Journalism Values & Roles 3
Literature review
There is little question over whether ethical frameworks are used in
journalistic decision making The most substantive discussions revolve around
the factors that influence that process Shoemaker
Voakes
or the
philosophical underpinnings of a democratic free press Kidder
Merrill
Christians
Traber
Others have sought to explore the journalistic
applications of particular philosophical approaches Baker
Cunningham
This study explores the suggestion that the conventional applications of
philosophical approaches alone does not adequately explain journalistic behavior
and the roles embraced by journalists on a daily basis Rather social psychology
research suggests that media practitioners operate by constantly reassessing the
primacy and relevancy of each within a set of fixed so called instrumental values
as they are applied to diverse ethical questions
Value theory research
Research into values has an extensive history in sociology and social
psychology and has culminated in a body of theory that suggests individuals
conduct their social lives according to a value system
a hierarchical
arrangement of values a rank ordering of values along a continuum of
importance
Rokeach
b p
Research also has produced sophisticated
Convention