Journalism 101 Ethics Case Study

What job did Robert Kapler lie to get?

• A security guard at a nuclear power plant

• A physicist

• He didn't lie

• A manager at a nuclear power plant

Why did Kapler want to infiltrate the nuclear power plant?

• See if there were issues with the nuclear power plant

• To interview the owners and managers with the nuclear power plant

• See how security guards were treated

• To see how easy it was to infiltrate a national security institution

What role of ethics was suspended?

• "A journalist's primary obligation is to the public"

• "A journalist must not misrepresent themselves"

• "Journalists must be accurate and fair"

• "Journalists should minimize harm"

What was Kant's view on Ethics? (And how does it relate to this case?)

• Lying is never okay

• Anything is fine

• It's about the action, not the outcome

• Do what you have to do to get the story

What's W.D. Ross's view of ethics? (And how does it relate to this case?)

• Anything morally wrong is never acceptable to do

• It's a common sense duty not to lie

• You can base the actions based off the situation

• You can do anything you want

What's Jeremy Bentham's view on Ethics? (And how does it relate to this case?)

• The ends justify the means.

• What you do depends on the situation

• You should never do something that is morally wrong

• Lying is okay so long as you get the story and the facts

What is duty of care?

• Journalists have to go out and physically take care of all the citizens.

• It's not even a thing

• A journalist's responsibility to provide information to citizens.