sciences Communication, is internationally recognized for our faculty and areas of research. Applicants to the Joint Ph.D. in Mass Communications may apply to one or both departments, depending on your areas of research interest. Options are:

• Mass Communications: Journalism & Mass Comm (code G630L)
• Mass Communications: Life Sciences Comm (code G630A)

The Ph.D. degree in Mass Communications provides future academics and professionals with rigorous training in theory and research with highly individualized programs that students develop in consultation with their advisors. Our Ph.D. graduates become some of the most successful researchers and leaders in the field of mass communication.   We require our students to engage in a systematic search for answers to well-formulated and substantive questions. The research process culminates in the discovery and reporting of new knowledge to others.

A doctoral dissertation in Mass Communications demonstrates a student’s ability to examine in detail an important issue in the field, using original research. Faculty members expect the dissertation to be clearly presented while conveying the student’s close familiarity with his or her research area.

The program offers several internationally recognized areas of research and teaching excellence: 

• civic and political communication
• health and environmental communications
• history of media institutions
• information technologies
• social networking and digital media
• processes and effects of mediated communication
• law and ethics of media
• international and inter-cultural communication
• public opinion
• science and risk communication
• social marketing
• journalism studies
• media ecologies
• race and media

Working closely with their advisor and committee, students draw from courses offered in departments across campus to develop a plan of study in preparation for independent and original research in their area of specialization.

Visit the Ph.D. in Mass Communications website for more information.

Visit  Ph.D. in Mass Communications  for more information.

Ph.D. Handbook (PDF)

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Doctoral Students — Journalism, Media and Culture

Main navigation, daniel akselrad.

[email protected] CV

Daniel works at the intersection of technology, rhetoric, and organizations, using historical and ethnographic methods to study language, ideology, and organizational culture. He has used this lens to examine distributed decision-making in fighter jet cockpits, the role of euphemism in Nazi bureaucracy, and the internal communications of the global cigarette industry.

Rachel Bergmann

[email protected] CV

Bergmann uses interpretive and archival methods to deeply and critically contextualize contemporary information technologies. Her research interests include histories of computing, feminist science and technology studies, and the cultural politics of AI and algorithmic systems.

Caitlin Burke

[email protected]

Burke is interested in user experience design, design ethics, and human-computer interaction.

Tomás Guarna

[email protected] CV

Guarna is interested in the new meanings of citizenship, trust, and legitimacy in the digital public sphere. 

Rebecca Lewis 

Becca Lewis researches ideological and social histories of Silicon Valley and the internet.

Marijn Mado

[email protected] CV

Mado studies media literacy education. She uses ethnographic methods to explore the practices and epistemological assumptions that underlie the design and teaching of media literacy programs.

Reagan Ross

Reagan is interested in the intersections of race, gender, and new media and technology. She is also interested in understanding how new technology might be used to disrupt anti-Black racism.

Morgan Weiland

[email protected]  ( CV ) morganweiland.com

Morgan N. Weiland is the  Executive Director of the Constitutional Law Center at Stanford Law School , where she received her JD in 2015. She is in the process of completing the first joint degree program between SLS and Stanford’s Communication Department, where she is a PhD candidate. Her dissertation investigates the structural role of speech platforms like Facebook and Twitter in the public sphere to understand what responsibilities these companies have to the public, and what policies ought to be enacted to ensure both free expression and accountability.

Weiland was a Lecturer in Law at SLS during the 2017-18 academic year, when she developed and taught a new course about platforms, law, and ethics with Professor Barbara van Schewick. She is also a Graduate Fellow at SLS’s Center for Internet & Society. She clerked for the Honorable M. Margaret McKeown on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals during the 2018-19 term. She is admitted to the California Bar.

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Ethics and Law of Journalism

Overview of ethical and legal issues affecting journalism. Issues address a broad range of circumstances, including relationships with sources and journalistic practices. The course also covers the basics of constitutions, statutes, rules and regulations, and major court cases concerning journalism. Class references questions arising from citizen journalism and other digital publishing phenomena.

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PhD: Journalism Studies

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Fall Application Deadlines

US applicants:  Jan. 15 International applicants:  Dec. 1

In the online application, select Journalism  as the department, Media Research & Practice  as the degree, and Journalism  as the subplan/track.

How to Apply

The PhD in Journalism Studies offered by the Department of Journalism is one of three separate and distinct tracks of the Media Research and Practice doctoral program within the College of Media, Communication and Information.

The PhD in Journalism Studies focuses on exploring the intersection of journalism, journalism practice and society. Students gain a solid foundation through coursework that explores the theories and methods that shape mass communication research. The multidisciplinary program examines not only traditional journalism, but also the ever-increasing boundaries of the industry, including user-generated content, citizen journalism, the audience’s impact on news production, the new technologies shaping practice, social media’s role in news, new quasi-journalistic outlets, etc.

Students research institutions, content, audiences and publics—and they can approach these subjects through a multitude of methodologies and theoretical lenses: sociological, psychological, historical, cultural, political, economic, legal and more. Students are encouraged to develop their own approach (both theoretical and methodological) to the study of mass communication and journalism, all while learning and collaborating with faculty who have a diverse range of specialties. An integral part of our doctoral students’ education is their participation in the department’s research and teaching missions through their assignments as research assistants, teaching assistants and graduate instructors.

The strategic communication and journalism studies tracks for the PhD are administered together by the departments of Advertising, Public Relations and Design, and Journalism. Students in both tracks are taught by and have access to the faculties of both departments. The curriculum includes an overview of mass/public communication literature with specific modules and courses dedicated to advertising, journalism and public relations. Classes also focus on areas that straddle each industry such as social media, political communication, ethics, media organizations, health communication and video games. We welcome and appreciate both qualitative and quantitative approaches to research. Graduates pursue teaching and research positions at universities as well as work in the private sector.

View Courses (  once on that page, scroll down to graduate-level information)

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It is expected that a student will devote her or his full time to the doctoral program and assistantship duties during the fall and spring semesters while in the program, unless other arrangements have been made with the department.

The following is a summary of minimum requirements to earn a Ph.D. in Strategic Communication or in Journalism Studies. Students will take two semesters of Proseminar, two semesters of methods, four semesters of Doctoral Professionalization Seminar and 30 credits of electives, which must include 9 credits of advanced methods electives. Students are expected to take courses numbered at the 6000 or above levels. There are some exceptions to this in which doctoral students can receive permission to take 5000-level courses.

• Proseminar in Mass Communication (6 Credits): All doctoral students are required to enroll in JRNL/APRD 7001 in their first semester of study, and in JRNL/APRD 7003 in their second semester. These courses are designed to introduce students to the major paradigms within the field of mass communication.
• Doctoral Professionalization Seminar (4 Credits): All first- and second-year doctoral students will be required to enroll in JRNL/APRD 7004. The course, which is 1 credit each semester, prepares students for life in a doctoral program and for life after one, all while providing a sense of community amongst multiple doctoral cohorts and both departments’ faculty. 
• Methods (15 Credits): All first-year doctoral students enroll in Quantitative Research Methods in the fall, and in Qualitative Research Methods in the spring. These general courses deal with a variety of research methods used within the field. PhD students are also required to take three additional graduate level courses in the areas of research methods (9 hours). These may be taken inside or outside the departments.
• Research Design (3 hours): Doctoral students are required to take JRNL/APRD 7002 in the first semester of their second year. This class is designed to bridge the gap between theory and method. Students will design multiple studies of interest during the course.
• Area of Concentration (18 hours): Doctoral students are required to take a minimum of 18 hours of course work selected on the basis of the student’s area(s) of research interest. These courses should come from a combination of both inside and outside electives. For example, for a student interested in media effects, a combination of classes from both APRD/JRNL and psychology would make sense.
• Independent study: Ph.D. students may take a maximum of two independent study courses in their course of study, either inside APRD and JRNL or outside of those home departments. Generally, these will be taken no earlier than the third semester of the program.
• Comprehensive examinations: Each doctoral student will be required to pass comprehensive examinations, consisting of four questions, which are generally administered after the last semester in which the student takes course work. The examinations are individually tailored for each student and comprise both written and oral examinations.
• Dissertation: A minimum of thirty hours of dissertation credit, MDRP 8991, must be taken. Various restrictions apply to these hours.
• No more than 10 dissertation credit hours may be taken in any one semester
• No more than 10 dissertation credit hours may be taken prior to the semester in which comprehensive examinations are taken.
• No more than 10 dissertation credit hours may be taken in the semester in which comprehensive examinations are taken.
• After passing comprehensive examinations, student must enroll for at least 5 dissertation credit hours (full time) or 3 dissertation credit hours (part time) each semester until graduation.

Typically students enroll for 10 dissertation hours in the semester they are taking comprehensive examinations and 10 dissertation hours each in the following fall and spring terms. Students must be aware of Graduate School rules regarding registration for dissertation hours.

