Chapter 15: Ethics
Chapter 15: Ethics
Multiple Choice Single Select
1) The earliest mass media code of ethics was from the
a) National Association of Broadcasters.
b) American Society of Newspaper Editors.
c) Radio-Television News Directors Association.
d) Public Relations Society of America.
2) People who believe that if they follow the rules their decision will be the correct one are
a) pragmatists.
b) situational ethicists.
c) being self-delusional.
d) practicing prescriptive ethics.
3) What ethical dilemma arises when reporters place too high a priority on timeliness?
a) One news organization may get an exclusive scoop, leaving the competitors in the dust.
b) Stories may be delayed.
c) Special bulletins may have to be published.
d) Accuracy may be jeopardized.
4) All ethics are based on a perceived sense of duty, but media ethics are complicated because
communicators have multiple sets of duties that include all of the following EXCEPT a duty
to
a) the audience.
b) the profession.
c) report.
d) society.
5) Grappling with media ethics can be very challenging because communicators have multiple
sets of duties and obligations that include all of the following EXCEPT a duty to
a) the audience.
b) dignity.
c) employer.
d) self.
6) A reporter who accepts an all-expense-paid cruise on a company’s latest ship and then writes
a story on the experience for the travel section, may have been motivated by a sense of duty
to
a) self.
b) audience.
c) employer.
d) society.
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7) Television programs that re-enact violence are very popular. In such programs, the
producers are observing their duty to
a) self.
b) the supreme being.
c) their employer.
d) their audience.
8) How does Charles Gay argue that publishing the names of rape victims is “good, basic
journalism?”
a) Readers want to know.
b) Silence and secrecy perpetuate stigmas.
c) Names sell newspapers.
d) It’s not against the law.
9) Those who objected to the Shelton, Washington Journal’s decision to include the names of
rape victims in news stories about the rapes included all of the following EXCEPT
a) defense attorneys who feared it would prompt false reports from women who want media
exposure.
b) people who wrote letters to the editor and picketed outside the newspaper’s office.
c) people who encouraged readers to cancel subscriptions to the paper.
d) state legislators who tried to enact a law to shield rape victims from being named.
10) A reporter relying on press releases produced by public relations professionals needs to be
aware of all of the following EXCEPT that
a) they are common sources of plagiarism.
b) they are photogenic and easy to cover.
c) it is difficult to attribute them to a specific source.
d) they are prepared to promote something in particular and are likely biased.
11) Aristotle believed that morally right decisions
a) avoid extremes and seek moderation.
b) promote democracy.
c) ensure the happiness of most people.
d) have universal application.
12) To whom can the Golden Mean be traced?
a) Aristotle
b) Immanuel Kant
c) John Milton
d) John Dewey
13) The “do-unto-others” principle is based on
a) Buddhism.
b) Judeo-Christian ethics.
c) Aristotle’s Golden Mean.
d) Socrates moral imperative.
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14) A radio station owner who bans all music whose lyrics include explicit sexual language is
a) applying the Golden Mean.
b) employing utilitarian ethics.
c) thinking situationally.
d) using a categorical imperative.
15) A radio station owner who invites listeners to call in and vote on which music should be kept
off the air and then bans the most-mentioned songs for her station is
a) applying the Golden Mean.
b) employing utilitarian ethics.
c) thinking situationally.
d) using a categorical imperative.
16) Media people can carry out the categorical imperative by
a) treating others as they would like to be treated.
b) applying moderation in all things.
c) following what they would want to be universal law.
d) seeking happiness for the greatest number.
17) The principle of utility most closely parallels the democratic principle of
a) life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
b) one person, one vote.
c) innocent until proven guilty.
d) majority rule.
18) John Stuart Mill believed that morally right decisions
a) were those that promoted democracy.
b) resulted in happiness for as many people as possible.
c) conformed to religious doctrine.
d) avoid extremes.
19) A problem with pragmatic ethics is
a) racial bias inevitably gets in the way.
b) people don’t know if their moral actions will have good results.
c) possible harm done to the silent majority.
d) well-meaning people may disagree on what’s best.
20) The veil of ignorance
a) allows reporters to get away with plagiarism.
b) protects journalists that accept gifts.
c) allows one to judge a decision by its results.
d) is a key part of egalitarian moral decision making.
