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Chapter 4: Social Justice

This chapter explains news media’s longstanding goal of serving the minority groups in society and a need for a more compassionate journalism. The chapter introduces four problems of social justice on a different scale but involving typical issues of justice nonetheless. In all cases, a responsible press is seen to play a critical role. All four situations assume that genuine social concerns are at stake and not just high-powered special-interest groups and authoritarian governments seeking their own ends. Each of the five examples pertains to the disenfranchised: refugees in the first case, the poor in the second, women in the third, and the victims of war in the fourth. In all cases, the reporters felt some measure of obligation. Although the news media’s response is sometimes extremely weak, no cause is dismissed out of hand by journalists in these situations.

Chapter 4 – Video Introduction


Case 16

Discussion Questions

  • What role may the use of statistics play in the coverage of the refugee crisis?
  • How can statistics be misused in the reporting of the refugee crisis?
  • How can “compassion fatigue” be differentiated from anti-immigration sentiments?

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Case 17

Discussion Questions

  • Are journalists obligated to provide solutions for problems that they raise or discover? Why or why not?
  • What might stop news outlets and journalists from “becoming experts in a topic” and doing reporting like The Charleston Gazzette.

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Case 18

Discussion Questions

  • How have certain societal norms or expectations changed since the focus of many movements has shifted to informing consumers about the sexist content in media, rather than changing the media itself?
  • Can the Veil of Ignorance be employed in reporting to help improve the number of women’s voices present within media?
  • What might be some downsides of implementing this principle? What might be overlooked if it is applied?

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Case 19

Discussion Questions

  • What might be the consequences of dropping neutrality in reporting on war, and implementing Judeo-Christian ethics in war coverage?
  • How might the Golden Rule be implemented in a reporting plan?

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