Sandra L. Borden

Bio: Sandra L. Borden is an academic researcher from Western Michigan University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Journalism & Media ethics. The author has an hindex of 12, co-authored 26 publications receiving 417 citations. Previous affiliations of Sandra L. Borden include Indiana University.

The Role of Journalist and the Performance of Journalism: Ethical Lessons From “Fake” News (Seriously)

Abstract: Some have suggested that Jon Stewart of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (TDS) and Stephen Colbert of The Colbert Report (TCR) represent a new kind of journalist. We propose, rather, that Stewart and Colbert are imitators who do not fully inhabit the role of journalist. They are interesting because sometimes they do a better job performing the functions of journalism than journalists themselves. However, Stewart and Colbert do not share journalists' moral commitments. Therefore, their performances are neither motivated nor constrained by these commitments. Using a virtue theory framework, we suggest that this distinction between journalists and their imitators is morally significant because it implies differences in the kinds of excellence these moral agents are pursuing in their work. Rather than evaluating the work of Colbert and Stewart in the role of journalists, we propose analyzing their contributions to media ethics in the role of media critics.

Journalism as Practice: MacIntyre, Virtue Ethics and the Press

Abstract: Preface * Ethics and the Commodification of Journalism * Journalism as Practice * The Tradition of Journalism * A Theory of Journalism * Practice-sustaining Virtues * The Practice's Role as a Moral Community * Professionalism and the Practice * A Common Cause Bibliography Index

Professionalism, Not Professionals

Abstract: The proliferation of news and information sources has motivated a need to identify those providing legitimate journalism. One temptation is to go the route of such fields as medicine and law, namely to formally professionalize. This gives a clear method for determining who is a member, with an array of associated responsibilities and rewards. We argue that making such a formal move in journalism is a mistake: Journalism does not meet the traditional criteria, and its core ethos is in conflict with the professional mindset. We thus shift the focus from whether the person is journalist to whether the work satisfies the conditions that characterize legitimate journalism. In explaining those conditions we also look at mechanisms for enhancing the power of persons doing journalism, drawing upon lessons from the labor movement. We also consider a self-declaration model while urging increased literacy from all participants in the news gathering and consuming enterprise.

A Model for Evaluating Journalist Resistance to Business Constraints

Abstract: Should journalists resist business constraints they perceive as a threat to their professional integrity? This article suggests that the answer, at least sometimes, is yes. But in choosing a resistance strategy, journalists should not consider the "take this job and shove it" stance as the only option with moral integrity-or even as the best ethical option. This article develops a model of resistance strategies using the experiences of journalists at one newspaper to illustrate the range of options available for resisting business constraints within a news organization. The types of strategies identified vary along the ethical dimensions of (a) consideration of organizational, as well as professional, goals; and (b) openness with regard to journalists' preference for professional goals.

Philosophical Applications of Cognitive Science.Moral Imagination: Implications of Cognitive Science for Ethics

Abstract: Preface Acknowledgments Introduction: How Cognitive Science Changes Ethics 1: Reason as Force: The Moral Law Folk Theory 2: Metaphoric Morality 3: The Metaphoric Basis of Moral Theory 4: Beyond Rules 5: The Impoverishment of Reason: Our Enlightenment Legacy 6: What's Wrong with the Objectivist Self 7: The Narrative Context of Self and Action 8: Moral Imagination 9: Living without Absolutes: Objectivity and the Conditions for Criticism 10: Preserving Our Best Enlightenment Moral Ideals Notes Index

The Elements of Journalism: What Newspeople Should Know and the Public Should Expect

Abstract: The Elements of Journalism: What Newspeople Should Know and the Public Should Expect. Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel. New York: Crown Publishers, 2001. 205 pp. $20 hbk. Inherent in the behavior and process we call "journalism" is controversy. Journalism's inexact, less-than-scientific character almost assures it will occasionally enter a crisis, becoming awash in change, its self-identity threatened or its credibility challenged. Just as naturally, we can depend on someone to attempt to right the ship, calm the waters, and smooth the sails. Enter The Elements of Journalism, which simply lists and details what the authors consider journalism's ten guiding principles and purpose for the enlightenment of journalists and the general public. For the former, the book serves as a Journalism 101 moral refresher: Journalism's purpose is truth, produced by those loyal to that purpose and to the citizens (not to profits). Committee of Concerned journalists Chairman Bill Kovach and Project for Excellence in journalism Director Tom Rosenstiel assert, however, that truth is not enough: There is also verification, to which they devote a chapter that's as good a reporting primer as any textbook. The authors explain "the intellectual principles of a science of reporting" gleaned from numerous discussions with and surveys of editors, journalists, and members of the public. As a CCJ member, I applaud the effort: Journalists need to be reminded of their profession's high ethical objective. Any craft-journalism included-requires a howto inventory. For the public, the book provides a glimpse into why serious journalists behave as they do; journalism has a purpose over and above selling newspapers and airtime. The lay reader discovers there is a rationale for what journalists cover and that not only is journalism a map with which to navigate society, but that good journalism strives to be accurate and comprehensive. But it is not enough to index-as the text does-all the proper characteristics. To be sure, the authors credibly explain each item. For example, they say journalists have an obligation to monitor the powerful because-as investigative reporting gets trivialized (thanks to consumer-oriented topics such as the honesty of auto brake mechanics) and challenged-journalism's function as a public forum becomes weakened, giving way to "a new wave of journalism as assertion." But as if it were Moses coming down from the Big Newsroom In The Sky, the book comes off as so many pronouncements. This is no text for a skeptic; while each element gets its due in terms of description and analysis, there is no Burning Bush-no original explanation exists for the list as a whole. By its structure, the text expects the reader to accept the idea that journalism is a recipe. The book makes a weak attempt at synthesis in the last chapter, in which the authors claim that journalists' responsibility to conscience ties all the other elements together. On its face, this makes sense: For example, what journalist would not say his or her conscience is the reason for his or her search (via journalism) for truth? But the final chapter does not engage in such analytical application of the elements, choosing instead to elaborate on the role of conscience in newsrooms and the threat certain newsroom cultures pose against individual conscience. …