All of us form some kind of idea about what we see, hear or read in the media,
not only about the content of the reports but also about the way in which they
are presented and their relevance. We judge the reports as good or bad for this
or that reason. And yet most people remain convinced that ´media ethics´ has
nothing to do with them. The term ´media ethics´ leaves many people with the
false impression that it refers to an exclusive specialist discipline for
professionally trained experts. Ethics is not a field like biochemistry or
ancient history: ethics has more to do wit the skill of being able to
distinguish good institutions, actions and ideas from ones that are not so
good, a skill everybody needs to exercise, certainly in this age where media
are so influential. It is important for the well-being of our societies and
democracies that the questions about good media are on the top of the agenda of
everyone involved in it: producers, broadcasters, journalists, politicians,
internet providers and media users. volume, well known ethicists and social
scientists present their introduction to this question from various
perspectives and different points of departure. With their contributions they
hope to open a balanced social dialogue that will prevail over commercial and
rhetorical violence (Peeters 2000)
