COM3707
ASSIGNMENT 2 SEMESTER 2 2025
UNIQUE NO.
DUE DATE: 25 SEPTEMBER 2025
, Overall Assignment Introduction
This assignment examines the ethical foundations and frameworks that guide media
practice in contemporary society. It begins by clarifying what ethics and media ethics
entail and why ethical reflection shapes everyday decisions by media professionals and
audiences. The discussion then distinguishes meta-ethics from normative ethics to
show how questions about the meaning of moral terms underpin prescriptive guidance
about what the media ought to do. Building on this, the assignment contrasts normative
media theories—societal frameworks for how media should function—with professional
media ethics, which translate principles into newsroom standards and codes. It
analyzes core characteristics of selected meta-ethical theories and illustrates their
relevance to real-world media dilemmas. The assignment further explains the origins
and main features of four influential normative media theories and reassesses them
through public communication values such as freedom, equality, and participation. It
also evaluates how national legislation and recent case studies shape normative media
ethics, while considering the risks of overregulating professional conduct. The work
concludes with a brief self-assessment and reflection on knowledge gained, skills
developed, strengths and gaps identified, and the extent to which the relevant learning
outcomes have been achieved, presented in line with the required technical standards.
Question 1
Introduction
Ethics provides the framework through which individuals and societies distinguish
between acceptable and unacceptable conduct. In the media, ethics ensures that
practitioners act responsibly in gathering, producing, and distributing information. This
question explores the meaning of ethics and media ethics and their significance in
shaping human and professional behaviour. It also unpacks the distinction between
meta-ethics and normative ethics, before drawing a line between normative media
theories and professional media ethics. Lastly, three selected meta-ethical theories are
ASSIGNMENT 2 SEMESTER 2 2025
UNIQUE NO.
DUE DATE: 25 SEPTEMBER 2025
, Overall Assignment Introduction
This assignment examines the ethical foundations and frameworks that guide media
practice in contemporary society. It begins by clarifying what ethics and media ethics
entail and why ethical reflection shapes everyday decisions by media professionals and
audiences. The discussion then distinguishes meta-ethics from normative ethics to
show how questions about the meaning of moral terms underpin prescriptive guidance
about what the media ought to do. Building on this, the assignment contrasts normative
media theories—societal frameworks for how media should function—with professional
media ethics, which translate principles into newsroom standards and codes. It
analyzes core characteristics of selected meta-ethical theories and illustrates their
relevance to real-world media dilemmas. The assignment further explains the origins
and main features of four influential normative media theories and reassesses them
through public communication values such as freedom, equality, and participation. It
also evaluates how national legislation and recent case studies shape normative media
ethics, while considering the risks of overregulating professional conduct. The work
concludes with a brief self-assessment and reflection on knowledge gained, skills
developed, strengths and gaps identified, and the extent to which the relevant learning
outcomes have been achieved, presented in line with the required technical standards.
Question 1
Introduction
Ethics provides the framework through which individuals and societies distinguish
between acceptable and unacceptable conduct. In the media, ethics ensures that
practitioners act responsibly in gathering, producing, and distributing information. This
question explores the meaning of ethics and media ethics and their significance in
shaping human and professional behaviour. It also unpacks the distinction between
meta-ethics and normative ethics, before drawing a line between normative media
theories and professional media ethics. Lastly, three selected meta-ethical theories are
