Gibt es (die) eine Medienethik?

Today's debate about media ethics is no longer a discussion of individual cases or scandals but is characterised by the conscious endeavour to place the ethics of its sub-areas on the solid ground of scientific reflection. The interdisciplinary orientation of media ethics and the distinct character of its fields of application have undoubtedly enriched the discussion but have also lead to the consequence that problems are addressed from diverging perspectives and that solutions are proposed with diverse methodologies. There are hardly any proposals, however, for a comprehensive media ethics including all sub-areas. If it turns out to be impossible, however, to discuss, judge and 'shape' media reality as a whole and if in the place of one comprehensive media ethics small and smaller ethical sub-domains come to exist next to each other, the media ethical discourse risks to relegate itself to insignificance. The aim of this article is to develop a media ethics which comprises the sub-areas of journalism, public relations, publicity, visual media communication, and new media and which does justice to all of them. In a first step we analyse the characteristics and challenges of the individual media sectors as well as the strengths and limitations of the existing approaches to the subject. We then intend to apply the findings of "Principlism" which is well established in medical ethics, to the media. In the same way as it has been done by Tom Beauchamp and James Childress in medical ethics, the attempt will be made to 'reconstruct' and establish ethical core elements on the basis of both existing laws and codices and ethical claims made in everyday media work, which come to represent a so-called "common morality". These core elements find their expression in a limited number of mid-range principles which generate prima facie duties but have to be put into perspective and weighed against one another in each individual case. They thus can respond to the challenges of a pluralistic and changing media landscape. As we shall see, the principles of 'respect', 'autonomy', 'transparency', and possibly of 'publishing' seem rewarding in view of the claim to include all sub-areas of the media

Warum nicht ein bisschen schwindeln? Täuschung und Lüge aus moralphilosophischer Sicht

Täuschung und Lüge sind in unserem Alltag allgegenwärtig, so auch in den Medien. Hier scheint es gar Anwendungsgebiete zu geben, wie etwa Werbung oder PR, die für die Unwahrheit geradezu prädestiniert sind. Ist es zielführend, für diese Lebensbereiche normative Kriterien erarbeiten zu wollen? Ist es sinnvoll, darüber zu streiten, ob etwa Pressesprecher Tatsachen verdrehen dürfen? Oder handelt es sich dabei lediglich um eine Frage des persönlichen Empfindens? Im Anschluss an die Diskussion dieses metaethischen Problems geht der Beitrag methodischen Überlegungen nach, nämlich der Frage, ob Medienethiker eher bei allgemeinen Normen oder bei der Beobachtung konkreter Phänomene ansetzen sollen, wenn sie normative Aussagen zum Thema „Täuschung und Lüge“ tätigen wollen. In Abgrenzung von einer Festlegung dessen, was eine erlaubte Lüge ist und was eine verbotene, wird abschließend für die Betonung jenes positiven Wertes argumentiert, der durch eine Praxis des Täuschens in Frage gestellt wird. EnglishWhy Not Lie (A Little Bit)? Deception and Lies from a Moral-Philosophical PerspectiveDeception and lies are omnipresent in everyday life, just as they are in the media. However, there are fields of application within the latter – such as in advertising or public relations –, which seem to be predestined to generate untruth. Is it expedient to develop normative criteria for these areas of life? Is it meaningful to argue whether press agents should be allowed to distort facts? Or is it merely a matter of personal opinion? After the discussion of this meta-ethical problem, the article pursues methodological considerations concerning the question of whether the moral philosopher, when intending to make normative statements with regard to „Deception and Lies“, should argue on the basis of general norms or, rather, begin with the observation of concrete phenomena. In conclusion and in contrast to a definition of what is a permissible lie and what an inacceptable one is, the article finally argues in favor of that positive value which is called into questioned by the practice of deceit.

Jule Hillgärtner: Krieg darstellen

Ähnlich wie Clément Chéroux in seinem Werk zur Bildpolitik des 11. Septembers (Diplopie 2011) verweist Jule Hillgärtner gleich zu Beginn ihres 456 Seiten starken OEuvres darauf, dass die Medien zu einer effektiven Waffe der Kriegsführung geworden sind. Wenngleich Krieg seit jeher auf seine Darstellung angewiesen war und die Geschichte dieser Bildberichterstattung letztlich eine jahrhundertelange Geschichte der Bildfälschung ist, hat der sprichwörtliche „Bilderkrieg“ der Gegenwart dem Verhältnis zwischen Krieg und Bild ein neues Vorzeichen hinzugefügt. (...

