Abstract
This chapter explores the future of global media ethics by focusing on a question that is a cause of misunderstanding and, perhaps, its greatest conceptual challenge: What is the goal of global media ethics? The chapter argues that the image of global media ethics has been distorted by the view that a global ethic must consist of one, uniquely correct set of principles affirmed by a large majority of journalists around the world. Instead, the chapter proposes the idea of global media ethics as plural in structure and method, as different discourses across different cultures. The future of global media ethics is participation in webs of de-centered discourse about the changing world of global media.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
See, for example, Thussu, International Communication: Continuity and Change, 3rd ed.
- 2.
Much of my discussion concerns journalism and news media. This is due to the still powerful presence of professional and mainstream news media in our lives. However, “global media” has a wider scope. It includes the non-professional use of media for almost any purpose, from sharing images of a disaster to spreading conspiracy theories.
- 3.
On how these problems have challenged not just ethical journalism but democracy, see my Ethical Journalism in a Populist Age.
- 4.
Examples of early work in the global media ethics movement are Christians et al., “Toward a Global Media Ethics: Theoretical Perspectives,” Ward and Wasserman, eds., Media Ethics Beyond Borders, and Ward, Global Journalism Ethics.
- 5.
Examples of non-globalism and anti-globalism in philosophy, ethics, and the social sciences include Miller, National Responsibilities and Global Justice; Rawls, The Law of Peoples; Tamir, Liberal Nationalism.
- 6.
See, for example, “Cosmopolitanism as Ground for Global Media Ethics,” in this Handbook, and “The Moral Priority of Globalism in a Digital World.”
- 7.
Dworkin, Law’s Empire, 52.
- 8.
On ideologies as systems of ideas that endow meaning, see Freeden, Ideology.
- 9.
See Armstrong, A Theory of Universals.
- 10.
Lukes, Moral Relativism.
- 11.
See Christians and Traber, Communication Ethicsand Universal Values; and Brown, Human Universals.
- 12.
On the nature of parochial journalism ethics, a form of which is the promotion of nationalism, see my “Cosmopolitanism as the Ground of Global Media Ethics” in this Handbook, Section 2.
- 13.
For my view of moral justification as a combination of qualitative consent and the promotion of human flourishing, see “Global Media Ethics, Human Rights and Flourishing.”
- 14.
Mill, Utilitarianism, 63.
- 15.
I explore this long history in The Invention of Journalism Ethics. There is no need to treat relativism as an existential threat to society, a “bug bear” of morality. There are nuanced theories of moral relativism that are intellectually persuasive and supportive of ethics and ethical conduct. For example, see Wong’s Natural Moralities.
- 16.
Lorenz has argued that the evolution of prohibitions against in-group violence among primates and early humans is a behavioral “analogue” of morality. See Lorenz, On Aggression, 94.
- 17.
I trace the origins of ethics as rooted in our evolutionary inherited human nature, with its soft and hard traits, in my Irrational Publics; also, see Joyce’s The Evolution of Morality.
- 18.
See Bickford, The Dissonance of Democracy: Listening, Conflict and Citizenship; and Ward and Wasserman, “Open Ethics: Towards a Global Media Ethics of Listening.”
- 19.
See Rawls, A Theory of Justice, and Habermas, “Discourse Ethics.”
- 20.
Makau and Marty, Dialogue and Deliberation, 79.
- 21.
See Albrecht, Reconstructing Individualism.
- 22.
Putnam, Pragmatism, 21.
- 23.
Quine, Word and Object, 124.
- 24.
See Polger and Shapiro, The Multiple Realization Book.
- 25.
In Radical Media Ethics, Chap. 6, I explain how principles have can different levels of meaning and interpretation.
References
Albrecht JM (2012) Reconstructing individualism: a pragmatic tradition from Emerson to Ellison. Fordham University Press, New York
Armstrong DM (1980) A theory of universals. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Bickford S (1996) The dissonance of democracy: listening, conflict and citizenship. Cornell University Press, Ithaca
Christians C, Rao S, Ward SJA, Wasserman H (2008) Toward a global media ethics: exploring new theoretical perspectives. Ecquid Novi: Afr J Stud 29(2):135–172. https://doi.org/10.3368/ajs.29.2.135
Dworkin R (1986) Law’s empire. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA
Freeden M (2003) Ideology: a very short introduction. Oxford University Press, Oxford
Habermas J (2001) Discourse ethics: notes on a program of philosophical justification. In: Moral consciousness and communicative action. 7th printing. Trans. Christian Lenhardt and Shierry Weber Nicholsen. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, pp 43–115
Joyce R (2007) The evolution of morality. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA
Lorenz K (1966) On aggression. Trans. Marjorie Latzke. Methuen and Co., London
Lukes S (2008) Moral relativism. Picador Press, New York
Makau JM, Marty DL (2013) Dialogue and deliberation. Waveland Press, Long Grove, IL
Mill JS (2006) Utilitarianism. In: West HR (ed) The Blackwell guide to Mill’s utilitarianism. Blackwell, Malden, pp 63–113
Miller D (2007) National responsibilities and global justice. Oxford University Press, Oxford
Polger TW, Shapiro LA (2016) The multiple realization book. Oxford University Press, Oxford
Putnam H (1995) Pragmatism. Blackwell Publishers, Cambridge, MA
Quine WVO (1960) Word and object. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA
Rawls J (1992) A theory of justice. 12th impression. Oxford University Press, Oxford
Rawls J (1999) The law of peoples with ‘‘the idea of public reason revisited.’’ Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA
Tamir Y (1993) Liberal nationalism. Princeton University Press, Princeton
Thussu DK (2018) International communication: continuity and change, 3rd edn. Bloomsbury, London
Ward SJA (2010) Global journalism ethics. McGill-Queen’s University Press, Montreal
Ward SJA (2015a) The moral priority of globalism in a digital world. In: Wasserman H, Rao S (eds) Media ethics and justice in the age of globalization. Palgrave/McMillan, Houndmills, UK, pp 23–42
Ward SJA (2015b) The invention of journalism ethics, 2nd edn. McGill-Queen’s University Press, Montreal
Ward SJA (2015c) Radical media ethics: A global approach. Wiley Blackwell, Malden
Ward SJA (2017) Global media ethics, human rights and flourishing. In: Tumber H, Waisbord S (eds) The Routledge companion to media and human rights. Routledge, Abingdon, pp 211–219
Ward SJA (2019a) Ethical journalism in a populist age. Rowman and Littlefield, Lanham
Ward SJA (2019b) Disrupting journalism ethics. Routledge, London
Ward SJA (2022) Irrational Publics and the Fate of Democracy. McGill-Queen’s University Press, Montreal, forthcoming Spring
Ward SJA. Cosmopolitanism as ground for global ethics. In this volume, Chapter 10, Springer, Cham
Ward SJA, Wasserman H (eds) (2008) Media ethics beyond borders: a global perspective. Heinemann Publishers, Cape Town
Ward SJA, Wasserman H (2015) Open ethics: towards a global media ethics of listening. Journal Stud 16(6):834–849. https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670X.2014.950882
Wong DB (2006) Natural moralities: a defence of pluralistic relativism. Oxford University Press, Oxford
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2021 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Ward, S.J.A. (2021). Webs of De-Centered Discourse: The Future of Global Media Ethics. In: Ward, S.J.A. (eds) Handbook of Global Media Ethics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-32103-5_60
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-32103-5_60
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-32102-8
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-32103-5
eBook Packages: Religion and PhilosophyPhilosophy and Religion (R0)