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21) Believing that the killing of a small child in a poor urban area deserves the same journalistic
attention as the killing of a small child in a rich suburban area is an example of
a) a pragmatic ethic.
b) a utilitarian ethic.
c) an egalitarian ethic.
d) the Golden Mean.
22) The Hutchins Commission recommended that journalists and other media people use a(n)
________ system of ethics.
a) Aristotelian
b) deontological
c) pragmatic
d) social responsibility
23) Arguing that people act morally when they follow good rules is
a) pragmatic theory.
b) utilitarian theory.
c) social responsibility theory.
d) deontological ethics.
24) Which of the following is deontological?
a) situational ethics
b) social responsibility theory
c) utilitarian theory
d) categorical imperatives
25) When decisions are based on the expectation of having good consequences or positive
results, the decision maker is using
a) teleological ethics.
b) the divine right of kings.
c) the theory of secular command.
d) libertarian theory.
26) What flaw do teleologists observe in deontological thinking?
a) People have imperfect foresight.
b) Great harm can flow from blind allegiance to rules.
c) Deontologists operate without guiding principles.
d) Deontologists rely too heavily on the facts of a situation.
27) The major approaches to ethics described in the text are deontological, teleological and
a) prudential.
b) codian.
c) effervescent.
d) situational.
28) A major criticism of situational ethics is that they
a) do not offer flexibility in morally ambiguous situations.
b) essentially require people to predict the future.
c) remove the power of decision making from the individual.
d) leave one prone to flip-flopping on moral issues.
29) A useful four-quadrant model that can be used for sorting through ethical problems is
a) four-square ethics.
b) situational ethics.
c) Potter’s Box.
d) a SWOT analysis.
30) Which of the following is NOT a quadrant of Potter’s Box?
a) loyalties
b) values
c) outcomes
d) principles
31) In using Potter’s Box, dealing with the quadrant for “situation” involves
a) imposing values.
b) agreeing upon principles.
c) applying the loyalties.
d) selecting the facts.
32) Which of the following is NOT a function of sorting through the “values” quadrant in
Potter’s Box?
a) identifying underlying values
b) matching values to available choices
c) identifying moral principles associated with the values
d) listing the positive and negative values
33) The Potter’s Box loyalty quadrant applies to journalists in that it can be seen to ask reporters
to prioritize all of the following loyalties EXCEPT those to
a) one’s readers.
b) society.
c) one’s employer.
d) the government.
34) Potter’s Box
a) provides clear-cut answers.
b) provides no answers, just a process to guide a decision.
c) offers practical solutions.
d) has been disproven as an effective tool.
35) What is prudence?
a) extreme caution
b) reliance on principles
c) applying wisdom to a situation
d) upholding a categorical imperative
36) Janet Cooke, a reporter at the Washington Post, fabricated a story about an
a) 82-year-old Alzheimer’s patient.
b) 8-year-old drug addict.
c) 18-year-old prostitute.
d) 18-year-old drug dealer.
37) Why is staged news a less significant ethics question for publicists than for journalists?
a) By definition, publicists are amoral.
b) Staged news is always free from bias.
c) Staged news is creative, and ethics never enters into creative works.
d) Publicists generally are up front about what they are doing.
38) Media professionals justify re-creations as
a) more costly than on-scene reporting.
b) helping people quickly understand the situation.
c) an exciting diversion from their daily drudgery.
d) time-savers that free them to cover more important stories.
39) Selective editing is
a) making editorial choices with the moral outcome of the decisions in mind.
b) using omission and/or juxtaposition with the goal of distorting.
c) the use of PR events in place of real news.
d) carefully weeding out the falsehoods and misleading facts while editing a story.
40) The different ethical standards as shown by the Tonight Show and the New York Times
demonstrates that ethics partly stems from the media’s
a) operation.
b) pragmatism.
c) deontology.
d) morality.
41) Sensationalizing in a fictional story is acceptable, while it causes an outrage if it is in a
biography. This is because ethics also depends on __________ expectations.
a) audience
b) journalist
c) publisher
d) newspaper
42) Which best characterizes the relationship between personal ethics and the law?
a) Personal ethics tend to be more limiting than the law.
b) The law tends to be more flexible than personal ethics.
c) Personal ethics tend to be a subset of the law.
d) The law tends to be more situational than personal ethics.
43) If accepted practices are not continually re-evaluated, which is likely to occur?
a) Practices become habits.
b) Practices become obsolete.
c) Practices become opportunistic.
d) Practices become universal.