Assessing Ethical Sensitivity in Television News Viewers: A Preliminary Investigation

Lind, Rebecca Ann; Rarick, David L.

doi:10.1207/s15327728jmme1002_1

Cited by 7 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…Lind's (1993) research model parallels Downloaded by [Eastern Michigan University] at 08:31 10 October 2014 these processes in that her Component 1 involves research on interpretive processes after viewers select and view a television news story; here, viewers interpret the story as having (or not having) ethical issues in reporting. Our previous research found that viewers differ in their ability to see ethical issues in reporting and identified the four sensitivity abilities (Lind, 1997;Lind & Rarick, 1995). Lind's Component 2 asks viewers to decide whether a news story should be run, and prior work suggests that viewers can make such decisions and can provide ethics-based reasons for their evaluations (Lind, 1993;Lind & Rarick, 1992).…”

Section: Research Model and Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The content analysis uses well-defined categories representing all four of the ETHSEN ability areas discovered in prior research (Lind, 1997;Lind & Rarick, 1995;Lind, Rarick, & Svenson-Lepper, 1997;Lind, Svenson-Lepper, & Rarick, 1999). In addition to the defined content categories related to story characteristics, ethical issues, consequences, and stakeholders, our previous research identified three other factors that indicate ethical sensitivity: the timing, breadth, and depth of responses given in our structured interview following exposure to the story (Lind & Rarick, 1994).…”

Section: Ethical Sensitivity Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Viewer Sensitivity to Ethical Issues in TV Coverage of the Clinton-Flowers Scandal

Lind¹,

Rarick

1999

Political Communication

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Section: Research Model and Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Ethical Sensitivity Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Viewer Sensitivity to Ethical Issues in TV Coverage of the Clinton-Flowers Scandal

Lind¹,

Rarick

1999

Political Communication

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“…The DEST repre,, c.ents important advances in ethical sensitivity research, but provides d l y global scores and does little to analyze the perceptual, reasoning, or decisionmaking processes used as respondents evaluate the scenarios. Lind and Rarick (1995) argued that empirical evidence of ethical sensitivity seems to lie along three distinct dimensions: breadth (the range of indicators of ethical sensitivity), depth (the amount of thought and detail evident in such indicators), and time (how early in the interview respondent raised ethical issues). Their research differentiated levels of ethical sensitivity in news viewers based on qaalitative textual afialysis of interview data.…”

Section: Four-component Model and Ethical Sensitivitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Cognitive maps assess news viewer ethical sensitivity

Lind¹,

Rarick²

1997

Journal of Mass Media Ethics

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“…Furthermore, ethical sensitivity in TV news viewers, according to Lind and Rarick (1995, pp. 75-76), seems to be evidenced along three distinct dimensions: breadth (the range of indicators or aspects of ethical sensitivity), depth (the amount of thought and detail evident in such indicators), and time (how early in the interview the respondent raised ethical issues).…”

Section: Rest's Four-component Model Of Moral Behavior and Ethical Smentioning

confidence: 99%

Ethical Sensitivity in Viewer Evaluations of a TV News Investigative Report

Lind

1997

Human Communication Research

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This exploratoy study uses cognitive-mapping techniques to investigate the ethical sensitivity of 99 television news viewers. Transcripts of structured in-depth interviews w e analyzed according tofour critical content dimensions ofethical sensitivity: sto y characteristics, ethical issues, umsequences,andstakeholders. The study identijied the indicators ofethical sensitivity that represent the specific concepts making up each of the content dimensions andfound a consistent pattern o f h e a y reliance on just afew of the available concepts. This study also investigated the d i f m c e s in ethical sensitivib among viewers and presented preliminary descriptions of some dtjierent types of ethical sensitivity. The study concluded that although it may indeed be useful to consider individuals as having low or high ethical sensitivity, it may be moreffuitful to consider them as refrecting d1-t types of ethical sensitivity. Strengths and weaknesses of using cognitive mapping are also presented.cholarly investigations of media ethics have tended to focus on the content of media messages (sensationalism, invasion of S privacy stereotyping, excessive violence) or on the behavior and decisions of media owners and gatekeepers (bias in editing and reporting, monopoly ownership, advertiser pressures). There are few studies of how audience members see ethical issues and problems in the news content they consume. Aside from a few studies of audience attitudes to the news media (Bower, 1.985; Roper, 1985) and studies of media credibility (Gaziano, 1988; Johnson, 1993;West, 1994), there is little empirical research on how audience members process, evaluate, and react to ethically problematic media content. More attention to audience reception of ethically controversial media content would help redress the preoccupation with gatekeeper behaviors and encourage a perspective acknowledging reciprocal roles and responsibilities of media and audience.

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Assessing Ethical Sensitivity in Television News Viewers: A Preliminary Investigation

Cited by 7 publications

References 3 publications

Viewer Sensitivity to Ethical Issues in TV Coverage of the Clinton-Flowers Scandal

Viewer Sensitivity to Ethical Issues in TV Coverage of the Clinton-Flowers Scandal

Cognitive maps assess news viewer ethical sensitivity

Ethical Sensitivity in Viewer Evaluations of a TV News Investigative Report

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