Towards an Open Ethics: Implications of New Media Platforms for Global Ethics Discourse

This article provides an international perspective on how new media technologies are shifting the parameters of debates about journalism ethics. It argues that new, mixed media help create an "open media ethics" and offers an exploration of how these developments encourage a transition from a closed professional ethics to an ethics that is the concern of all citizens. The relation between an open media ethics and the idea of a global fifth estate, facilitated by global online media, is explored. The article concludes by providing suggestions for key normative conditions that could guide media ethics in this new media world. Notes 1. This is arguably what happened when the PCC did not uphold the complaints against Moir despite overwhelming public outcry. An opportunity to engage the public about the content of its code was lost. At a panel discussion in London (Risks and Responsibility Online, London School of Economics, March 11, 2010), PCC director Stephen Abell denied that the 25,000 complaints were not taken seriously. He also said the sheer number of complaints did not influence their decision because the PCC responds to every complaint. While Abell welcomed the freedom of expression that Twitter provides to complainants, he saw the PCC as a "lightning conductor" that enabled people to register their objections instead of abusing Moir online. However, Janine Gibson, the Guardian's online editor, said the PCC cannot "ignore that volume of outrage."