Shakuntala Rao

The glocalization of journalism ethics

This article addresses globalizations effects on journalism ethics in South Africa and India. It shows the ways in which the debates and issues of journalism ethics are being resolved through the process which scholars have termed as glocalization. Both in South Africa and India we found a two-way relationship between global and local epistemologies and practices. By using examples from each country, we suggest that journalism ethics is going through a process of resignification in the local arena. We suggest a global-to-local theoretical matrix that takes into consideration the complexity of journalism ethics in specific cultural and national contexts.

Global media ethics revisited - a postcolonial critique

Little theoretical work from non-Western perspectives has entered the epistemological discussion of universal ethical principles for media and journalism. The increased analysis of media globalization requires a closer examination of the ethical principles being advocated by media theorists. We use postcolonial theory to argue that advocates of universal media ethics need to take into account the history of colonialism, differences of powers between nations and peoples, and the importance of indigenous theory. We contend that in the non-Western world underlying conditions of postcoloniality and indigenous values influence how media professionals and journalists make ethical decisions. These interpretations present an epistemic challenge to dominant ethical concepts based primarily on Western Enlightenment philosophies. The article concludes with a discussion of two specific ethical theories, ubuntu from South Africa and ahimsa from India, which illustrate the importance of indigenous knowledge in the search for global media ethics.

Toward a Global Media Ethics: Theoretical Perspectives

Theoretical debates about global media ethics have been marked by disagreements about the nature, possibility, and desirability of a global ethics. This article attempts to address those disagreements by developing an “ethics of universal being” as the philosophical basis for a global media ethics, an ethics expressed by such universals as the sacredness of life, truth, and nonviolence. The article aims to explore various theoretical positions on global media ethics by providing an overview of the literature and seeking ways in which common ground may be found between these different positions. This approach is developed in two ways. First, it sets forward a theory of universals as “protonorms” rooted in the fully human. Second, it shows how this conception of protonorms takes account of two facts thought to make a global media ethics impossible—the fact that values change or are “invented” over time, and the fact that values are interpreted differently in different cultures. The article argues that universal values should be understood not as transcendent ideas but as protonorms embedded in particular contexts. In this view, the universal and the particular are intimately linked. Through this exploration of links between theoretical positions, the article provides a theoretical basis that can be developed further through discussion between scholars representing different traditions and for the application of the theory to practical media contexts by journalism practitioners.

A media not for all

This paper provides a comparative analysis between the media of India and South Africa, two emerging regional economic powerhouses and emerging democracies. The analysis is macro. The paper describes and analyzes media content and journalism practices in each country and how Indian and South African media have given limited attention to the deep divisions—centered around class, gender, race, and caste—which mark day-to-day life in each society. Consequently, we conclude, that delegative democracy, characterized by the exclusion of the voices of the poor and marginalized, is perpetuated by a globalized, liberalized, and privatized media.

Awakening the dragon’s and elephant’s media: Comparative analysis of India’s and China’s journalism ethics

As the unipolar military world order has shifted to a multipolar economic world order, China and India have emerged as major actors in global geopolitics. While there is substantial scholarship available in areas of political science and finance about the relationship between China and India, little research has been conducted comparing the two countries’ journalism and media content and practices. This study provides a comparative analysis of how globalization, commercialization, and massive expansion of quasi-governmental media (in China) and privately owned media (in India) have impacted ethics of journalism practices. Interviews with Chinese and Indian journalists reveal that the two most important ethical issues for journalists in the two countries are corruption in media signified by practices of red envelope journalism in China and paid news in India and media’s declining credibility.

Global media ethics revisited

Little theoretical work from non-Western perspectives has entered the epistemological discussion of universal ethical principles for media and journalism. The increased analysis of media globalization requires a closer examination of the ethical principles being advocated by media theorists. We use postcolonial theory to argue that advocates of universal media ethics need to take into account the history of colonialism, differences of powers between nations and peoples, and the importance of indigenous theory. We contend that in the non-Western world underlying conditions of postcoloniality and indigenous values influence how media professionals and journalists make ethical decisions. These interpretations present an epistemic challenge to dominant ethical concepts based primarily on Western Enlightenment philosophies. The article concludes with a discussion of two specific ethical theories, ubuntu from South Africa and ahimsa from India, which illustrate the importance of indigenous knowledge in the search for global media ethics.