Can 2014’s biggest ethical snafu be resolved?
While ethical bumps in our road may be common, 2014’s bump of all bumps award to date was clinched last month. That’s when news of Sports Illustrated’s editorial performance policy was leaked to the public. Seven of the eight policy factors considered were commendable. But the requirement that content produced should be “beneficial to advertisers” produced a media explosion leading to a spate of accusations and denials.
By the end of August, it still remained unclear what specific factors reflected success or failure in terms of editors passing the “beneficial” test. ASBPE’s Ethics Committee covered the situation via a discussion posted on our LinkedIn site. (LinkedIn login required.)
In this issue of Ethics News Updates, we address additional concerns stemming from SI’s possible snafu via a special three-article focus. Offering commentaries are ASBPE president Mark Schlack and ENU executive editors Roy Harris and Robin Sherman. Roy and Robin moderated the Ethics Town Hall program held during our recent national conference. This issue of ENU includes two important articles based on Town Hall give-and-take. In fact, the issue is packed with additional exclusive articles covering newsworthy developments. As always, your feedback is invited.