Searching for the Ethical Journalist: An Exploratory Study of the Moral Development of News Workers

This study gathered preliminary baseline data on the moral development of journalists using the Defining Issues Test (DIT), an instrument based on Kohlberg's (1969) 6 stages. Results show that a sample of journalists scored 4th highest among professionals tested using the DIT. The journalists ranked behind seminarians/philosophers, medical students, and physicians but above dental students, nurses, graduate students, undergraduate college students, veterinary students, and adults in general. No significant differences were found between various groups of journalists, including men and women, and broadcast and print journalists. The journalists in the study scored significantly higher on the 3 journalism-specific dilemmas than on 3 nonjournalism dilemmas.