Applicants to the Journalism track of the PhD program in Media Research and Practice are expected to hold the master’s degree or equivalent graduate work. In exceptional cases, applicants without a master’s degree may be considered for admission.

Completed domestic applications must be received by the program no later than Jan. 10 prior to the fall semester for which entrance is sought. International applications should be submitted by Dec. 1. Late applications may be considered under special circumstances.

Successful applications typically meet or exceed the following criteria:

Have an undergraduate cumulative grade-point average of at least 3.2 and a cumulative GPA of at least 3.5 in previous graduate work.

International applicants must have a TOEFL score of 625 (IBT 106).

Provide three letters of recommendation..

Provide a resume or CV that includes academic and employment experience.

Provide a writing sample that exhibits the ability to undertake the conceptual and empirical studies required of doctoral students (e.g., a chapter from a master’s thesis or graduate-level term paper).

700-word Statements of Purpose should include: 

• A description of the topic of research you're interested in studying.
• A description of why you want to pursue that topic at the University of Colorado and in this program.
• What faculty members you're interested in studying under.

Meeting these criteria does not guarantee acceptance into the program. Because we accept relatively few new doctoral students each fall, we may have more qualified applicants than available openings.

For review and decision purposes you are required to upload an unofficial copy of your transcript(s) in the online application. We require one copy of the scanned transcript from each undergraduate and graduate institution that you attended. This includes community colleges, summer sessions, and extension programs. While credits from one institution may appear on the transcript of a second institution, unofficial transcripts must be submitted from each institution, regardless of the length of attendance, and whether or not courses were completed.   Failure to list and submit transcripts from all institutions previously attended is considered to be a violation of academic ethics and may result in the cancellation of your admission or dismissal from the university.

ONLY after you are recommended for admission will you need to provide official transcripts. 

Instructions for Uploading Unofficial Transcripts to Your Application  (scroll to 'Uploading Unofficial Transcripts in the Application')

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Student Information

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Center For Environmental Journalism  |  Center for Media, Religion and Culture

Research or teaching assistantships, including a tuition waiver and stipend, as well as fellowships, are available. PhD students may receive assistantships for a maximum of four years.

Phone: 303-492-7977

Email:  [email protected]

Campus Location: Hellems 96D

JRNL MDRP Program Handbook

Contact the Journalism graduate program

Journalism Armory  front desk (main floor) 1511 University Ave. University of Colorado Boulder UCB 478 Boulder, CO 80309-0478

 303-492-5007 

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• Ethics Handbook for Students

NYU Journalism Handbook for Students: Ethics, Law and Good Practice

The handbook was written by Prof. Adam Penenberg, and is available in two versions:

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Ethics Pledge

Ethics Pledge PDF

As a New York University journalism student, you are part of a community of scholars at a university recognized for its research. A scholar’s mission is to push forward the boundaries of knowledge; a journalist’s mission is to serve the public by seeking out and reporting the facts as accurately as possible. Good journalists and scholars share a commitment to the same principle: integrity in their work.

By signing this ethics pledge, you agree to maintain the highest standards of honesty and foster ethical behavior at all times. Anyone who fails to uphold these ethical standards has committed a serious violation of this agreement. Penalties can range from an F on an assignment to a failing grade in a course to expulsion, depending on the nature of the breach and the outcome of any inquiries held in accordance with NYU’s policies and procedures.

Examples of such activities can include (but are not limited to):

Plagiarism: Attempting to pass off someone else’s words or ideas as your own without proper attribution or acknowledgment. In both journalism and academia, this is akin to theft. Examples: Copying in whole or in part a published article or another student’s paper, borrowing language or concepts, lifting quotes or failing to use quotation marks where appropriate. This includes the unauthorized use of generative AI tools such as ChatGPT without the express permission of your instructor. See “Guidance on the Ethical Uses of Generative AI Tools in Journalism”.

Fabrication: Making up information, faking anecdotes or sources, falsifying quotes, creating fictitious sources, citing non-existent articles, or fudging data.

Multiple submission: Recycling assignments from one class for use in another, or submitting assignments to one class that were derived from research in another without prior approval from all professors involved.

Cheating: Using or attempting to use unauthorized assistance, material, or study aids in examinations or other academic exercises. Examples: Using study resources not expressly approved by the instructor, working with another student or students on a take-home exam without prior approval, tampering with grades, purchasing a paper written by someone else or paying someone to write an assignment for you.

In addition, if asked you will submit notes and source lists to your professor without delay.

—– Guidance on the Ethical Uses of Generative AI Tools in Journalism Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute at New York University

The rise of advanced generative AI models, such as ChatGPT, DALL·E and similar technologies, presents a paradigm shift in how we gather, analyze and disseminate information. While these tools hold immense potential, they also present ethical challenges that can harm the integrity of journalistic work. In recognition of these challenges, the faculty of the Journalism Institute at New York University have created this addendum to the Institute’s Ethics Pledge.

1. Transparency and Attribution

a. When using generative AI to produce or augment content, journalists must disclose its use to their audience. This transparency is crucial for maintaining trust in journalism.

b. Generative tools should never be used to invent quotations or fabricate statements.

c. All generated content should be clearly labeled as “Generated by [AI model name]” or similar, to ensure readers understand the source.

2. Verification and Fact-Checking

a. AI models can not be considered credible sources. Students must remain skeptical of information provided by AI and should always fact-check against bonafide credible sources before publishing.

b. Generative AI can provide a starting point or supplement to a story but should not be the ultimate source of information, especially on contentious issues.

3. Avoiding Deepfakes and Misrepresentation

a. Use of generative models like DALL·E to create images or multimedia content must be done responsibly. It’s unethical to use these tools to produce misleading or false representations.

b. Deepfakes or AI-generated visuals that could mislead or confuse the audience must be clearly labeled.

4. Editorial Independence

a. Journalists must maintain editorial control and independence. While AI can, in certain circumstances, suggest content or ideas, final decisions must be made by human judgment.

b. Journalists should be aware of and remain critical of any potential biases in AI-generated content.

5. Respect for Human Dignity

a. AI tools should not be used in ways that could demean, stereotype, or harm individuals or communities.

b. Care should be taken to avoid amplifying biases present in AI tools, and they should not be used to perpetuate stereotypes or misinformation.

6. Experimentation and Feedback

a. The Institute encourages experimental uses of AI in journalism, however, we all must balance innovation with responsibility.

b. Feedback loops should be established to report and rectify any issues or ethical concerns related to the use of AI.

In embracing the future of journalism, it’s essential to uphold the core values that have always defined this profession: truth, accuracy, fairness, and responsibility. This addendum to the ethics pledge aims to integrate the transformative capabilities of generative AI tools while ensuring that these principles remain at the heart of our journalistic endeavors.

NOTE: Graduate and undergraduate pledges should be returned to the designated boxes in the 6th floor reception area. The final grade for a student registered in a journalism course will not be submitted to the Registrar unless a signed pledge is on file in the Institute.

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Home > Theses and Dissertations > Dissertations > All Dissertations > 2586

All Dissertations

Student journalists and mass communication ethics – attitudes and pedagogy.

Karyn S. Campbell , Clemson University Follow

Date of Award

Document type.

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Rhetorics, Communication, and Information Design

Committee Member

Bryan Denham

David Blakesley

Charles Starkey

Daniel Wueste

Today’s student journalists are creating work in an era of rapidly changing technology. Many of them have readership or viewership numbering in the thousands, and what they write and broadcast has an effect on people. While most professional journalists have studied ethics in school or discussed the subject in the workplace, many student journalists have not even had one ethics class. Many of them are seeking guidance as they grapple with ethical issues. This research studied 214 student journalists from every region in the United States through a survey of their attitudes towards ethical situations. The study discovered how they viewed situations that are forbidden in the Society of Professional Journalists’ Code of Ethics, as well as additional situations that are considered unethical in some circumstances by professionals. This study points out that students practicing journalism need a complete portfolio of ethics theory and experiences to make the best possible ethical decisions. It is hoped that this information can be used to design effective ethics pedagogy for student journalists, ranging from informal discussions in their work on student media, to academic courses in mass communication or journalism ethics.

Recommended Citation

Campbell, Karyn S., "Student Journalists and Mass Communication Ethics – Attitudes and Pedagogy" (2020). All Dissertations . 2586. https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/2586

Since May 27, 2020

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Global Media Ethics

by Stephen J. A. Ward

• What is global journalism ethics?

The global media debate

Why a global ethics, new stage in journalism ethics.

• Components of global journalism ethics

How would a global ethics be different?

Problems and obstacles.

• Select bibiography

What is global media ethics?

