Identifying and Defining Values in Media Codes of Ethics

Among their uses, mass media codes of ethics declare the values of groups of media practitioners. This paper uses Schwartz's social psychology typology to identify and compare 216 values stated or implied in 15 codes of ethics for associations of journalists, bloggers, advertising/marketing practitioners, and public relations practitioners. Despite differences in their communication goals, codes generally share many of the same general values types yet often use similar words to describe different values and loyalties. Notes 1. This article uses the term “profession” to refer to the crafts of journalism, public relations, advertising, and entertainment media. It uses the word reluctantly, even though some groups (such as the SPJ) include the word “professional” in their name or throughout their codes. This footnote acknowledges the continuing debate over the definition of the term, the autonomy of practitioners, and the voluntary nature and lack of enforceability of ethics codes. See Allison (1986), Kwitny (1990), CitationSinger (2003), and CitationDennis and Merrill (2006) for discussions of media practitioners as professionals.