"It's not black and white," this is what Peter Elkind said in his visit to campus Tuesday. No matter how much people like to simplify and think about issues as being wrapped within these neatly separated boxes, the truth is most things are complicated and full of grey areas.
Using the various ethical frameworks to approach decision-making confirms Elkind's assertion--there is never one clear solution to a problem. One can find a number of solutions based on what is good for the greatest amount of people (utilitarianism), what is the best for every person (cosmopolitanism), what will be the most just and equitable (veil of ignorance) and what is a balance between the two extreme views (Aristotle's mean). The main premise is people must take the time to think through problems with the key stipulation of thinking about all the stakeholders.
For journalists, this means doing their best to represent all sides of a story or getting sources from the different types of stakeholders.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.