Global media ethics aims at developing a comprehensive set of principles and standards for the practice of journalism in an age of global news media. New forms of communication are reshaping the practice of a once parochial craft serving a local, regional or national public. Today, news media use communication technology to gather text, video and images from around the world with unprecedented speed and varying degrees of editorial control. The same technology allows news media to disseminate this information to audiences scattered around the globe.

Despite these global trends, most codes of ethics contain standards for news organizations or associations in specific countries. International associations of journalists exist, and some have constructed declarations of principle. But no global code has been adopted by most major journalism associations and news organizations.

In addition to statements of principle, more work needs to be done on the equally important area of specific, practice guidelines for covering international events. An adequate global journalism ethics has yet to be constructed.

The idea of a global media ethics arises out a larger attempt change, improve or reform the global media system to eliminate inequalities ion media technology and to reduce the control of global media in the hands of minority of Western countries. This attempt to re-structure the media system have been controversial, often being accused of being motivated by an agenda to control media or inhibit a free press. The debate continues today.

Beginning in the 1970s, there was an attempt to establish a “New World Information and Communication Order (NWICO)” prompted by concerns that Western media and its values were threatening the cultural values in non-Western, developing nations. The main players in NWICO were non-aligned nations, UNESCO, and the Sean McBride Commission. The recommendations of the McBride report in 1980, One World, Many Voices , outlined a new global media order. The report was endorsed by UNESCO members. The USA and Great Britain left UNESCO in the early 1980s in opposition to NWICO.

The dream of a set of principles and policies for equitable and responsible dissemination of information worldwide has not died. More recently, the United Nations has held two meetings of a movement called “World Summit on the Information Society.” At a summit in Geneva in December 2003, 175 countries adopted a plan of action and a declaration of principles. A second summit was held in Tunisia in November 2005 which looked at ways to implement the Geneva principles. At the heart of the summits’ concerns was the growth of new online media and the “digital divide” between the Global North and South.

On the history of the NWICO debate, see Gerbner, G. & Mowlana, H. & Nordenstreng, K., eds., The Global Media Debate . Norwood, NJ: Ablex Publishing, 1999.

The attempt to reform the global media system is much wider in scope than an attempt to construct a global media ethics. The former looks at what norms should guide media practitioners when they face difficult decisions on what to report. The latter goes beyond ethical reflections to include the economics, politics, and technology of media.

There are at least two reasons:

(1) Practical: a non-global ethic is no longer able to adequately address the new problems that face global journalism, and

(2) Ethical: new global responsibilities come with global impact and reach.

News media now inhabit a radically pluralistic, global community where the impact of their reports can have far-reaching effects — good or bad. News reports, via satellite or the Internet, reach people around the world and influence the actions of governments, militaries, humanitarian agencies and warring ethnic groups. A responsible global ethic is needed in a world where news media bring together a plurality of different religions, traditions and ethnic groups.

One responsibility is to report issues and events in a way that reflects this global plurality of views; to practice a journalism that helps different groups understand each other better. Reports should be accurate, balanced and diverse, as judged from an international perspective. A biased and parochial journalism can wreak havoc in a tightly linked global world. Unless reported properly, North American readers may fail to understand the causes of violence in Middle East, or a famine in Africa. Biased reports may incite ethnic groups in a region to attack each other. A narrow-minded, patriotic news media can stampede populations into war. Moreover, journalism with a global perspective is needed to help citizens understand the daunting global problems of poverty, environmental degradation, technological inequalities and political instability.

For a systematic study of global media (and journalism) ethics, see Stephen J. A. Ward, Global Journalism Ethics (in bibliography below).

Since the birth of modern journalism in the 17th century, journalism has gradually broaden the scope of the people that it claims to serve — from factions to specific social classes to the public of nations. The journalistic principle of “serving the public interest” has been understood, tacitly or explicitly, as serving one’s own public, social class or nation. The other principles of objectivity, impartiality and editorial independence were limited by this parochial understanding of who journalism serves. For example, “impartiality” meant being impartial in one’s coverage of rival groups within one’s society, but not necessarily being impartial to groups outside one’s national boundaries.

Global journalism ethics, then, can be seen as an extension of journalism ethics — to regard journalism’s “public” as the citizens of the world, and to interpret the ethical principles of objectivity, balance and independence in an international manner.  Journalism ethics becomes more “cosmopolitan” in tone and perspective.

Components of global media ethics

The development of global journalism ethics has the following tasks.

Conceptual tasks

New philosophical foundations for a global ethics, which include:

• global re-interpretation of the ethical role and aims of journalism

• global re-interpretation of existing journalism principles and standards, such as objectivity, balance and independence

• construction of new norms and “best practices” as guides for the practice of global journalism

Research tasks

More research into the state of journalism, amid globalization:

• studies of news media in various regions of world

• studies on the evolution and impact of globalization in news media, with a focus on ownership, technology and practice

• studies on the ethical standards of new media in different countries

• studies on news coverage of international problems and issues

Practical tasks

Actions to implement and support global standards:

• application of this global perspective to re-define the coverage of international events and issues

• coalition-building among journalists and interested parties with the aim of writing a global code of ethics that has wide-spread acceptance

• initiatives to defend and enhance free and responsible news media, especially in areas where problems are the greatest.

Philosophically, the distinct conceptual element of a global ethics can be summarized by three imperatives:

1. Act as global agents

Journalists should see themselves as agents of a global public sphere. The goal of their collective actions is a well-informed, diverse and tolerant global “info-sphere” that challenges the distortions of tyrants, the abuse of human rights and the manipulation of information by special interests.

2. Serve the citizens of the world

The global journalist’s primary loyalty is to the information needs of world citizens. Journalists should refuse to define themselves as attached primarily to factions, regions or even countries. Serving the public means serving more than one’s local readership or audience, or even the public of one’s country.

3. Promote non-parochial understandings

The global journalist frames issues broadly and uses a diversity of sources and perspectives to promote a nuanced understanding of issues from an international perspective. Journalism should work against a narrow ethnocentrism or patriotism. What do these three imperatives imply for specific standards of journalism, such as objectivity? Under global journalism ethics, objectivity becomes the ideal of informing impartially from an international stance. Objectivity in journalism has usually been understood as the duty to avoid bias toward groups within one’s own country. Global objectivity takes on the additional responsibility of allowing bias towards one’s country or culture as a whole to distort reports, especially reports on international issues.

Objective reports, to be accurate and balanced, must contain all relevant international sources and cross-cultural perspectives. In addition, global journalism asks journalists to be more conscious of how they frame the global public’s perspective on major stories, and how they set the international news agenda. The aim of global journalism should be more than helping the public sphere “go well” at home, as civic journalists say. The aim should be to facilitate rational deliberation in a global public sphere.

Global journalism ethics implies a firm journalistic response to inward-looking attitudes, such as extreme patriotism. It was disturbing to see how some news organizations during the Iraq War of 2003 so quickly shucked their peacetime commitments to independent, impartial reporting as soon as the drums of war started beating. Cosmopolitanism means that the primary ethical duty of a global journalism in times of conflict and uncertainty is not a patriotism of blind allegiance, or muted criticism. Public duty calls for independent, hard-edged news, along with investigations and analysis.

Universal values?

Among advocates of global ethics, there is disagreement over whether ethicists need to identify “universal values” among all journalists, or humans. Do such universal values exist? What might they be?  Recently, a growing group of ethicists have attempted to identify a common core of values in various places: in codes of journalism ethics, in international treaties on human rights, in anthropological studies of culture.

One view is that neither universal values nor universal consent is required for a plausible, global code. This view sometimes stems from a contractual or ‘constructionist” view of ethics. The constructionist does not believe that ethics depends on “finding” or “discovering”, through empirical means, a set of universal values that all rational people acknowledge. Rather, the correct method of global ethics is to see whether all or most interested parties are able to “construct” and agree upon a set of principles through a fair process of deliberation. On this view, it is also not clear that a set of values must gain universal consensus — a demand that seems unduly strong, given the variety of new media in the world. A weaker requirement would aim at the construction of a set of principles agreed to by most major journalism associations and news organizations.

Note: On a constructionist approach to universals, see Ward, S. J. A., “Philosophical Foundations of Global Journalism Ethics,” Journal of Mass Media Ethics , 20(1), (2005), 3-21.

Also, see Black, J. and R. Barney, eds., Search for a Global Media Ethic. [Special issue] Journal of Mass Media Ethics , 17(4), (2002).

Getting specific:

Global journalism ethics will have to amount to more than a dreamy spiritualism about the brotherhood of man and universal benevolence. Conceptually, there is work to be done. Global journalism ethics must show, in detail, how its ideas imply changes to norms and practices. What exactly do journalists “owe” citizens in a distant land? How can global journalists integrate their partial and impartial perspectives? How can journalists support global values while remaining impartial communicators?

