Level 2: Media Ethics

Welcome to the
201 Media Ethics
page to support the assessment provided to you by your teacher

Where do I start?

You will need to use a variety of resources to complete this assessment task. This includes both:

print resources (printed books, journals, articles)
digital resources (web searches, databases, online encyclopaedias, YouTube).

Print resources have already had their credentials checked when they go through the editing process so the information is all ready to be used. This makes them a useful tool in the search for information as you can use these resources without wondering if the information is actually correct!

A quick way to find out more about your particular Media Ethics issue is to do an internet search but remember to think critically about which websites you use. For example, the Ethical Journalism Network website is probably more reliable than Wikipedia.

Using a clustering search engine such as Carrot2 rather than relying on a JGI (Just Google It) approach is a more time effective strategy. You will still need to assess the websites you find for suitability but it clusters the results in a meaningful way that can provide additional feedback as well as a more comprehensive search of the web. Assess your sites using the CRAP test. :)

Start by getting an overview of what ethical journalism actually is ...

Full transcript here

Some useful sites to use:

Look in the EPIC Databases using the PowerSearch widget. There is no password required.

Enter search terms e.g."media ethics" OR any other keywords you have chosen

Look in the EPIC Databases using the Opposing Viewpoints in Context widget below. There is no password required.

Enter search terms e.g."media ethics" OR any other keywords you have chosen

Look in the EPIC Databases using the Global Issues in Context widget below. There is no password required.

Enter search terms e.g."media ethics" OR any other keywords you have chosen

Choose an EXPLORA POWER SEARCH across all of the EPIC Australian and New Zealand databases This gives access to magazines like Time magazine etc. also.
Enter search terms e.g."media ethics" OR any other keywords you have chosen

Click here for the New Zealand Press Council

Statement of Principles - These principles may be used by complainants when they wish to point the Council to the core of their complaint. However, a complainant may nominate other ethical grounds for consideration.

Go to BSA Broadcasting Standards Authority (NZ)
For example, check out the Free-to-Air Television Code of Broadcasting Practice
From this site you can Select Publications and get an alphabetical list of publications in .pdf format.
You can also Select Decisions and search subjects

Go to Debatabase
Select from Subjects or enter search term(s)

Go to Carrot2
Enter search term e.g. Media ethics
Click 'Foam Trees' to see a visual representation of the clustered results.
Click on each cell to see a new list of websites.

Click here for Journalist Code of Ethics

Click here for a .pdf from the Society of Professional Journalists: Code of Ethics

Click here for the Law Commission of NZ

News Media’s rights and responsibilities

This UNESCO website provides relevant media standards for different countries concerning freedom of expressions; access to information; and ethical and professional standards in journalism.

An example of the kind of article you can find:

Referencing your work APA style:

Use CiteThisForMe as your referencing tool. It uses a Chrome Extension.
Watch the tutorial below and follow the instructions given.

​Welcome to the 201 Media Ethicspage to support the assessment provided to you by your teacher