Ethical Issues In The Communication Process

A rapid and widespread growth of interest in applied ethics is occurring today not only in the United States, but around the world as well. Academia both reflects this and is a leader in the movement. The field of speech communication shares in this increased sensitivity to ethical concerns. Students and the general public are looking for thoughtful analyses and guidance in all areas of communication. Ethical concerns relative to mass communication have been the subject of a number of books, but only a very few cover the entire scope of communication to include interpersonal, intercultural, organizational, small groups, and public speaking. This book tries to fill that need by discussing ethical concerns as they emerge in the areas of the communication process -- the communicator, the message, the media, the audience, and the situation. The speech communication field now has a need to digest and synthesize the existing research findings and the general literature in the field and in related humanities and social science works into a coherent and nontechnical discussion. This volume explores the most up-to-date materials to provide just such a synthesis. An extensive bibliography at the end of the book gives readers the sources on which the book is based, and offers ample avenues for further personal exploration. The book should provide meaningful food for thought as readers grapple conscientiously with the many everyday decisions made in communication transactions, and in evaluating the communication of others.

First Published in 1973. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

A rapid and widespread growth of interest in applied ethics is occurring today not only in the United States, but around the world as well. Academia both reflects this and is a leader in the movement. The field of speech communication shares in this increased sensitivity to ethical concerns. Students and the general public are looking for thoughtful analyses and guidance in all areas of communication. Ethical concerns relative to mass communication have been the subject of a number of books, but only a very few cover the entire scope of communication to include interpersonal, intercultural, organizational, small groups, and public speaking. This book tries to fill that need by discussing ethical concerns as they emerge in the areas of the communication process -- the communicator, the message, the media, the audience, and the situation. The speech communication field now has a need to digest and synthesize the existing research findings and the general literature in the field and in related humanities and social science works into a coherent and nontechnical discussion. This volume explores the most up-to-date materials to provide just such a synthesis. An extensive bibliography at the end of the book gives readers the sources on which the book is based, and offers ample avenues for further personal exploration. The book should provide meaningful food for thought as readers grapple conscientiously with the many everyday decisions made in communication transactions, and in evaluating the communication of others.

Broad in scope, yet precise in exposition, the Sixth Edition of this highly acclaimed ethics text has been infused with new insights and updated material. Richard Johannesen and new coauthors Kathleen Valde and Karen Whedbee provide a thorough, comprehensive overview of philosophical perspectives and communication contexts, pinpointing and explicating ethical issues unique to human communication. Chief among the authors objectives are to: provide classic and contemporary perspectives for making ethical judgments about human communication; sensitize communication participants to essential ethical issues in the human communication process; illuminate complexities and challenges involved in making evaluations of communication ethics; and offer ideas for becoming more discerning evaluators of others communication. Provocative questions and illustrative case studies stimulate reflexive thinking and aid readers in developing their own approach to communication ethics. A comprehensive list of resources spotlights books, scholarly articles, videos, and Web sites useful for further research or personal exploration.

The authors discuss ethics of "communication in high-risk technologies" through such examples as whistleblowing, the Challenger explosion, computer monitoring, life support systems, Chernobyl, the Union Carbide crisis in India, and reproductive technology.

Communicating Ethically provides a broad introduction to the ethical nature of communication. Now in its second edition, the text has been revised to further address current issues, such as: evolving social media and digital platforms, growing cultural communication and discussion of diversity, and the ethics of public discourse. This book combines coverage of the major systems of ethical reasoning with applications, including case studies in each chapter, to investigate ethics within many fields in the communication discipline. Incorporating a simple framework for ethical reasoning allows the reader to develop their own understanding of the various criteria for making ethical judgments.

During more than a decade working in public relations, marketing, and journalism, the author encountered many ethical problems; people often differed about what constituted “right” action. As a professor, he was motivated to write a succinct book on mass communication ethics that includes sufficient background for readers to learn to reason through problems ethically and to make decisions that consider the needs of all parties affected by the consequences of actions taken. The constant stream of information, misinformation, and images from rapidly evolving technology and social media platforms challenge media professionals to assess problematic issues and their effects on audiences. Ethical concerns mount regarding accuracy, fairness, loyalty, diversity, manipulation, and deception. Reavy’s highly accessible work discusses the philosophical foundations of ethics, examines the strengths and weaknesses of formal ethical codes, analyzes models for making ethical decisions, and provides examples from multiple communication professions. It introduces practical, systematic processes to guide consumers in addressing ethical dilemmas in increasingly complex situations. The emphasis is on reasoning—from defining the problem to identifying who is involved to ascertaining conflicting values to applying ethical principles to reaching a decision. The six applied chapters that look at issues (public interest, truth, conflicts of interest, privacy, confidentiality, and visual ethics) conclude with a case study.

Practicing Communication Ethics provides a theoretical framework for developing a personal standard of ethics that can be applied in real world communication situations. Through an examination of specific ethical values including truth, justice, freedom, care, and integrity, this first edition enables the reader to personally determine which values they are ethically committed to upholding. Blending communication theory, ethics as practical philosophy, and moral psychology, this text presents the practice of communication ethics as part of the lifelong process of personal development and fosters the ability in its readers to approach communication decision-making through an ethical lens.