Media Ethics Potter Box

Case Study 1

Part 1

Analyse the issue using the Potter Box. Use the quadrants of the Potter Box to make your own judgment of the New York Times' decision to delay publication for a year, and omit certain information. Was it ethically justifiable?

1.Definition or situation. 4. Loyalties.

2. Values. 3. Ethical principal.

Facing objection for the White House, The New York Times went ahead and published an article about President Bush permitting the N.S.A to spy on Americans without court warrants, but it was delayed for a year to research for additional reporting and certain information were excluded. The Potter Box is used to analyse the problem regarding this situation.

The Potter Box introduces four dimensions of moral analysis to aid us in locating those places where most misunderstanding occurs (Ethical Foundation of perspectives, 2005, p.3). The Potter Box consists of four quadrants that include definition or situation, values, ethical principal and loyalties. The Potter Box is one of the ways to solve the ethical problems occurred in the media industry.

The first quadrant in the Potter Box is definition or situation, in this case study I had identified the situation occurred in December 16th, 2005. The September 11 attacks on the United States of America shocked the whole nation, pressuring administration officials and intelligence agencies to tighten security measures inside the country. President Bush authorized the National Security Agency to spy on Americans without prior court approval or warrants, to gather information on any suspected terrorist activities and prevent future terrorist attacks. Since the presidential order was signed in 2002, thousands of Americans were monitored by the N.S.A via eavesdropping and reading e-mail messages. According to officials, "overseas, about 5000 to 7000 people suspected of terrorist ties are monitored at one time" (Risen & Litchblau, 2005). However, this anti-terrorism campaign has caused concerns among members of Congress because it intrudes the privacy of the Americans'.

The second quadrant in the Potter Box is values. In my opinion, the New York Times' decision to publish the article was of professional values, such as the public's right to know. The New York Times thought it was only fair to the public for them to know they might be monitored at any given time. Therefore New York Times' decision to publish the article is also because of the values truth-telling and fairness. Also because of journalism values, New York Times needed to present the truth to its readers. As for omitting certain information, it shows that New York Times values a person's rights to privacy. This decision might be made to protect unwanted attention to certain people.

The third quadrant in the Potter Box is ethical principles. The New York Times used Aristotle's mean in handling the ethical situation for this case. According to Aristotle "moral virtue is a middle state determined by practical wisdom" (Ethical foundation and perspectives, 2005. p.12). Virtuous people will arrive at a fair and reasonable agreement for the legitimate claims of both sides in the middle of two extreme claims. In other words, Aristotle's stresses that there is a sense of moderation or a "middle state" in all individuals, just between excess and defect. For example in this case, the New York Times chose to report the truth to the public, but was considered this decision carefully, by delaying publication to prevent jeopardizing on-going investigations. Also certain information was not published which could alert and be useful to terrorists if there was any. Therefore I think the most suitable principle for this case is Aristotle's Golden Mean.

On the other hand, President Bush and his administration used Mill's Principle of Utility, which means to "seek the greatest happiness for the greatest number" (Ethical foundation and perspectives, 2005. p.16) as a guideline for their action. John Stuart Mill's principle focuses on benefiting the biggest number of people with the goods and services offered, but not considering about the method used and consequences caused, as long as the outcome benefits the majority. This applies to Bush's decision for the N.S.A to spy on the people inside America without court warrants and invading a person's right to privacy. The main reason to eavesdrop is to curb terrorist attacks and to protect American citizens from harm.

The last quadrant in Potter Box is loyalties.