Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2020, Journalism (Communication)

Although previous research has been targeted at the aspects of journalistic cultures within nations through the views of their population, such as the multinational Worlds of Journalism Study (2019), other avenues of study can offer a new perspective on these differences. To this end, the study provides a comparison of journalistic codes of ethics. Such codes (while differing in structure, implementation, and reach) share a common purpose in providing and defining standards of ethical action within the field of journalism. By making note of what standards are discussed within journalistic codes of ethics with national reach, and in what manner the ethical rationale is constructed and defended within said ethical codes, the study aims to provide insight into the similarities and differences of the journalistic cultures in which they are set. The study found that the 25 ethical codes examined discussed over 100 distinct generalized ethical situations, the documents often stretched beyond outlining the practice of ethical journalism. The codes of ethics were also found to primarily make use of deontological and virtue-based justifications, although examples of the other selected ethical frameworks were found in small numbers. Additionally, both the deontological and virtue-based justifications occurred dominantly within the examined codes of ethics with such frequency as to be considered ethical norms within the standards set by the study. In both cases, the findings provide a means to critique and point to ways these ethical codes could be improved in order to better relate to both the journalists they hope to guide and the public they hope to educate while laying the groundwork for similar examinations in the future.

Committee: Bernhard Debatin (Committee Chair); Aimee Edmondson (Advisor); Rosanna Planer (Committee Member); Bill Reader (Committee Member) Subjects: Journalism; Mass Communications

Bachelor of Science of Journalism (BSJ), Ohio University, 2010, Journalism

This thesis demonstrates the need for standardized online corrections policies through a critical analysis of several news outlets' current corrections policies, including the New York Times, Washington Post, Slate, and Christian Science Monitor. An examination of why corrections policies are necessary, including a look at the ways the internet has changed modern journalism, prefaces this critical analysis. There is an ethical discussion of how certain online corrections policies do or do not support the traditional journalistic principles of accuracy, transparency, accountability, and credibility. Finally, a typology was created to rank several news outlets' current online corrections policies. Ultimately, it was found that the emergence of online journalism has affected the way in which journalists correct their mistakes. The transitional timeframe, in addition to the lack of a guarantee that readers will ever return to an online news article (or even the news outlet's website in general), means that mistakes and their ensuing corrections can quite literally become lost in cyberspace. These changes indicate that it is time to address the issue of how best to deal with corrections in online journalism. Moreover, it was found that the current state of online corrections policies is a wildly inconsistent situation, and some sort of standard is vital to the journalism industry.

Committee: Bernhard Debatin PhD (Advisor) Subjects: Journalism; Technology

Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2023, Journalism (Communication)

This thesis examines the asylum expose genre that emerged in the latter half of the 19th century for early signifiers of the ethical standards that developed in the 20th century. With a review of codes of ethics from contemporary newsrooms, media organizations, and media ethicists as a framework, this thesis found six major ethical principles that apply to the undercover reporting process—exhausting alternative measures, public interest, transparency, minimizing harm, verification, and legality. These principles created a framework for analyzing this specific genre of 19th century journalism for early evidence of the ethical standards that emerged in the following century. An analysis of the asylum expose reveals that certain ethical principles, such as serving the public interest, transparency, and minimizing harm, were already in practice by the end of the 19th century. Other ethical principles, like exhausting alternative methods, verification, and legality were present in some, but not all, asylum exposes, suggesting that these standards were emerging at the end of the 19th century, though not adopted by all reporters of the asylum expose.

Committee: Aimee Edmondson (Advisor); Kelly Ferguson (Committee Chair); Bernhard Debatin (Committee Chair) Subjects: Journalism

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2021, Journalism (Communication)

This dissertation will utilize trauma scholarship and feminist standpoint theory as frameworks for understanding how women's accounts of gender-based violence have been—and continue to be—un- and under-valued by (and in) the media, culture, and society. The broad goal of this critical cultural and historical study is to 1) name, identify, and classify a phenomenon known as the first-person industrial complex; 2) examine the phenomenon's history; 3) identify systemic barriers to the phenomenon's elimination, including legal and ethical considerations; and 4) encourage others to partake in similar research and writing, and see their own stories of gender-based violence as valuable. Thus, this dissertation will examine the various flashpoints of women's first-person writing that have contributed to today's digital media landscape and will trace the history of the first-person industrial complex through primary documents containing such writing, including newspapers, magazines and digital media outlets. This work will draw from archival sources in order to trace the history of this phenomenon from 1841 to the present utilizing critical discourse analysis; will include qualitative analyses of legal and ethical structures that keep women's stories from being shared in an equitable way; and will conclude with a normative critique of the current landscape, offering potential solutions and new possibilities for research in this area.

