‘We’re more ethical than they are’: Third-person and first-person perceptions of the ethical climate of American journalists

Abstract

This study advances our understanding of mainstream US journalists’ perceptions of their industry’s ethical climate by extending first- and third-person perception to this domain. These journalists believe that colleagues in their same organization act unethically significantly less often and act ethically significantly more often than those at other organizations and in related industries. The first- and third-person perceptions are a linear function of social distance but are not the mirror image of each other in this domain. In addition to theoretical contributions, suggestions for ways these perceptions can be used to improve journalists’ moral judgment are offered.