COMM 317: Ethics in advertising? ASSIGNMENT FOR MONDAY

Q. If news and advertising are part of the same process, what is that process?

A. Duh!

ALSO: Read Chapter 4, with the above question in the back of your mind.

Here are a couple links ...

One is to a Vatican statement on Ethics in Communication

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We say again: The media do nothing by themselves; they are instruments, tools, used as people choose to use them. In reflecting upon the means of social communication, we must face honestly the "most essential" question raised by technological progress: whether, as a result of it, the human person "is becoming truly better, that is to say more mature spiritually, more aware of the dignity of his humanity, more responsible, more open to others, especially the neediest and the weakest, and readier to give and to aid all" (Pope John Paul II, Redemptor Hominis, 15).

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19. In short, the media can be used for good or for evil—it is a matter of choice. "It can never be forgotten that communication through the media is not a utilitarian exercise intended simply to motivate, persuade or sell. Still less is it a vehicle for ideology. The media can at times reduce human beings to units of consumption or competing interest groups, or manipulate viewers and readers and listeners as mere ciphers from whom some advantage is sought, whether product sales or political support; and these things destroy community. It is the task of communication to bring people together and enrich their lives, not isolate and exploit them. The means of social communication, properly used, can help to create and sustain a human community based on justice and charity; and, in so far as they do that, they will be signs of hope" (Pope John Paul II, Message for the 32nd World Communications Day, 1998).

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The other is to a canned speech on ethics on the Advertising Educational Foundation website.

Tangent: What's the ethics of canned speeches? Or is it a tangent? Maybe not.

Note: The following speech was written by Chris Moore of Ogilvy & Mather to help liven up what can be a bland topic. While it has been edited by the [Advertising Educational Foundation] and contains basic information about topics we have found to be of interest to students, you will want to use your own words and examples where possible.