Reforming media practices

The slow, complex, practical task of developing better media practices is no less imposing. Exhorting individual journalists to be ethical will be futile unless supported by an institutional climate that encourages global values in the newsroom. Aware of such difficulties, some journalists may accuse global journalism ethicists of being unrealistic in thinking that news organizations will provide the education, expertise and extra resources needed to achieve a high-quality cosmopolitan journalism.

Select bibliography

Black, J. and R. Barney, eds., “Search for a global media ethic.” [Special issue] Journal of Mass  Media Ethics , 17(4), (2002).

Callahan, S. “New Challenges of Globalization for Journalism.” Journal of Mass Media Ethics , 18, (2003), 3-15.

Christians, C. G. “Ethical Theory in a Global Setting.” In Cooper, T. W. & Christians, C. & Plude, F. F. & White, R. A. Thomas, eds., Communication Ethics and Global Change , p. 3-19: White Plains, NY: Longman, 1989.

Christians, C. and Nordenstreng, K. “Social Responsibility Worldwide.”   Journal of Mass Media Ethics , 19(1), 3-28.

Christians, C. & Traber, M. , eds., Communication Ethics and Universal Values . Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 1997.

Cohen, J., ed., For Love of Country: Debating the Limits of Patriotism , Martha C. Nussbaum with Respondents. Boston: Beacon Press, 1996.

Cooper, T. W. & Christians, C. & Plude, F. F. & White, R. A. Thomas, eds., Communication Ethics and Global Change . White Plains, NY: Longman, 1989.

Gerbner, G. & Mowlana, H. & Nordenstreng, K., eds., The Global Media Debate . Norwood, NJ: Ablex Publishing, 1993.

Merrill, J. C. Global Journalism , 2nd ed. New York: Longman, 1991.

Price M., Rozumilowicz, B. & Verhulst, S., eds., Media Reform: Democratizing the Media, Democratizing the State . London: Routledge, 2002.

Seib, P. The Global Journalist: News and Conscience in a World of Conflict . Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield, 2002.

Ward, S.J.A. Global Journalism Ethics . Montreal, Que.: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2010.

Ward, S.J.A. “Philosophical Foundations of Global Journalism Ethics” Journal of Mass Media Ethics, 20(1), (2005), 3-21.

Ward, S. J. A. The Invention of Journalism Ethics: The Path to Objectivity and Beyond . Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2005.

Weaver, D. H., ed., The Global Journalist . Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press, 1998.

PhD/MPhil Journalism

Postgraduate research degree

On the PhD/MPhil, you will join our internationally renowned Journalism department, whose expertise includes editors of leading academic journals, receiving a high level of support from your supervisor.

Key information

Journalism Postgraduate research degrees PhD/MPhil course Overview

You will be joining our internationally renowned Department of Journalism , whose staff includes experienced industry professionals and leaders in media research.

External assessors and students praise the high standard of research and the support of supervisors on our research degrees. A high percentage of our research graduates publish their theses in peer-reviewed journals and books.

Our faculty has expertise in topics including:

• Law and regulation
• Practices and processes in a digital context
• Effects of/on globalisation
• Representation and democratisation
• Business and leadership
• Scholarship of teaching and learning in journalism .

We are especially interested in research proposals around journalism practices.

Our students often have the opportunity to teach, and after graduating may enter academia or return to senior roles in the media sector.

Students on graduate research programmes are initially registered for the degree of MPhil. Promotion to registration to PhD is not automatic, but contingent on the satisfactory outcome of a review process.

This normally takes place towards the end of the first year of registration for full-time candidates. The review process for part-time candidates will take place towards the end of the second year. If the outcome is satisfactory, the student will be upgraded to PhD.

The programme will conclude with submission of your research in the form of a PhD thesis. You will attend a viva voce examination in front of at least two examiners, at least one of whom will be external to City.

For full details about City, University of London's PhD programme structure, please see the Guide for Research Students .

Requirements

Entry requirements.

You should have an undergraduate degree with a second class (upper division) pass (or its equivalent) and a master’s degree in a related academic discipline.

In exceptional cases, professional qualifications and experience in the proposed research area may compensate for the lack of a Master's degree.

English requirements

For students whose first language is not English, the following qualifications will meet the English language requirement for entry to a postgraduate course of study:

• A first degree from a UK university or from the CNAA.
• A first degree from an overseas institution recognised by City as providing adequate evidence of proficiency in the English language, for example, from institutions in Australia, Canada or the USA.
• GCE O-level/GCSE English language or English literature, grade C minimum.
• Cambridge ESOL CPE (Certificate of Proficiency in English) at grade C or above.
• An overall score of 7.0 in the English Language Testing System (IELTS) including 7.0 in writing with a minimum of 6.0 for each other subtest.
• Other evidence of proficiency in the English language which satisfies the board of studies concerned.

For more information see our English language proficiency requirements at City.

Visa requirements

If you are not from the European Economic Area / Switzerland and you are coming to study in the UK, you may need to apply for a visa or entry clearance to come to the UK to study.

The way that you apply may vary depending on the length of your course. There are different rules for:

• Students on courses of more than six months
• Students on courses of less than six months
• Students on a pre-sessional English language course.

For more information see our main Visa page .

Fees and funding

Full-time Home/UK: £5,110 per year

Part-time Home/UK: £2,560 per year

Full-time International: £13,630 per year

Part-time International: £6,810 per year

Fees for doctoral candidates are charged annually and cover registration, supervision and examination.

Fees are subject to review each year and may vary during your period of registration. Where applicable, fees for City's programmes will be subject to inflationary increases in each academic year of study commencing in September . Our policy for these increases is set out in our terms and conditions of study .

City has a well-established structure and processes to support your research .

Support for PhD study

Prospective students are encouraged to explore doctoral Grants and funding opportunities such as:

• Research Council studentship awards , if available.

Our bursaries are non-repayable sums of money granted by the University, usually based on need.

Our loans are repayable sums of money granted by the University or other body.

Our scholarships are when the University pays towards your Study fees. You may also be eligible for further funding.

Postgraduate Doctoral Loans

The Government has introduced a new Postgraduate Doctoral Loans scheme which can provide a loan of up to £25,000.

This will be over three years to support study for a doctoral degree.

A Postgraduate Doctoral Loan can help with course fees and living costs while you study. It can be used alongside any other forms of support you may be able to receive.

For more information, please see our Postgraduate Doctoral Loans page .

2020 Commonwealth Master’s PhD Scholarships

The Commonwealth Master’s PhD Scholarships are funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) . These Scholarships enable talented and motivated individuals to gain the knowledge and skills required for sustainable development. They are aimed at those who could not otherwise afford to study in the UK.

Commonwealth Master’s Scholarships are for candidates from low and middle income Commonwealth countries. These scholarships will allow you to undertake full-time taught Master’s study at a UK university.

Commonwealth PhD Scholarships are for candidates from less developed countries and fragile states in the Commonwealth. These scholarships for full-time doctoral study at a UK university.

Candidates are advised to read the terms and conditions carefully and to ensure they meet the full eligibility criteria as stated in the terms and conditions. For full details, including eligibility criteria and how to apply, visit the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission in the UK website.

Additional expenses

Some of our degrees may involve additional expenses which are not covered by your tuition fees. Find out more about additional expenses .

Academic support

Supervision.

Each of our research students is provided with a supervisory panel, including a designated lead supervisor.

Research training is provided both within the Department and across the School of Communication & Creativity at City. Students take research modules from MSc Research Method programme that are suitable to their studies.

MA modules in Academic Practice are also available to students to provide them with relevant skills required for teaching in higher education and for overall career development. Further pedagogical skills are developed through teaching at undergraduate and postgraduate levels for those who secure teaching role.

The Department also runs a research seminar series in which doctoral students participate actively. At each stage of the PhD process, supervisors guide students to identify their individual training needs and direct them to relevant courses offered by City.

For more information about research degree training provision, please visit the City Doctoral College .

How to apply

We accept applications on an ongoing basis for entry in late September. There is no formal application deadline, but it is advisable to apply as early as possible due to the limited availability of supervisors.

To apply online, you will need to submit the following supporting documents:

• Your research proposal (max 3 sides of A4)
• Official work e-mail addresses (not private ones) for two academic referees (or one academic and one professional referee where appropriate)
• Copies of your degree transcripts and certificates (originals or certified copies).
• Proof of your English language proficiency (if applicable).

For more information please see how to prepare your research proposal .

When this information is received the application will be assessed by the relevant academic staff. Further information or an interview may be required. The applicant will be contacted if this is the case. The outcome will be reported to the applicant as soon as is practicable.

• Full-time 30 th Sep 2024
• Part-time 30 th Sep 2024
• 30 th Sep 2024

For further application enquiries please contact our PGR enquiries team .

Find a supervisor

See our full list of academic staff and potential supervisors in Department of Journalism.

Dr Zahera Harb

• Department of Journalism

Dr Paul Lashmar

Professor Suzanne Franks

Professor of Journalism

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Media Ethics in Journalism and Mass Communication: Exploring the Virtual World.