Literatur-Rundschau

Gebhard Fürst / David Hober / Jürgen Holtkamp (Hg.): Katholisches Medienhandbuch (Christina Enders)Nicolai Hannig: Die Religion der Öffentlichkeit (Michael Schmolke)Michael Jäckel: Zeitzeichen (Walter Hömberg)Axel Heinrich: Politische Medienethik (Claudia Paganini)Klaus Meier / Christoph Neuberger (Hg.): Journalismusforschung (Alexander Godulla)Anton Hunger: Blattkritik (Petra Hemmelmann)

Literatur-Rundschau

Veit Neumann/Josef Kreiml: Konzil und Medien. Über den Glauben reden in einer veränderten Welt (Ferdinand Oertel)Christian Klenk: Zustand und Zukunft katholischer Medien. Prämissen, Probleme, Prognosen (Hans Wagner)Christian Kiening/Ulrich Johannes Beil: Urszenen des Medialen. Von Moses zu Caligari (Michael Schmolke)Dieter Paul Baumert: Die Entstehung des deutschen Journalismus. Eine sozialgeschichtliche Studie (Renate Hackel-de Latour)Stig Hjarvard / Mia Lövheim (Eds.): Mediatization and Religion. Nordic Perspektives (Daniel Meier)Roman Marek: Understanding YouTube. Über die Faszination eines Mediums (Claudia Paganini

Literatur-Rundschau

Beatrice Dernbach/Wiebke Loosen (Hg.): Didaktik der Journalistik. Konzepte, Methoden und Beispiele aus der Journalistenausbildung (Renate Hackel-de Latour)Melanie Kretschmer-Elser: Kritische Reflexionen zur Medienkompetenz (Claudia Paganini)Petra Grimm / Heinrich Badura (Hg.): Medien – Ethik – Gewalt. Neue Perspektiven (Dagmar Hoffmann)Alexander Filipovic ́ / Michael Jäckel / Christian Schicha (Hg.): Medien- und Zivilgesellschaft Kommunikations- und Medienethik (Karin Knop)Thomas Wiedemann: Walter Hagemann. Aufstieg und Fall eines politisch ambitionierten Journalisten und Publizistikwissenschaftlers (Kurt Koszyk)Michael Lukas: Josef Homeyer (1929–2010). Priester – Bischof – Europäer (Ferdinand Oertel

Literatur-Rundschau

Saskia Hertlein/Hermann Josef Schnackertz (Hg .): The Culture of Catholicism in the United States (Ferdinand Oertel)Juliana Raupp/Stefan Jarolimek/Friederike Schultz (Hg .): Handbuch CSR . Kommunikationswissenschatliche Grundlagen, disziplinäre Zugänge und methodische Herausforderungen . Mit Glossar (Isabel Winkler)Anke Trommershausen: Corporate Responsibility in Medienunternehmen (Lars Rademacher)Mike Friedrichsen / Martin Gertler: Medien zwischen Ökonomie und Qualität . Medienethik als Instrument der Medienwirtschaft (Matthias Karmasin) Kai Erik Trost / Bettina Schwarzer: Social Web auf Online- Portalen deutscher Zeitungen . Eine empirische Untersuchung des Nutzungsverhaltens (Julius Reimer)Guido Keel: Journalisten in der Schweiz . Eine Berufsfeldstudie im Zeitverlauf (Rahel Künkele)Thomas Birkner: Das Selbstgespräch der Zeit . Die Geschichte des Journalismus in Deutschland 1605–1914 (Kurt Koszyk)Cornelia Klein: Mediale Vorbildkompetenz . Eine Studie am Beispiel der Fans von Bruce Springsteen (Claudia Paganini

Blood Pressure Circadian Variation, Cognition and Brain Imaging in 90+ Year-Olds

Purpose: To analyze the relationship between blood pressure (BP) variables, including circadian pattern, and cognition in 90+ year-olds.Methods: Twenty-four hour ambulatory BP monitoring was completed on 121 participants drawn from a longitudinal study of aging and dementia in the oldest-old. Various measures of BP and its variability, including nocturnal dipping, were calculated. Each person was given both a neuropsychological test battery covering different cognitive domains and a neurological examination to determine cognitive status. Seventy-one participants had a brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan.Results: Participants ranged in age from 90 to 102 years (mean = 93), about two-thirds were female, and nearly 80% had at least some college education. Mean nocturnal dips differed significantly between cognitively normal (n = 97) and impaired individuals (n = 24), with cognitively normal participants having on average greater nocturnal dips [6.6% vs. 1.3%, p = 0.006 for systolic BP (SBP); 11% vs. 4.4%, p = 0.002 for diastolic BP (DBP)]. Nocturnal dips were also related to performance on select cognitive test scores (especially those related to language, recent memory and visual-spatial ability), with individuals who performed below previously established median norms having significantly smaller nocturnal dips (both SBP and DBP) than those above the median. DBP reverse dippers had larger mean white matter hyperintensities (WMH as percent of total brain volume; 1.7% vs. 1.2%, 1.1% and 1.0% in extreme dippers, dippers, non-dippers) and a greater proportion had lobar cerebral microbleeds (CMBs; 44% vs. 0%, 7%, 16%, p < 0.05). Impaired participants had higher mean WMH than those with normal cognition (1.6% vs. 1.0% p = 0.03) and more tended to have CMB (31% vs. 20%, p = n.s.).Conclusion: These findings suggest that cognitive dysfunction is associated with dysregulation in the normal circadian BP pattern. Further study is warranted of the potential role of WHM and CMB as mediators of this association