ABSTRACT
Virtue ethics, or character ethics, has been around easily as long as both consequential and duty-based theories; however, the Enlightenment pretty much guaranteed that an emphasis on duty, obligation, and the greater good would dominate Western ethical thought. The real value of virtue ethics is that it places the onus of right action directly on the person making the decision. According to MacIntyre, a practice is a unique environment in which people may apply their virtues to their work, and by so doing, help establish and further standards of excellence within that practice. As part of this pursuit of excellence, the activity must produce both "internal goods" and "external goods". The media, especially journalists, value autonomy above almost all else. Whereas journalism seems to be the focus of much of the public's concern over the caring versus harm debate, advertising and public relations are merely assumed to be logically without care for anyone except the client.