Committee: Aimee Edmondson (Advisor); Patty Stokes (Committee Member); Kelly Ferguson (Committee Member); Katherine Jellison (Committee Member) Subjects: Communication; Ethics; Gender Studies; Journalism; Mass Communications

Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2018, Journalism (Communication)

Sexual misconduct, particularly on college campuses, has gained media attention in recent years due to policy changes in universities' handling of cases, student activism, and several high-profile cases involving universities. Student newspapers have been tasked with covering assault on their own campuses, and those student journalists are in the unique position of covering a sensitive issue that involves their peers and, in some cases, involves the journalists themselves. This thesis includes qualitative interviews with 20 current and former student journalists who covered campus sexual misconduct at their student newspapers. The journalists interviewed described their sexual assault coverage as different from other stories they had covered, and the journalists encountered several difficult ethical dilemmas throughout the reporting processes. Although the journalists dealt with internal biases and many struggled with emotional connections to the stories and their sources, they still strived for objectivity by focusing on the journalistic values of fairness and balance.

Committee: Bill Reader (Committee Chair); Bernhard Debatin (Committee Member); Alexander Godulla (Committee Member) Subjects: Journalism

Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2017, Journalism (Communication)

This thesis pertains to media coverage of Israel/Palestine, with emphasis on The New York Times, Israeli publication Haaretz, and BBC Online's coverage of the conflict in Gaza during the Summer of 2014. The thesis quantitatively delves into the material being studied, utilizing measures of bias, as well as indicators of peace journalism to accomplish the objective of thoroughly analyzing the 351 news stories sampled from the three publications at hand. The study employs eleven variables, six pertaining to news bias and five operationalized indicators of peace journalism. The thesis will argue that peace journalism is a partial yet powerful remedy for biased coverage. Although it is considered to be a form of advocacy journalism, it can, when translated onto the pages of conventional news outlets, shed objective light on even the direst and most intractable shades of conflict. The study found that The New York Times and BBC Online favored Palestinians in headlines and photographs, likely due to the dramatic devastation wrought upon Gaza. Haaretz was found to be more evenhanded, likely due to its market of Israelis and Jews throughout the world. BBC Online and Haaretz both relied heavily on official (military and government) sources, while The New York Times relied on experts. Measures of peace journalism were varied among the variables being analyzed.

Committee: Michael Sweeney Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Bernhard Debatin Ph.D. (Committee Member); Jatin Srivastava Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Journalism

Bachelor of Science of Journalism (BSJ), Ohio University, 2011, Journalism

The Appalachian League is oftentimes the starting point for minor league players in their journey to Major League Baseball. It is also a new backdrop for the merging fields of journalism and media relations. This piece features an extensive analysis on the ethical dilemmas involved with covering teams in the Appalachian League. It also includes a three-part radio series that details the Appalachian League's style of play. The three radio programs discuss how the game of baseball is played at this level, why winning is not necessarily the main motivation, and who competes in this league.

Committee: Thomas Hodson (Advisor) Subjects: Journalism

Master of Arts, Miami University, 2006, Mass Communication

This thesis uses U.S. mainstream media's coverage of then Secretary of State Colin Powell's address to the UN Security Council prior to the Iraq War as a case study to examine the role of the principle of objectivity in U.S. journalism. In that address, Powell claimed that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction. In covering that event, the media to a large extent took Powell's statement at its face value, and led the American public believe that Iraq did possess WMD and that the threat was massive and imminent. Many critics blame objectivity for the media's failure and call for abandoning the long-standing principle. This thesis goes back into history and seeks the true meaning of objectivity from its roots. The paper answers the questions whether adherence to objectivity was the reason that derailed news reports from truth, and what objective reporting truly is.

Committee: David Sholle (Advisor) Subjects: Journalism