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This work establishes a contemporary profile of virtue in professional media practice. Author Patrick Lee Plaisance examines the experiences, perspectives, moral stances, and demographic data of two dozen professional exemplars in journalism and public relations. Plaisance conducted extensive personal "life story" interviews and collected survey data to assess the exemplars' personality traits, ethical ideologies, moral reasoning skills and perceived workplace climate.
The chosen professionals span the geographic United States, and include Pulitzer Prize winners and trendsetting PR corporate executives, ranging from rising stars to established veterans. Their thoughts, opinions, and experiences provide readers with an insider's perspective on the thought process of decision makers in media.
The unique observations in this volume will be stimulating reading for practitioners, researchers, and students in journalism and public relations. Virtue in Media establishes a key benchmark, and sets an agenda for future research into the moral psychology of media professionals.
List of contents
Introduction One – Moral Psychology: The Grand Convergence Two – Design of an Exemplar Study Three – A Profile of Media Exemplars By The Numbers Four – Patterns That Point to Virtue Five – Professionalism and Public Service Six – Moral Courage Seven – Humility and Hubris Eight – Crucibles of Experience Conclusion
About the author
Patrick Lee Plaisance is Professor of Journalism at Colorado State University. His research focuses on media ethics theory, moral psychology, journalism values, and media sociology, and he teaches media ethics, reporting and communication theory. Prior to his academic career, he worked for nearly 15 years as a journalist at numerous American newspapers.