Related Papers

Lee Wilkins

​International Journal on Global Business Management and Research

Prof. Dr. and Dr. Honoris Causa Sabahudin Hadžialić , Phuong Vi Thi

With outstanding advantages, social media has been changing the habit of searching, sharing and using of the public media. The problem is that, in an "open" society, social media is often associated with informal communication activities, because it allows users to easily join a certain group on social networks to chat and make your own point of view on an issue they are concerned about. Of course, to be able to use and not to be abused by social media, we need a media literate, open-minded people who are critically involved in this kind of the creation and exchange of media content. From the technical art of media perspective, social media is operated based on online services, news can be shared and spread quickly and interactively among people. join. The top issue is to attach importance to media ethics in social media.

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Background: The code of ethics, drafted by a group of local and foreign experts, aimed to establish a certain framework where a distinction was made between what should and should not be broadcast in the media. For many years this code of ethics was respected by most of the traditional media in the country, where quality content and ethics had the main weight during the broadcast. Purpose:This study tries to analyze one of the most common problems in the Albanian media, the transmission of unethical content. The study relies on quantitative and qualitative data, researching both the nature of the content being broadcast and the causes leading to its transmission. Method: In the framework of this study, monitoring was conducted in various online media, and also a survey was conducted with 22 surveyors to understand if the public needs these contents and what access they have to them.

Anush Khadka

The invention of the internet and innovative ideas to use it as a medium to disseminate information for large number of audience, have created a new media practice in addition to print and broadcast media – the digital media or the new media. The new digital setting has added number of ethical dilemmas for journalists. Journalists working in digital platforms inherently have embrace the same dilemmas that other contemporary journalists have always faced. Accompanying that, they now have some new dilemmas also.

hina mushtaq

Adity Agrawal

In the digital era, media ethics have become increasingly convoluted due to the expansion of digital media platforms and the rate at which the information is disseminated. This has hoist various ethical questions, including the issues of privacy, accuracy and sensationalism. With the rise of digital media and citizen journalism, the traditional media platforms are facing new challenges in maintaining ethical standards. Issue of fake news and misinformation on digital platforms is one of the major challenge for effectively managing the media ethics. Digital tools and technologies raise a host of sharp and worrying ethical challenges for media practitioners and journalists, whether professionals or citizen. The ease of spreading the information online without fact checking has made it difficult for media outlets to maintain accuracy in their reporting. The pressure to post content quickly has led to the expansion of sensational headline, which can distort the faith of facts provided on Digital media platforms. Another major issue is the privacy and freedom of expression. With the popularization of social media platforms, the personal information is more easily accessible than ever before. Media ethics in the digital era needed careful deliberation and constant adaptation to new technologies and ethical norms. Keywords: Digital media, Media ethics, Citizen journalism, Digital era, Information.

Nkechi M . Christopher

Gopalan Mullik

Selective application of Western and Indian ethical theories to media practices; the difference between the Western and Eastern ethical theories - their advantages and disadvantages

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PHD Journalism

Doctoral level of study specialising in journalism, media or communications studies.

Applicants to the doctoral (PhD) programme in the Department of Journalism should already have completed a Master’s level degree in a journalism, media or communications studies field with a minimum of 65% average.

Applicants can familiarise themselves with research areas of potential supervisors, by studying their  staff profiles .

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The admission requirements and application process for our PhD programme is summarised below. Please note that applications close on 1 June for the following year.

Any general enquiries can be directed to [email protected]

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Once a candidate’s complete research proposal has been accepted on faculty level, they may register for the 360-credit PhD programme in the Department of Journalism.

Students need to carefully adhere to all the requirements and deadlines set out by the Higher Degree and Research Committee (HDRC) in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. The website of the HDRC contains links to all the relevant documents and timelines to ensure successful completion of the dissertation.

All PhD candidates should take responsibility for ensuring regular contact with their supervisors to enable them to make sufficient progress.

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The assignment: Build AI tools for journalists – and make ethics job one

A recent poynter summit on ai, ethics and journalism challenged leaders to dream big and solve ethical challenges.

Imagine you had virtually unlimited money, time and resources to develop an AI technology that would be useful to journalists.

What would you dream, pitch and design?

And how would you make sure your idea was journalistically ethical?

That was the scenario posed to about 50 AI thinkers and journalists at Poynter’s recent invitation-only Summit on AI, Ethics & Journalism . 

The summit drew together news editors, futurists and product leaders June 11-12 in St. Petersburg, Florida. As part of the event, Poynter partnered with Hacks/Hackers , to ask groups attendees to  brainstorm ethically considered AI tools that they would create for journalists if they had practically unlimited time and resources.

SEE POYNTER’S AI WORK: One stop for journalist resources, ethics guidelines and more.

Event organizer Kelly McBride , senior vice president and chair of the Craig Newmark Center for Ethics and Leadership at Poynter, said the hackathon was born out of Poynter’s desire to help journalists flex their intellectual muscles as they consider AI’s ethical implications.

“We wanted to encourage journalists to start thinking of ways to deploy AI in their work that would both honor our ethical traditions and address the concerns of news consumers,” she said.

Alex Mahadevan , director of Poynter’s digital media literacy project MediaWise , covers the use of generative AI models in journalism and their potential to spread misinformation.

“I thought a hackathon would be a great way to speed-run through the thorny ethics issues that’ll come up as newsrooms start incorporating generative AI in the newsroom,” he said. “The goal wasn’t necessarily to create the perfect journalism AI product, but to identify areas where we need to be careful to respond to audience fears about trust, security and ethics behind artificial intelligence.”

Paul Cheung, with Hacks/Hackers, talks to participants at Poynter’s Summit on AI, Ethics and Journalism about how the day-long hackathon to create ethically considered AI journalism products will work. Alex Smyntyna/Poynter.

The hackathon led to six imagined technologies, which ranged from apps to websites to software. All the theoretical inventions sought to help people, answer questions and improve the quality of life for news audiences. While the exercise was theoretical, one group is actually taking steps to try to pursue and get funding for its idea, an AI-powered community calendar. 

As the working groups conceptualized their visions, they identified plenty of ethical considerations. Here’s what some of them came up with, and what they learned through this exercise.

Just because it’s AI doesn’t mean it’s not time-consuming

PolitiFact editor-in-chief Katie Sanders helped conceptualize a tool that would serve as a guide to local elections.

Vote Buddy was meant to be a local news product , which required detailed information about precincts and candidates and their positions. Seemingly endless details stacked up as her team considered the experiment, she said, which called for more and more journalistic firepower.

Her team noted almost immediately that “the ethical concerns were abundant.”

They started by asking hard questions about use and users. Sanders said it was important to understand exactly what the team wanted to create, consider the problems it would solve for users, and make sure there was an actual need; and if audience members/users would be comfortable with the means by which the AI tool provided the information. 

“As we started to tease out what this service could be, we aso realized how much human manpower would be needed to pull it off and maintain it,” she said. “The experience showed me that your product is only as good as the amount of time and energy that you set aside for the project.”

Just because it’s an AI product, she said, doesn’t mean it won’t eat up resources, especially when it comes to testing and rooting out any and all inaccuracies. 

“Hallucinations around something as serious as someone’s vote are just unacceptable,” she said. “I felt better about having been through the experience, roleplaying what it would take.”

Help journalists figure out an AI entry point

Mitesh Vashee , Houston Landing’s chief product and technology officer, said that many journalists are simply afraid of AI, which creates a barrier to journalists learning how to use it at all — especially ethically. 

He said it’s helpful for journalists to start their journey toward ethical AI use by playing around with AI tools and discovering practical  uses for it in their day-to-day work. 

That way, “It’s not just this big, vague, nebulous idea,” he said, “but it’s a real-world application that helps me in my day. What’s the doorway that we can open into this world?”

His group conceptualized Living Story , a “public-facing widget that appears at the article level, which allows readers to interact with the story by asking questions.”

Vashee said that journalists’ fear that AI would replace them has been front and center in many of his conversations. 

“We’ve made it clear at Houston Landing that we won’t publish a single word that’s generated by AI — it’s all journalism,” he said. “It’s written by our journalists, edited by our editors, etc. …That being said, the editorial process can get more efficient.” 

He said that as newsrooms look to implement new technology to help with efficiency, more work needs to be done to define roles. 

“What is truly a journalist’s job? What is an editor’s job? And what is a technology job? I don’t know what that full answer looks like today, but that’s what we will be working through.”

Don’t wait to consider potential harm

One hackathon group identified less with workaday journalism and more with theoretical issues adjacent to journalism.

“(Our group was) mostly educators and people in the journalism space, more so than current working journalists,” said Erica Perel , director of the Center for Innovation and Sustainability in Local Media at the University of North Carolina. “The product we came up with dealt with bias, trust and polarization.”

