ABSTRACT
This chapter examines journalism ethics by following its evolution, by reviewing traditional approaches. The history of journalism ethics can be divided into five stages. The first stage is the invention of an ethical discourse for journalism as it emerged in Western Europe during the 16th and 17th centuries. The second stage was the creation of a “public ethic” as the creed for the growing newspaper press of the Enlightenment public sphere. The third stage was the evolution of the idea of a fourth estate into the liberal theory of the press, during the 19th century. The fourth stage was the simultaneous development and criticism of this liberal doctrine across the 20th century. By the late 1900s, the liberal and objective professional model was under attack from many sources as journalism ethics entered its fifth revolution caused by digital and global media. Journalists responded by creating the field of modern journalism ethics, as a practical set of rules for newsrooms.
