 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Featured Commentary
George Stephanopoulos, Sen. Clinton, and the Permanent Conflict of Interest
George Stephanopoulos has a permanent, irreparable conflict of interest when he covers anything relating to either Bill or Hillary Clinton, and the fact that ABC blithely ignores it is either proof of ethics ignorance or simply willful unethical conduct.
After his performance as co-moderator of the debate between Senators Clinton and Obama, critics are accusing him of being biased against the Illinois front-runner, asking him "gotcha" questions in a prosecutorial manner. But it would make no difference if George were lobbing rhetorical softballs to Obama, or both candidates; or grilling Senator Clinton about her unfriendly relationship with the truth. Stephanopoulos has no business being there at all. He should have recused himself, and failing that, ABC should have forbidden him to participate. This isn't even a close call or a matter for debate. He is conflicted. It looks terrible. Anyone who doesn't realize how terrible it looks is ethically obtuse or ethically cross-eyed.
Integrity, the Swimsuit Issue, and the McCain Fiasco
One publication undressed women, and the other dressed up dubious facts. Both demonstrated a loss of basic integrity.
Integrity is a core ethical virtue, and one of the most complex. There are philosophical tomes written about it, and arcane debates over what it really is; reading some of these will make any person of normal intelligence conclude that integrity is as confounding as string theory. But in truth the concept is clear to most of us: integrity consists of living and acting according to consistent principles, even when it may become convenient or profitable to do otherwise. The core ingredient of relationships in a society is trust, and one cannot trust a person, business, government or institution that lacks integrity.
Sports Illustrated and the New York Times just traded in their integrity, one for bias, and the other for money. For one of them, it will hardly matter. For the other, it could be the beginning of the end.
|
4/29/2008
|
|
|
4/20/2008
|
George Stephanopoulos, Sen. Clinton, and the Permanent Conflict of Interest |
|
2/24/2008
|
|
|
2/14/2008
|
Analysis of an Ethics Mess: The MSNBC "Pimped Out" Chelsea Controversy |
|
2/9/2008
|
|
|
2/4/2008
|
|
|
1/9/2008
|
|
|
10/2/2007
|
Get O'Reilly: Race-Baiting and Distortions from MediaMatters |
|
9/20/2007
|
|
|
8/14/2007
|
|
|
7/17/2007
|
|
|
5/31/2007
|
Call Them Irresponsible: Anti-"snitch" Support in the News Media |
|
5/7/2007
|
|
|
4/24/2007
|
|
|
11/26/2006
|
|
|
11/20/2006
|
|
|
11/19/2006
|
|
|
10/23/2006
|
Forced Stardom, Free Will and the Crocodile Hunter's Daughter |
|
9/9/2006
|
|
|
8/28/2006
|
|
|
8/10/2006
|
|
|
7/26/2006
|
|
|
7/17/2006
|
|
|
7/3/2006
|
|
|
5/18/2006
|
|
|
5/5/2006
|
|
|
5/3/2006
|
|
|
3/27/2006
|
|
|
2/13/2006
|
|
|
2/8/2006
|
|
|
2/5/2006
|
|
|
1/30/2006
|
|
|
1/11/2006
|
|
|
12/29/2005
|
|
|
11/8/2005
|
|
|
10/11/2005
|
|
|
9/12/2005
|
|
|
9/7/2005
|
|
|
8/31/2005
|
|
|
7/13/2005
|
|
|
5/16/2005
|
|
|
4/20/2005
|
|
|
3/30/2005
|
|
|
2/5/2005
|
|
|
1/16/2005
|
|
|
1/2/2005
|
|
|
12/19/04
|
|
|
12/13/04
|
|
|
10/27/04
|
|
|
10/25/04
|
|
|
10/6/04
|
|
|
10/5/04
|
|
|
9/19/04
|
|
|
7/30/04
|
|
|
7/28/04
|
|
|
7/23/04
|
|
|
6/21/04
|
|
|
5/4/04
|
Warner Brothers Network (May 2004 Trivial Liar) |
|
5/4/04
|
|
|
4/30/04
|
|
|
4/23/04
|
|
|
4/11/04
|
|
|
3/23/04
|
|
|
3/16/04
|
|
|
2/13/04
|
Rumor Games |
|
2/13/04
|
Novak's Ethics |
|
2/11/04
|
Scream Frenzy |
|
2/04
|
Jayson Blair (February 2004 Ethics Dunce) |
|
1/04
|
Fox Network (January 2004 Ethics Dunce) |
|
|
A link to the next most recent story goes here |
E-mail: ProEthics President