Ethical Blindness in Journalism

In this chapter, two eras of American journalism are examined and compared. The first occurred in the 1950s; the second, some 60 to 70 years later. These specific periods coincided with arguably the most chaotic episodes in modern American politics and journalism, and at both times journalism failed. The first occasion was the advent of Senator Joseph McCarthy’s political power and the ensuing years that carried his name; the second was the candidacy and presidency of Donald Trump. There has been discussion about the problems with objective journalism, the abolition of the Fairness Doctrine and theories about how American journalism ended up being as partisan as the politics it covers. There may be another element at play. Ethical blindness is not about people who are lacking in ethics. Rather, it is a state in which certain conditions are so overpowering that the ethical dimensions of decisions are temporarily unrecognized. Whereas ethical blindness is a concept utilized in a commercial/business sense, it has never been applied to journalism. Upon studying the circumstances during the times of McCarthy and Trump, there are many convincing corresponding factors, including the power of strong contexts, situational, organizational and institutional pressures, and a culture of fear.