This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Plaisance, P. L. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

The journalist as moral witness

Michael Ignatieff's pluralistic philosophy for a global media culture

S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, Syracuse University, 215 University Place, Syracuse, New York 13244, USA plplaisa{at}syr.edu

Prototypical philosopher–journalist Michael Ignatieff argues that the globalization that has helped spawn modern ethnic conflict demands that mass media assume new roles as sentinels of ‘moral engagement’. Underlying Ignatieff's call are the claims that history has debunked the concept of absolute human values and that global communication must, above all, mediate among opposing moral worlds. His pluralistic philosophy represents the culmination of a strain of ethical thought that has pre-revolutionary Russian roots. This study examines important elements in Ignatieff's literary persona and the philosophy that informs his journalism.

Key Words: Isaiah Berlin • liberty • media ethics • Michael Ignatieff • pluralism

Journalism, Vol. 3, No. 2, 205-222 (2002)
DOI: 10.1177/146488490200300201


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?