Real-World Media Ethics

CHAPTER 2

Business Ethics in Mass Media

By Martin P. Carlson

Because financial considerations underlie many media activities—after all, they don’t call it show business for nothing—let’s first take a look at how business is conducted and then examine how ethical issues come into play, with a particular focus on television, an area of the entertainment industry where I have worked for more than 15 years.

Studio executives looking for the next big hit turn to a variety of sources as ideas for new television programs. As an example of the breadth of potential sources, take a look at these recognizable television series, grouped according to their origins.

•  Writer’s original idea: Cheers, The Wonder Years, The X-Files, ER, Malcolm ...