Media ethics by design as ethical media governance management system

The crisis of trustworthiness in fundamental principles and values, institutions and entities also affects the media in Europe and the world. The reduced credibility is related to the economic, social and institutional crises which have caused a serious retreat in values such as human rights, independence, transparency and accountability, and a serious weakening of the obligation to support democracy over self-interest.

Faced with disproportionate challenges, the media are looking for pathways for their business viability and an alternative economic model in the face of global platforms that control advertising revenues. It is a question that needs to be answered whether regaining the moral advantage also enhances the operational capacity to capitalise on digitalisation benefits and address threats from unethical technology use. In this transformation process, the key question is whether standardised processes, which introduce self-regulatory initiatives in the SME industry into the ecosystem, can play a decisive role. Can they really guarantee an improvement in their functioning, healthy competition, business success, public interest and public expectations? In the media, the fundamental standard is the Code of Conduct. Ethics should therefore govern any standardised governance system, both in its design and implementation.