Teaching Journalism Ethics Through “The Newsroom”: An Enhanced Learning Experience

As documented in multiple fields, students taking ethics courses can benefit from alternative pedagogical approaches using television shows for learning. This article explores the journalistic ethics conflicts depicted in the first season of the HBO show “The Newsroom.” These conflicts, brought to life through vivid and realistic storytelling, enable students to experience how ethical decisions affect a newsroom and the audience it serves. This is a form of screen narrative ethnography (SNE) that provides journalism instructors additional classroom resources and that creates an innovative, rich learning experience for students