ABSTRACT
Wherever we are, the environment washes us with a constant flow of potential information-from the hum of the air conditioner or heater or from the processor of our personal computer. In public, we overhear snatches of conversation all around us. Moreover, people are subjected to all sorts of mediated messages-usually electronic media. Increasingly, we live in a mediated environment, certainly much more so than was the case for parents or grandparents. There is little doubt the Media (pictured as a single, monolithic entity) have powerful influences over the way we experience and think about our lives today. This power implies the need for ethical accountability. Whenever people or a group of people have power to influence the lives of others, ethical obligations arise.
