Learning Media Ethics in a Multicultural Context

The acquisition of sound media ethics competencies is a key learning outcome of media education. In a world marked by globalization and intercultural media engagements, students' possession of ethical competencies relevant to their careers has raised critical questions about the quality of ethical standards. We argue that, while media ethics discussions have given rise to numerous perspectives relating to the scope and substance of ethical competencies in the 21st Century, multiculturalism in holds a promise for preparing ethical communicators. The study draws on a survey of 32 media students at the American University of Sharjah, to demonstrate how multicultural education based in a broader social context with marked cultural diversity promotes hybrid perspectives of media ethics. Most of respondents reported synthetic ethical perspectives combining local and global media ethics perspectives would provide them with appropriate competencies to effectively handle both local and international issues and events using sound ethical standards.