Mass Comm Bachelor of Communication Bachelor of Communication: Ethical Principles and Professionalism 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A news anchor reads sponsored content on air without identifying it as paid advertising. This violates FCC rules against:
- Payola and plugola (Correct answer)
- Indecency standards
- Equal time provisions
- The Fairness Doctrine
Correct answer: Payola and plugola
Payola (undisclosed payments for airing music) and plugola (undisclosed promotion of products) are illegal under FCC broadcasting rules.
Question 2: The 'watchdog' role of journalism is ethically grounded in the idea that:
- Journalists are licensed professionals with special legal status
- A free press serves democracy by holding powerful institutions accountable (Correct answer)
- Media companies have a financial interest in government transparency
- Reporters are protected by the First Amendment from all legal consequences
Correct answer: A free press serves democracy by holding powerful institutions accountable
The watchdog function of the press is ethically justified by journalism's democratic role in exposing abuses of power that citizens cannot monitor themselves.
Question 3: A PR firm creates a 'grassroots' advocacy campaign that is actually funded by a corporation. This deceptive practice is known as:
- Greenwashing
- Astroturfing (Correct answer)
- Spin doctoring
- Sockpuppeting
Correct answer: Astroturfing
Astroturfing is the practice of simulating grassroots public support for a cause or position that is actually organized and funded by corporate or political interests.
Question 4: When applying virtue ethics to communication, what question should a professional primarily ask?
- What action produces the best measurable outcomes?
- What duty does my professional code require?
- What would a person of good character do in this situation? (Correct answer)
- What action is legally permissible?
Correct answer: What would a person of good character do in this situation?
Virtue ethics focuses on the character and motivations of the moral agent rather than rules or consequences, asking what a virtuous professional would do.
Question 5: A media outlet publishes a story based on a single unnamed source. The primary ethical problem is:
- Violating the source's right to privacy
- Insufficient verification and lack of accountability (Correct answer)
- Defamation risk from identifying the source indirectly
- Breach of the shield law
Correct answer: Insufficient verification and lack of accountability
Relying on a single unnamed source fails the verification standard because the claim cannot be independently confirmed and the source cannot be held accountable.
Question 6: Which concept describes the ethical responsibility of advertisers to ensure their messages do not exploit psychological vulnerabilities of target audiences?
- Consumer sovereignty
- Behavioral targeting ethics
- Duty not to manipulate (Correct answer)
- Persuasion knowledge model
Correct answer: Duty not to manipulate
The duty not to manipulate holds that ethical advertising may persuade through legitimate means but must not exploit cognitive biases, emotions, or vulnerabilities.
Question 7: A communication student plagiarizes a portion of their thesis from a published article. Beyond academic dishonesty, this also violates:
- FERPA privacy protections
- The ethical principle of attribution and intellectual honesty (Correct answer)
- FCC content standards
- The SPJ Code of Ethics
Correct answer: The ethical principle of attribution and intellectual honesty
Plagiarism violates the foundational communicative principle of intellectual honesty, which requires crediting original creators for their ideas and words.
Mass Comm Bachelor of Communication Bachelor of Communication: Ethical Principles and Professionalism 5
A news anchor reads sponsored content on air without identifying it as paid advertising.
This violates FCC rules against: