Ethicist: The Second Oldest Profession?
Ethics Crisis Blog: Are we getting more or less ethical?
"None of the above," said Chris MacDonald, PhD, Assistant Professor in the Philosophy Department at Saint Mary's University (Halifax, Canada) and publisher of The Business Ethics Blog.
"People have been talking about the decline of ethical values for 2500 years. In the time of Plato and Aristotle there were speeches given about the decline in ethics.Ethics Crisis: What role do blogs play?These were almost never backed up by fact. It is certainly true that reporting on corporate malfeasance is on the rise and sensitivity to wider range of issues is on the rise. But I have never seen any evidence that things are getting worse in terms of ethics.
People today are less likely to get away with padding expense account, fraud, forgery. A hundred years ago was no culture of accountability.
"Ethical issues are now front page news," he said, "and it's a lot easier for me to explain what I do for a living now than 10 years ago."
MacDonald:
"They are certainly part of the overall diffusion of information. Monday morning one of the news headlines was about Pfizer accused of conducting unapproved trials on children in Nigeria. I had blogged it almost a full day before it filtered down to other news sources.At least some people now get their news,opinions, and analysis through blogs. Bloggers don't always contact two separate reliable sources like the NY Times, and that is part of the difference.
In some cases blogs cut out the journalist between the expert and the audience. It used to be that my only contact with media was once in a blue moon when a reporter would call me. They come in with their own spin on the story and I would try to enrich and provide perspective.
At this point I comment on the blog about stories I think are worth commenting on and offer it more or less unmediated. Reporters and producers have to cut the 10 or 15-minute interview to a 10-second sound bite. Bloggers don't."
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