Journalist Reliance on Teens and Children

Journalists' Moral Judgment About Children

“…One of those studies used in-depth interviews with Canadian journalists and showed that journalists believed they did everything in their power to protect children, but that there were no real guidelines or protocols for ensuring this (Fullerton, 2004). The other two analyzed the content of news stories in the United States and produced conflicting results; Mackay (2008) found that children were more likely to be named than not in news stories, while Slopen et al (2007) found more elements of responsible journalism in stories about mental health issues and children. Because there is little on this topic and the findings of the only two studies of behavior conflict, this study asks research questions rather than makes predictions using hypotheses.…”

“…Only three empirical studies could be found that related directly to the questions in this research (Fullerton, 2004;Mackay, 2008;Slopen et al, 2007). One of those studies used in-depth interviews with Canadian journalists and showed that journalists believed they did everything in their power to protect children, but that there were no real guidelines or protocols for ensuring this (Fullerton, 2004).…”

“…Journalists acknowledge that codes of ethics are only somewhat helpful, and that many journalists do not read codes (Williams, 1997). Furthermore, many journalists say their own newsrooms have no specific policies on dealing with children (Mackay, 2008). Rather, reporters tend to develop their own ethical guidelines over time (Allen, 2003).…”

“…Trade journals are tackling the subject (Daugherty, 2002;Jenkins, 2002;Lipinski, 1998;Stone, 1999), as is scholarly research (Fullerton, 2004;Mackay, 2008;Moeller, 2002;Slopen et al, 2007). The consensus among journalists is that children deserve special protection, and that journalists do take extra care to protect children's privacy, ensure the accuracy of their accounts, help them understand the consequences of media coverage, and use their images responsibly (Fullerton, 2004).…”

“…While most of the discussion by journalists presumes the extra steps they take to protect children from harm, social science research is more equivocal. Some studies show evidence of more responsible journalism when children are involved (Slopen et al, 2007), while others show the opposite (Mackay, 2008). The purpose of this study is to examine the ethical decision-making of US journalists when children are the subjects of news coverage at two levels: what journalists' think they do when it comes to using children in the news and what they actually do.…”