The Lead: Jonathan Peters on State of Media Ethics

The Lead is a podcast hosted and produced by Charlotte Norsworthy in the Cox Institute for Journalism Innovation, Management & Leadership at the University of Georgia. We talk about how to get ahead in the media industry by interviewing the people who did.

One theme I wanted to incorporate in this season of The Lead was this idea of media ethics. In j-school, students are taught the standards of high-quality journalism such as truth, minimizing harm or transparency.

However, I also wanted to explore whether or not these fundamentals ought to be re-examined in an age where trust in the media is scraping the bottom of the barrel.

I didn’t have to look far for a skilled voice on this subject. I reached out to Grady’s own Jonathan Peters, a communication law professor and expert when it comes to the subject of media law and ethics.

Not only did we cover dense topics like anonymous sourcing, but he also gave some really refreshing advice for students experiencing an internal panic over jobs and internships.

Give it a listen.

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