The “holy” triad in media ethics: A conceptual model for understanding global media ethics.
Tsetsura, K., & Valentini, C. (2016).
Media ethics has long been at the center of attention for media scholars and public relations professionals. The level of ethical standards employed by both journalists and public relations professionals impacts how media relations activities are conducted and what types and quality of contents may shape public opinion. Media ethics are devolved on fundamental values of democracy, freedom, truth, honesty, objectivity, and privacy (Craig, 2010). A prominent line of research in media ethics concerns with the study of those factors and variables affecting fundamental media values and consequently the level of media ethics in a country. Early studies indicate that public relations is one of those key factors because public relations practitioners act as sources of information and even influencers of media agenda (e.g., Cameron, Sallot, & Curtin, 1997; Shin & Cameron 2003). Specifically, the approach used by public relations professionals to influence journalists’ news decision making has implications for media ethics in terms of transparency and self-censorship (Tsetsura, 2011), and as such it deserves to be studied together with other factors that may influence journalists.