• First media code, adopted in 1923
• code of ethics: statement that defines acceptable or unacceptable behavior

• classic case of representing fiction as truth
• wrote a fake story about a heroin addicted child named Jimmy, titled "Jimmy's World" for the Washington Post
• lied on her resume
• her lies were discovered when the Pulitzer committee was compiling a biographical sheet on Cooke

• Aristotle: advocate of the Golden Mean
• Golden Mean: moderation is the best course
• Modern journalistic balance and fairness are founded on this principle

• A principle that can be applied in any and all circumstances with moral certitude
• thought of by German philosopher Immanuel Kant in the early 1800s
• in a way, Kant recast the Judeo-Christian "do unto others" admonition but more intellectually and less intuitively

• Robert Hutchins: called for the new media to emphasize its social responsibility, not only its freedom
• Hutchins commission: advocated social responsibility as goal and result of media activities 

Situational Ethics

• Make ethics decisions on the basis of situation at hand

• trip with expenses paid by someone who may expect favors in return

• creating an event to attract news media attention and coverage

• Ralph Potter: ethicist who devised Potter's box
• Potter's box: tool for sorting through the pros and cons of ethics questions
• Situation, values, principles, and loyalties