1. Moderation is the key to moral virtue, according to the:
2. What ethical principle guides reporters who decide NOT to use a hidden camera-even though the story is of
vital importance to national security-because using hidden cameras is deceitful?
3. What ethical principle guides reporters who decide to use a hidden camera-even though to do so is
deceitful-because the story is of vital importance to national security?
4. The advice “do not treat people as a means to an end” best reflects which ethical principle?
5. Kant’s Categorical Imperative and Mill’s Utilitarianism are most relevant to which Potter Box stage of ethical
decision making?
6. Many media professionals must make ethical decisions very quickly, and are often guided by the ethical
principles found in:
7. Which of the following is NOT a main principle of the Society of Professional Journalists’ code?
8. Does the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) have a code of good practice?
9. The TV industry’s adoption of the “voluntary” ratings guidelines following the Telecommunications Act of
1996:
10. The Motion Picture Production Code seal of approval
11. The effectiveness of the MPAA rating system depends on the cooperation of all of the following EXCEPT:
12. TV networks utilize ____________ to help make sure that no unethical content is aired.
13. Newspapers use ______________ as guidelines to persuade the public on certain issues or to achieve certain
goals.
14. When media are so concerned with representing their communities in a positive light that they de-emphasize
negative news, _____________ has occurred.
15. Outside influences that have a pressure on media performance include:
16. This was probably the most influential of all pressure groups targeting broadcasting.
17. Which of the following is an example of a pressure group?
18. Many ethics experts agree that stressing _________ is the best way to teach ethics to journalism and mass
communication students.
19. A reporter who won’t use a hidden camera unless the story will have great benefits for the public is probably
guided in this decision by the Principle of the Golden Mean.
20. A reporter who will use a hidden camera even though it would be dishonest to do so is probably guided by
the desire to remove the public’s Veil of Ignorance.
21. Applying the “Veil of Ignorance” concept in resolving ethical issues means that all social differentiations are
removed and people are treated equally.
22. According to the writing of Ralph Potter, the first thing to do when making an ethical decision is to define
the situation by determining the relevant facts.
23. There are five canons of journalism: responsibility, independence, accuracy, decency and ethicality.
24. The 1923 Canons of Journalism represent the first attempt by journalists to strive for professionalism in
their field.
25. The MPAA rating system (G, PG, etc.) is a successor to the highly specific Motion Picture Production
Code.
26. The advertising industry rarely faces ethical issues and as such has not developed a code for performance.
27. Many broadcast and cable networks have standards and practices departments, which determine whether
content is acceptable or not.
28. Although many local stations have an official “policy book” to guide them, most print media have two such
statements: “operating policies” and “editorial policies.”
29. A newspaper’s Ombudsperson is responsible for investigating reader complaints, and otherwise generally
criticizing the paper’s performance.
30. The advertising industry has no real self-regulatory system in place to deal with complaints about
advertisers or advertisements.
31. Although advertisers might exert economic pressure on media to include or exclude certain content,
business practices of the media themselves have never done so.
32. Pressure groups can have great success in a wide range of attempts to influence mass media organizations,
but they cannot influence the FCC during the license renewal process.
33. Although pressure groups have had some positive results, certain groups have probably had too much power
and done more harm than good.
34. In March 2011 the Institute for Advertising Ethics (IAE) released a set of ethical principles to guide
decision making in the advertising industry. The IAE’s code depends on voluntary compliance. What do you
think will be the impact?
35. Which ethical principle do you think you most follow when examining choices and justifying actions?
