Tell me a story: how narratives shape reporters' ethics

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Last Modified
  • March 22, 2019
Creator
  • Hill, Mary
    • Affiliation: Hussman School of Journalism and Media
Abstract
  • This study examines how reporters use workplace or newsroom narratives as guides for correct action in making ethical decisions. This analysis, based on in-depth interviews, employs the theory of narrative inquiry from the field of communication. The study shows that these narratives can lead to discussions on broader ethical matters. The journalists in this analysis consider narratives as part of their guidance system in their ethical decision-making. This dissertation looks at the decisionmaking process of a dozen reporters at weekly and major-market daily newspapers in the United States. These experienced journalists were interviewed in-depth. They were from the states of Arizona, California, Maryland, Ohio, Massachusetts, New York, Michigan, and Iowa. This study suggests that ethics codes or other forms of guidance are not as influential as the "cautionary tales" or newsroom narratives.
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  • In Copyright
Advisor
  • Shaw, Donald Lewis
Degree granting institution
  • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
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  • Open access
Date uploaded
  • October 20, 2010

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