David A. Craig

Ethical Language and Themes in News Coverage of Genetic Testing

Ethical theory is employed in this study to assess news coverage of genetic testing, a topic with widely acknowledged ethical implications for professions and society. Ethical language and themes were examined in thirty-one broadcast and print stories by major news organizations in 1995 and 1996. Concerns about consequences, especially avoidance of harm, were prominent in most stories; ethical duties received less attention. Ethical themes, sometimes emerging as direct questions to readers or viewers, underlined choices facing individuals and society. Some stories powerfully brought home ethical issues without directly mentioning ethics.

The Promise and Peril of Anecdotes in News Coverage: An Ethical Analysis

This article assesses the use of anecdotes in news coverage on ethical grounds, pointing both to their promise and to their potential dangers. The analysis draws on Craigs framework for analyzing news coverage of ethics; on Christians, Ferre, and Facklers communitarian ethic; and on Gilligans relationship-oriented ethic of care. Cases from news stories illustrate the ethical complexity of anecdote use. This study suggests how journalists can choose anecdotes more critically and points to an adaptation of the anecdotal form that is ethically supportable.

Covering Ethics Through Analysis and Commentary: A Case Study

In this article I use a case study of 3 newspaper pieces about assisted suicide and euthanasia to show how journalists can use analysis and commentary to highlight the ethical dimension of an important public issue. Using an approach grounded in ethical theory, I examine how these pieces-from the Christian Science Monitor, Los Angeles Times, and New York Times-shed light on ethical issues including matters of duties and consequences. It is argued that an analytical approach that openly frames a topic as having a moral dimension is particularly appropriate for ethics coverage in light of the value-laden nature of writing about ethics.

To Post or Not to Post: Online Discussion of Gun Permit Mapping and the Development of Ethical Standards in Data Journalism

This study investigates the ethical dimensions of data journalism, an area of growing public importance in journalistic practice, by examining journalists’ discussion related to controversies over handling of gun permit data. Three discussion threads on the listserv of the National Institute for Computer-Assisted Reporting were analyzed. Frames were freedom versus responsibility, privacy and verification, consequences, and alternatives. The findings highlight the benefits of pooling the practical wisdom of participants in an evolving practice. They also suggest recommendations for evaluating the ethics of data journalism.

In The New Network, Old Values Bend But Don't Break

While I can live with the two-step process for allowing “ruminating” journalists to post things that do not meet the standards of a justifiable news report, I still think there is room for more discretion in what is shared through Twitter, Facebook, blogs, and other platforms. Most journalists are interesting, curious, smart people. If they made a habit of using digital platforms to demonstrate these qualities rather than simply passing along anything guaranteed to cause a fuss (e.g., Internet Explorer users have lower IQs), we could all reap the benefits of journalists’ musings rather than getting caught up in the mundane, the fleeting, the inconsequential, or the just plain ridiculous.