Ethically Speaking: Media and Journalism

What do we talk about when we talk about ethics? Questions of moral philosophy affect all facets of our everyday existence. There are fundamentals of decency, of responsibility, of community, that underpin and define our society, but what are they?

Every second month throughout 2010 Australia’s finest ethical thinkers and industry experts will come together to tease out those principles that run deeper than our Codes & Practices, our Rules & Regulations. How might we live an ethical life in the minefield of contemporary relations?

And where better to start than in the world of media? The first session in this series will be held in proud partnership with the University of Melbourne’s Centre for Advanced Journalism on Wednesday, 17 February.

A panel of top journalists and ethical thinkers, including Paul Chadwick, Mark Danner, Gay Alcorn and Tony Coady, under the guidance of former Age editor and CAJ director Michael Gawenda, will tease out the old and new ethical dilemmas facing our journalists against the backdrop of a rapidly changing media landscape.

Presented in conjunction with University of Melbourne’s Centre for Advanced Journalism.

Presenters

Gay Alcorn

Gay Alcorn began her career in Queensland, and joined The Sunday Age before its launch in 1989.

Paul Chadwick

Paul Chadwick, journalist and lawyer, has been the inaugural Director of Editorial Policies at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation since 2007.

Tony Coady

C.A.J. (Tony) Coady is Vice Chancellor’s Fellow and Professorial Fellow in the Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics at the University of Melbourne, where he was formerly Boyce Gibson Professor of Philosophy.

Mark Danner

Mark Danner has reported and written on foreign affairs, politics and war for 25 years. He was for many years a staff writer at The New Yorker and contributes frequently to The New York Review of Books, The New York Times Magazine, and other publications.

Michael Gawenda

Michael Gawenda is one of Australia’s best-known journalists and authors. In a journalism career spanning three decades, Michael has been a political reporter, a foreign correspondent based in London and in Washington, a columnist, a feature writer and an editor.