Global media ethics, the good life, and justice

Abstract

One of the challenges for global media ethics is to define a theoretical perspective from which to adjudicate cross-cultural value conflicts. Early work in this field attempted to identify a universal norm from which the specific, applied norms of media professions and practices could be derived. However, postcolonial and pluralist critiques have revealed potential problems with this approach. To avoid such problems, neo-Aristotelian critiques have proposed focusing less on defining universal norms of obligated action and more on acknowledging local variations in conceptions of the good life. These critiques rightly stress the goal of understanding the diversity of ethical values both within and across cultures. However, when the goal of media ethics is to provide guidance for cooperative resolutions of value conflicts, the generalizability of norms remains an important issue. This article reframes this debate more as a division of labor than as a rivalry in approaches.