Table of Contents, Spring 2020

BY DAVID ZAREFSKY

Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash / modifiedOne way to understand America's polarized culture is to say that many conduct public dialogue as if they expected final victory. In this article adapted from a keynote presentation at the conference of the American Society for the History of Rhetoric, 2019, Dr. Zarefsky argues that we must build upon and extend the best of our rhetorical traditions to rehabilitate our unhealthy political culture.

BY ALI R. ZOHOORI

Photo by Armin Abbasi on Wikimedia CommonsAli R. Zohoori provides the historical influences on contemporary communication ethics and mass media in Iran. He discusses Iranian media professionals’ recent efforts to establish a professional code of media ethics and further argues for the creation of an international code of media ethics which promotes universal human solidarity.

BY MATTHEW P. MANCINO 

Photo by Nahel Abdul Hadi on UnsplashMatthew P. Mancino articulates how the metaphors grounding cyberspace frame cyber attack response strategies and argues that greater communication ethics literacy can move us beyond the confines of the wall metaphor.

BY PETER LOGE 

The Epoch Times / CC-BY-2.0 / modifiedPeter Loge argues we urgently need to teach political communication ethics. Too often, he says, we do not help our students connect the mechanics of politics and persuasion with the ideals of justice or truth that politics is meant to advance.           

BY MICHAEL BUGEJA 

Image by Logan HotzIn his media ethics class Michael Bugeja discusses the power of family mottoes to shape students' values and perceptions. Creating ethical heraldry sparks an introspective process for the class. When applied to media ethics, the heraldry project evokes a value-based coding system that enhances performance at home, school and work via a mental blueprint of the evolving conscience.

BY TOM COOPER 

Photo by javier trueba on UnsplashTeaching media ethics is invaluable in a world decrying fake news, invasion of privacy, press censorship, and more. While all approaches to ethics instruction are helpful, a United Nations initiative called Education for Justice (E4J), has been developing an ethics education curriculum step-by-step over the past three years.

BY PAGE TROTTER, JUSTIN PEHOSKI, & SCOTT STROUD

Theatrical Poster / Warner Bros. / ModifiedThis case study examines how the makers of Richard Jewell took creative license by fictionalizing a real-life journalist, portraying her as trading sex for information. Is it possible for filmmakers to “go too far” in altering facts?

BY MICHAELA URBAN & DAKOTA PARK-OZEE 

.Is misinformation that helps with recovery from or prevention of environmental harm always an ethical ill? What ethical responsibilities, if any, do celebrities have to their followers when spreading information? This case study examines Leonardo DiCaprio using his Instagram account to blame the Amazon fires on Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro. 

BY JUSTIN PEHOSKI

Cover / Peter LangAs media technology and societal divides increase our communicative problems, we need more resources expanding on what ethical communication may look like. An Encyclopedia of Communication Ethics represents a welcome, timely companion to those thinking and teaching about how to create more ethical communicators.

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