Communitarian Journalism and Flag Displays after September 11: An Ethical Critique
- 1 January 2005
- journal article
- research article
- Published by SAGE Publications in Journal of Communication Inquiry
- Vol. 29 (1), 30-46
- https://doi.org/10.1177/0196859904270031
Abstract
This analysis suggests that neither objectivity nor descriptive articulations of civic-public journalism provide the best normative frameworks for evaluating journalistic flag displays after September 11. The core ethical problem was that journalists displayed an oppressive, nationalistic patriotism resting on hegemonic assumptions that neither perspective adequately addresses. Journalists are encouraged to adopt communitarian journalism as the philosophical foundation for constructing an alternative patriotism rooted in a broadly human conception of the common good.Keywords
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