The Family Plan was a concept that helped people understand what news media their loved ones were consuming, and suggested ways to talk about disparate viewpoints without judgment or persuasion.

Their biggest ethical concerns centered on privacy and data security.

“How would we communicate these privacy and security concerns? How would we build consent and transparency into the product from the very beginning?,” she said. “And, how could we not wait until the end to be like, ‘Oh yeah, this could be harmful to people. Let’s figure out how to mitigate that.’”

Consider your journalist role and its boundaries

Members of the hackathon team that created an AI product called CityLens explain their idea to a panel of judges: (seated, l-r) Tony Elkins, Poynter faculty; Phoebe Connelly, The Washington Post; and Jay Dixit, OpenAI. Credit: Alex Smyntyna/Poynter.

The hackathon team behind CityLens envisioned it as a free, browser-based tool that would use interactive technology to help users learn about and act on their local environment.

Smartphone cameras would capture a local image and then users could enter questions or concerns, which theoretically would lead them to useful information, including, “how to report a problem to the right entity, whether a public project is in the works at that location, and what journalists have already reported,” according to the team’s slides.

It would also offer an email template for reporting concerns like dangerous intersections, unsanitary restaurants, code violations,  malfunctioning traffic devices, etc.

“I really liked the audience focus,” said Darla Cameron, interim chief product officer at The Texas Tribune. “The framing of the whole event was, how do these tools impact our audiences? That is something that we haven’t thought enough about, frankly.”

Cameron said for their group, the ethical concerns involved boundaries and the role of journalists. 

She said that several of the groups grappled with questions about the lines between journalistic creation of data and the tech companies’ collection of personal data. 

“How can journalism build systems that customize information for our audiences without crossing that line?” she asked, noting that there was also a concern about journalists being too involved. “By making a tool that people can use to potentially interface with city government … are we injecting ourselves as a middleman where we don’t have to be?”

Think about personal data collection and storage

Omni is “a personalized news platform that delivers the most relevant and engaging content tailored to your preferences and lifestyle,” according to the presentation of the group that created it.

Adriana Lacy , an award-winning journalist and founder of an eponymous consulting firm, explained that the group started with some nerves about their tech savvy.

However, they quickly found their footing — and ethical concerns. It became obvious that for Omni to work, its inventors would have to contend with the ethical issues surrounding personal data collection, she said.

“Our goal was figuring out how can we take information … and turn it into various modes of communication, whether that’s a podcast for people who like to listen to things, a video for people who like to watch video, a story for people who prefer to read,” Lacy said. “Basically, compiling information into something that’s super personalized.”

Much of the information they would need to gather was essentially first-party data.

“We had some conversations about how we could ethically get readers to opt into this amount of data collection and we could be compliant in that area,” Lacy said. “We also discussed how we could safely and securely store so much data.”

Their other big ethical concern was figuring out how they could integrate the journalistic process into the project.

“So much of our idea was taking reporters’ writing, video and audio and turning that into a quick push alert, a social media video, a podcast, an audio alert for your Alexa or Google Home — anywhere you choose to be updated,” she said. “The question remains: How can we apply our journalistic ethics and process into all these different types of media?” 

Some work didn’t stop at the hackathon

One team is even looking to launch a real product based on its session at Poynter.

Dean Miller, managing editor of LeadStories.com, said his team of four focused on “the community-building magic of granular local newsroom-based calendars.”

He said their idea, Calindrical , would bring real value to busy families and much-needed time to newsrooms, so the group has bought specific URLs and is working on paperwork to make the idea a reality. 

“Our goal is a near-zero interface,” he said. “Think Mom driving (her) son to soccer, calling or texting to ask when (her) daughter’s drumline show is tonight, and where, and getting the info immediately and sending the info to Grandma and Dad.”

Miller said the group proposes to use AI to both collect event information and to “assiduously” reach out to organizers to verify.

He said Poynter’s focus on AI ethics was helpful and necessary.

“(The) hackathon process was an early and quick way to surface bad assumptions,” Miller said. “We were spurred to focus our thinking on privacy protection, data security, user power and how to stave off the predations of Silicon Valley’s incumbents.”

Poynter as incubator for AI ideas

Participants at Poynter’s Summit on AI, Ethics and Journalism, along with leaders from Hacks/Hackers, study sticky notes with ideas they might want to develop as part of the event’s hackathon. Credit: Alex Smyntyna/Poynter.

The summit was led by McBride , one of the country’s leading voices on media ethics;  Mahadevan , who covers the use of generative AI models in journalism and their potential to spread misinformation; and Tony Elkins , a Poynter faculty member who has been studying AI’s use in visual journalism. 

Partner Hacks/Hackers is an international grassroots journalism organization whose mission is to “create a network of journalists (‘hacks’) and technologists (‘hackers’) who rethink the future of news and information.”

The goal was to challenge those in attendance to think about AI concepts beyond traditional applications like transcriptions, translations or content automation.

Mahadevan said, “I thought it went great. I was worried people would default to the basic headline writing, transcribing and summarizing popular in generative AI use. But we saw some incredibly creative ideas. I think this really positions Poynter as an incubator of what I’m calling ethically sourced AI products.”

The summit took place following Poynter’s release of its AI Ethics Guidebook , and organizers expect to release a research paper from the symposium in the near future.

Elkins said, “As generative AI development and usage starts to intersect more with journalism, it’s important that Poynter facilitates the discussion between journalists and technologists on ethical frameworks for its use. It’s imperative we have meaningful discussion on the ramifications these models will have on our industry and our customers.”

Opinion | Editorials blast Trump while questions about Biden remain

The New York Times and Los Angeles Times published editorials saying Trump is unfit to be president.

Fact-checking Donald Trump on immigration, economy in first postdebate rally in Doral, Florida

Trump made multiple false statements during his rally, particularly on immigration and the economy. Here are the facts.

Opinion | Big changes — and cuts — are coming to CNN

As CNN reorganizes under CEO Mark Thompson, 100 staffers (or about 3% of CNN’s workforce) will lose their jobs

What will get Americans interested in international news?

The answer: Employing local journalists and focusing on solutions and specifics, according to a news organization called Global Press

Here are the newsrooms awarded grant money for reporting projects inspired by Poynter’s Beat Academy

The six grantee news organizations will get money to support reporting about transgender issues and covering political extremism

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• Markkula Center for Applied Ethics
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• Media Mentions

The Future of Local Journalism by the Ethical Technologist

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Ben Leiner sits down with Subbu Vincent, director, journalism and media ethics to discuss the future of local journalism, how AI is disrupting the news industry, and what readers can do to support a healthy news ecosystem.

Subbu Vincent, director, media and journalism ethics, interviewed by The Ethical Technologist .

• Enroll & Pay

30 Faculty and Graduate Students Present at 2024 AEJMC Conference

Thirty faculty and graduate students from the William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communications are presenting their research studies, teaching best practices, and creative projects at the 107th annual conference of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC). The AEJMC conference will be held at the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown on Aug. 8-11, 2024. Their projects cover topics including creativity in the age of AI, college students’ AI self-efficacy, climate change communication, virtual influencers in advertising, social media and health communication, and journalism practices. The School’s faculty and students also won four research paper awards, one dissertation award, and one administrator award. Below is the list of the presentations and awards at the 2024 AEJMC conference.

Ann Brill: Speaker, Institute of Diverse Leadership Fellows Program

Genelle Belmas: Panelist; Fire in a Political Theater: The First Amendment Legacy of Donald J. Trump

Alex Treaster: Panelist; Creativity and Responsibility in the Age of AI

Tamar Wilner: Panelist; Connecting Journalism Research and Practice

Ayman Alhammad, Christopher Etheridge, and Cameron Piercy: Extended Abstract; Source Evaluation of News Releases Produces by Artificial Intelligence

Lindsie Rank, Adam Goldstein, and Ekaterina Lisovskaia: Full Paper; Pressures on the Student Press: A Repeated Cross-Sectional Analysis

Nazra Izhar: Extended Abstract; Role of Cognitive Biases in Misinformation Dissemination Through Unverified Information Sharing Among Indian Facebook Users

Vaibhav Diwanji, Nhung Nguyen, Rim Chaif, Macy Burkett, Michaella Nera Barros, and Moses Okocha: Full Paper; Keep Colors Bright All-Year Long: A Big-Data-Based Cross-Cultural Analysis of Consumer Discourses About “Rainbow Washing”

Vaibhav Diwanji, Jeff Conlin, Macy Burkett, and Michaella Nera Barros: Full Paper; True Influence is about Leveraging Virtuality: Unlocking the Persuasive Power of Virtual Influencers in Advertising

Nazra Izhar: Full Paper; Mapping the Digital Landscape of Hate: Assessing islamophobia in Hindu Rashtra Facebook Communities

Steve Bien-Aimé, Umer Hussain, Haseena U. Khan, Nazra Izhar, and Aminah Syed: Full Paper; Sports, Media and Morality: South Asian Media’s Framing of the Sania Mirza-Shoaib Malik Divorce Blessing Jona: Extended Abstract; Popular U.S. News Media Websites’ Representation of the Fentanyl Crisis

Teri Finneman: Panelist; The Future of Academic Publishing

Ha Huong: Extended Abstract; Understanding the China-Vietnam Relationship on Self-censorship of Journalists Reporting on the Border War Anniversaries

Hechen Ding, Hong Vu, Tien-Tsung Lee, and Rim Chaif: Full Paper; The Role of Culture in Audiences’ Trust in Mainstream Media Teri Fineman: Panelist; Podcasts as Public Scholarship

[Dissertation Award] Tamar Wilner , Nafziger-White-Salwen Dissertation Award

Rim Chaif: Extended Abstract; Exploring Public Support of Female Athletes Engaged In Traditionally Male-Dominated Sports in Social Media

[Administrator Award] Ann Brill: 2023 Administrator of the Year; Scripps-Howard Fund-Teaching Panel Session: Navigating Change in an AI World

Moses Okocha: Extended Abstract; Digital Strategists: Impact of Social Media Communication on Nigeria’s 2023 Elections

Hyunjin Seo , Marcos Paulo da Silva, Blessing Jona, Azhar Iqbal, Macy Burkett, Haseena Khan, and Alfredo Ernesto Urbina Carreno: Full Paper; Comparative Analysis of AI Attitudes Among JMC Students in Brazil and the US: A Mixed-Methods Approach

[Research Paper Award] Rim Chaif and Teri Finneman: Full Paper; My Place Isn’t in the Kitchen”: Examining Feminist Facebook Framing of an Algerian Social Movement *First-Place Student Faculty Paper Award

[Research Paper Award] Hyunjin Seo, Macy Burkett, Moses Okocha, Huong Ha, Rim Chaif, Nazra Izhar, Michaella Nera Barros, Blessing Jona, and Azhar Iqbal: Full Paper; Social Media Activism and Women’s Health: Endometriosis as Feminist Issue *Second-Place Faculty Paper Award

Melissa Greene-Blye: Panelist; Teaching Students to Decolonize Journalism Practice: Resisting Dehumanizing Portrayals of the “Other”

Alyssa Appelman, Steve Bien-Aime, and Olga Morales: Full Paper; “Said” Or “Told the Reporter”? The Credibility Effects of Quote-Attribution Style

Stephen Wolgast: Extended Abstract; Journalists’ Emotional and Logistical Reactions to A Police Raid

Nhung Nguyen, Nazra Izhar, Hong Vu, and Vaibhav Diwanji: Full Paper; “Climate Change is Real, but I Don't Wanna Talk About It:” Unraveling Spiral of Silence Effects Regarding Climate Change Among Midwestern American Farmers

Yvonnes Chen, Nhung Nguyen, Hong Vu, Giang Truong Do, and Anh Tu Nguyen: Full Paper; U.S. State Health Departments’ Risk Communication During the First Year of the Pandemic Revealed Missed Opportunities

[Research Paper Award] Monica Hill, Marina Hendricks, Sarah Cavanah, Peter Bobkowski: Paper Presentation; High School Journalism Field Trips: Post-Pandemic Barriers and Opportunities *First-Place Open Competition Paper Award

[Research Paper Award] Rim Chaif and Ali Ibrahim: Full Paper; Redefining Femininity and Defying Traditional Gender Norms: An In-Depth Visual Analysis of North African Women Athletes’ Instagram Branding *Third-Place Faculty Paper Award

Macy Burkett: Full Paper; #Tradwives on TikTok: The Promotion of Traditional Gender Roles and the Radicalization of Online Audiences

• Environment

Oakland voters being asked to add muscle to the city’s Ethics Commission

Daniel Hennessy on July 10, 2024

In the face of mounting political pressure, the Oakland City Council reversed course Tuesday and voted in favor of a November ballot measure that would beef up the Public Ethics Commission.

Citing Oakland’s substantial budget shortfall, the council had previously turned down a proposal that includes a slate of reforms meant to modernize the city’s watchdog agency and give it more investigative muscle. Just under two weeks later, Councilmembers Carroll Fife and Rebecca Kaplan changed their minds.

Fife, who called for the second vote, said members of her community strongly urged her to reconsider her initial dissent.

The proposal, initially brought to the council by Dan Kalb, includes a number of administrative upgrades and the tightening of rules concerning political donations by registered lobbyists. What proved to be the main sticking points, however, were the addition of one more investigator to the long understaffed commission, and the $600,000 cost of putting the measure on the ballot. 

“We’re spending money that we don’t have,” Councilmember Kevin Jenkins said during the June 26 meeting in which the council voted down the proposal 5-3. Jenkins maintained his dissenting vote at Tuesday’s meeting, along with Noel Gallo. Councilmember Treva Reid was absent.

Kalb, Janani Ramachandran and Council President Nikki Fortunato Bas disagreed, citing the commission’s out-of-control workload. According to commission Executive Director Nicolas Heidorn, the staff’s two investigators each are handling 44 cases, an amount three or four times higher than that of a San Francisco investigator. 

“At a time when there is a level of distrust in government at every level, including the city level, I would like to see us ensuring that we do have an independent organization that has resources, that can investigate those 140 active cases,” said Fortunato Bas, referring to the total number of current complaints.

Fortunato Bas alluded to investigations into city staffers and former Mayor Libby Schaaf. In addition, Mayor Sheng Thao is embroiled in a federal investigation and is facing a recall vote in November. Thao’s house was raided by the FBI on June 20 along with properties associated with the city’s recycling contractor, California Waste Solutions. 

The mayor has said she is not the target of the investigation. And the FBI has not accused her of any wrongdoing.

The Duong family, which owns and operates California Waste Solutions, has drawn scrutiny from the California Fair Political Practices Commission and the Oakland Public Ethics Commission for alleged illegal political donations. Recipients of those donations include current and former members of Oakland city government. 

Ballot measure would increase taxes to raise millions for affordable housing in Oakland

Election 2024 | Government

‘We think people should be educated voters’: On 100th anniversary, Oakland League of Women Voters recruits new members to mission

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Oakland North is an online news service produced by students at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism and covering Oakland, California. Our goals are to improve local coverage, innovate with digital media, and listen to you–about the issues that concern you and the reporting you’d like to see in your community. Please send news tips to: [email protected] .

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Podcast students air community stories on LAist through ‘LA on the Margins’ series

This summer, LAist is sharing stories of resilience, triumph and innovation in the face of marginalization — all produced by USC Annenberg graduate students. 

Expanding a partnership that began last year, Sandy Tolan and Megan Donis’ “This California Life: Storytelling for Radio and Podcasting” course allows students to produce professional-quality longform audio stories for LAist Studios’ “How To LA” podcast, from pitch to final mixdown. 

Donis said one of the main goals of the course is to carefully and authentically share the stories behind broad headlines and statistics on some of the biggest issues in Los Angeles. Whether seeking to understand the impacts of lack of housing, diving deep into indigenous rights, or investigating high rates of incarceration, students learn that meticulous and compassionate reporting is a must when creating people-focused, in-depth audio narratives.

“The real way to build empathy is through showing what a complex social issue looks like for an actual person living it,” Donis said. “We really told the students, and I think the stories have really shown this as well, that we don’t want to exploit doom and gloom. Obviously, these stories are talking about extreme difficulties and marginalization, however, they don’t have to be stories about just hardship. They can also be stories about innovation and perseverance.”

The class begins with important group conversations about approaching human-interest stories. This sets the stage for the collaborative nature of the entire course, which is structured as if students are working together in a professional documentary unit. 

“[We had] a lot of deep discussions around the ethics of reporting on these communities and these issues — as people, as sometimes people of privilege — and on really wanting to get it right, really wanting to do it in the most ethical and compassionate way,” Donis said.

In her audio piece “Hollywood Disenchanted,” MA in Specialized Journalism student Olivia Kelleher told the story of Keinon Pierre, a creator and actor from Chicago who is living out of his car while pursuing his Hollywood dream. 

“ We met in person several times,” Kelleher said. “I recorded every time we were together, but it wasn’t a formal interview, it was just us having conversations. We had to figure out a good place to meet and record, but also capture his reality…. There were times when it was hard to get a hold of him. Life can be really unpredictable, especially when you are so vulnerable. So, I really wanted him to feel comfortable to come to me when he was ready.”

MA in Specialized Journalism student Erick Treviño took a similar approach with his audio piece chronicling the efforts of a group of activists from the Community Coalition, who are helping to transform the social and economic conditions in South L.A. that foster addiction, crime, violence and poverty.

“This was some of the harder reporting I’ve had to do. I had to really be sensitive with the topics that I was covering, make sure I did my research, make sure I was respectful of people’s wishes and what they were comfortable with talking about,” Treviño said. 

Once students had found their stories, they worked together during the production process, providing peer feedback in workshop sessions along with addressing essential notes from Tolan and Donis.

“We’re a class full of journalists…. Everyone in the program listens to podcasts, so we’re all consumers of audio stories. When we would listen to everyone else’s work, we just became so invested and we became an audience,” Treviño said. “It made people excited for your work, which encouraged you a little bit, but it also was fun to hear the process of a piece that you would’ve listened to on your own time and see how it got created.”

Donis added that this collaboration, structured just like a feedback session in professional radio and podcast studio production, helped bring all of the stories together into a cohesive series. 

“I can hear little bits of each student, even in other people’s stories, because I remember when they encouraged that person to explore this other angle,” Donis said. These are not easy stories to tell, says “How to LA” Executive Producer Megan Larson, but the “LA on the Margins” project was a good fit for the podcast. “On ‘How to LA,’ we aim to help our listeners understand L.A. a little bit better and we often do that by connecting them with folks across our communities,” Larson said. “That means telling the stories of people from all over L.A., and from all backgrounds, including those who may be struggling.” 

Throughout the hands-on semester, students not only enhanced their reporting skills and gained a firsthand understanding of what a production cycle in radio and podcasting looks like, but also got a crash course in using professional audio software and gear to create stories for national broadcast.

“One of the biggest things when you graduate college or from graduate school, is you go out into the working world and you’re applying for jobs, and the first thing an employer says to you is ‘Well, what have you produced? What’s your work experience?’ You don’t have any because you’ve been in school,” Donis said. “With this class and with students’ pieces airing on a nationally public, highly esteemed media organization, they can now go into the world with an actual work experience on their résumé.”

Kelleher believes the lessons she’s learned throughout this course afford her endless opportunities for the future.

“A journalism career can be so fluid and there’s so many different ways to tell stories,” Kelleher said. “The fact that I have multiple skill sets now that I feel really competent in, and I’ve created pieces that are going to be out in the world that can show that I know how to do this, I think it really opens me up to be able to do other things, do other projects. I feel like really, honestly, the sky’s the limit.”

“How to LA” is available on Apple Podcasts , Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. Search for the stories titled “LA on the Margins.”

Journalism school sends students to Paris Olympics

Professor Charlie Tuggle talks about the school’s 16-year partnership with the International Olympic Committee.

This summer, Charlie Tuggle, a professor in the Hussman School of Journalism and Media, will organize a once-in-a-lifetime experience for 25 students and recent graduates. The group will provide coverage of the 2024 Paris Olympics for news outlets across North Carolina and the world.

Tuggle’s partnership with the International Olympic Committee began in 2007, when he escorted 31 Carolina students to report on the Beijing Olympics. It continued through the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, covered by 29 students. After COVID-19 prevented attendance at the postponed 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics, Tuggle supervised a group of six students reporting on the competition remotely from Chapel Hill.

Here’s what Tuggle had to say about the partnership.

How did the partnership between UNC Hussman and the IOC begin?

The committee approached us through Xinshu Zhao, a former Hussman professor who was well respected in China. They were looking for English-speaking reporters to help cover the Games for the Olympic News Service, and UNC was one of 10 universities that sent students to assist.

Our students were working for ONS as “flash quote” reporters. Right after an event is over, the athletes speak to the media. NBC was in first position, and ONS was second. Our students were in second position to ask questions of some of these major world athletes, get flash quotes and distribute them to worldwide media.

How has the partnership continued 16 years later?

Beijing is where we made ourselves known to ONS. They didn’t need English-speaking volunteers in London, but they needed them again in Rio. I took 25 students there to work for ONS again, and four others reported back for North Carolina media.

This year, they’ve decided to do away with the flash quote reporters, so we’re using a different model. Five students will be hired by ONS as junior reporters. The other 20 will report for various news organizations throughout North Carolina and beyond.

In 2016, we were one of only two universities to partner with ONS. This year, we are the only one. I think they were impressed with our students’ work over the years.

How can we follow our students’ reporting from the Games?

Their work will appear in every daily newspaper and NBC station in the state. We’ll also be working for two radio networks, Curtis Media and Beasley Media. Beasley Media’s reach includes North Carolina but also extends throughout the country. At least two students are assigned to each of our partners, coordinating with them to provide the reporting they need.

How is this experience at the Olympics valuable for these students?

The Olympics is arguably the biggest sporting event in the world, and there’s something extra special about Paris. It’s an experience that it would be hard to match in any other way and will help launch these students’ careers. When our students get opportunities like this, they tend to lead to other opportunities.

These groups also tend to really bond. The Rio group, for example, continues to stay in touch with each other. It winds up being a seminal moment in their young lives.

What does it mean to you to give students this opportunity?

I have always loved the Olympics. I’m from a small town in central Florida, yet I’ve been to three Olympic Games. I’ve seen Simone Biles win a gold medal, Usain Bolt shatter the world record in the 100-meter and other incredible moments. It’s fantastic to share that experience with the students and to later hear that this was a point in their life that made a difference for them professionally.

Arkasha Stevenson ’10 describes how what she learned at Carolina inspired her direction of “The First Omen.”

Carolina riders eligible for free GoPass

Those with an active UNC-Chapel Hill email can get a free July GoPass for GoTriangle bus routes.

Researchers work to combat rise in syphilis cases

A team led by Dr. Arlene Seña is cataloging samples of syphilis patients to help fight the disease.

UNC-Chapel Hill in top 5 of The Princeton Review’s best value colleges

Carolina is second among public universities for financial aid.

Carolina 7th in final Learfield Directors’ Cup standings

This is the Tar Heels' fifth consecutive top 10 finish and their eighth top-10 effort in the past nine years.

Jessica Grant named interim director of Odum Institute

Grant will be the first woman to lead the institute in its 100-year history.

Summer School students dive into beats

At the music department’s Carolina Hip Hop Institute, they learned to make beats, rap and DJ.

Kenan Scholars doctors return to rural roots

Graduates of the Kenan Rural Primary Care Medical Scholars program will serve in Avery and Chatham counties.

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Applications are invited for two PhD Studentships in Environmental Ethics

We have two vacancies:  Project 1 The Ethics of Consumerism and Project 2 The Ethics of Agriculture and Food Production in an Irish context which aim to understand the ethical challenges for human behaviour in the Anthropocene and to develop responses based on ethical principles.

Each project addresses the question of how to establish right living in a world where economic models of continued growth and consumerism dominate. 

For more details and instructions on how to apply please follow this link .

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Murdered PhD student’s boyfriend told family he’d ‘ran off’ days before his body was found in a shed

Deundray cottrell, 31, was found dead on july 6 after he was last seen at a fourth of july party at his sister’s home in birmingham, alabama, article bookmarked.

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The body of a missing PhD student has been discovered and his boyfriend named as a person of interest in the homicide investigation.

Deundray Cottrell, 31, was found dead on July 6 after he was last seen at a Fourth of July party at his sister’s home in Birmingham, Alabama .

His body was discovered in a shed two blocks from his sister’s home after his shoe was spotted outside, WVTM reported.

Jefferson County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled Cottrell’s manner of death as a homicide. No arrests have been made.

Birmingham Police Department later named Julian Taylor Morris, 31, as a person of interest in the investigation and are trying to locate him, according to a news release. The pair were believed to be in a romantic relationship.

Angelica Cottrell, the victim’s sister, told WSB-TV that her brother and Morris had driven from Atlanta, Georgia, to Birmingham to celebrate the Fourth of July with family.

“My children started to pop fireworks and because my brother had his dog with him, he was gonna run into the house real quick and go and check on the dog,” Ms Cottrell said.

She said Morris was the one who then alerted her that her brother was missing.

Morris allegedly told Angelica that her brother had jumped off the patio balcony, then “took off running.”

But as the family began to search for him, she said that Morris’ behavior was strange.

“While we looked – Julian didn’t,” she told the TV station. “At one point when everybody was searching, Julian had fixed a plate and was sitting there eating, and he looked at me and said, OMG, the food is so good.”

Birmingham police officers said they were dispatched to a missing person call at a residence in the 7900 Block of 4th Avenue South on July 4.

On July 5, police recovered some of Cottrell’s clothing in the area, and a neighbor provided officers with surveillance footage of him.

Officers discovered Cottrell’s body the following day. “Details surrounding this investigation are suspicious,” Birmingham police said.

After learning that Morris was named a person of interest, the victim’s brother, Tim Cottrell, said it was “hurtful” because “my mom was there, staring her son’s killer in the eye.”

Police asked anyone with information on the case to contact the Birmingham PD’s homicide unit at 205-254-1764 or Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777. A cash reward of $5,000 is available for tips.

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