In the May 3, 2004, edition of Ethics Newsline:

1. Statline:

Leveling the Educational Playing Field

Full story: http://www.globalethics.org/redir/nl.html?d=5/3/2004&;id=05030417032969

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2. Commentary by Rushworth M. Kidder:

Courage or Selfishness?

To some, they are models of bravery, risking their lives in Iraq to report on the war and feed hungry children. To others, they are exponents of irresponsibility, causing their government huge turmoil and expense to extricate them from danger. Either way, the three Japanese hostages, released last month after a harrowing televised ordeal showing knife-wielding Iraqi insurgents threatening to kill them, pose a question central to our age: When do individual acts of courage constitute reckless endangerment of the larger society?...

Full story: http://www.globalethics.org/redir/nl.html?d=5/3/2004&;id=0503041704153

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3. What They're Saying:

The Credibility of Our Democracy

"Never, before now, has there been such a temptation in Rai -- especially in its main news broadcast -- to mold all information in the shape of the parliamentary majority and the government. The absence of common rules, the anomalous concentration of power in the hands of one man, and the obvious, unresolved conflict of interest that this has given rise to, hurts both broadcasting and the credibility of our democracy."

-- Lilli Gruber, a leading Italian TV journalist, explaining her resignation last week from her job at state broadcaster Rai. Gruber quit after criticizing the media power held by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who sits on the board of Rai and whose family owns Italy's three main private TV stations. Berlusconi and his allies have been pushing for even greater media consolidation, which Gruber says threatens the impartiality of the news and the solidity of Italian democracy. Rai management called her allegations "wrong and ungenerous," according to the BBC. ("Top Italian TV News Reader Quits," BBC, Apr. 28)

Full story: http://www.globalethics.org/redir/nl.html?d=5/3/2004&;id=0503041705068

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4. U.S. Media Struggle with How to Honor Those Killed in Iraq

SEATTLE

After April's surge in violence in Iraq, U.S. news outlets struggled last week with how best to balance an accurate portrayal of the war's increasing death toll with respect for the privacy of affected families....

Full story: http://www.globalethics.org/redir/nl.html?d=5/3/2004&;id=05030417053510

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5. AP Examines Record of Firms Awarded Iraqi Contracts

WASHINGTON

Despite paying more than $300 million in penalties for alleged infractions in the past four years, 10 companies have been awarded $7 billion in Iraqi reconstruction contracts, according to a report last week from the Associated Press....

Full story: http://www.globalethics.org/redir/nl.html?d=5/3/2004&;id=05030417060950

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6. Justice Department Announces Criminal Probe into Memo Theft

WASHINGTON

The U.S. Justice Department last week said it was opening a criminal investigation into charges that Republican aides in the Senate raided Democrats' computer files on judicial nominees....

Full story: http://www.globalethics.org/redir/nl.html?d=5/3/2004&;id=05030417064690

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7. Teamsters' Anticorruption Chief Quits, Accusing Leaders of Impeding Probe

CHICAGO

The former federal prosecutor heading the internal anticorruption unit at the Teamsters Union last week resigned, accusing union president James P. Hoffa of impeding two inquiries into alleged corruption....

Full story: http://www.globalethics.org/redir/nl.html?d=5/3/2004&;id=05030417071955

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8. Janus Capital Settles Market Timing Charges for $225 Million

DENVER

Janus Capital Group, one of the first firms singled out in last year's crackdown on alleged mutual fund fraud, agreed last week to pay more than $225 million to settle state and federal charges of market timing -- quick trades designed to capitalize on small price fluctuations in stock price....

Full story: http://www.globalethics.org/redir/nl.html?d=5/3/2004&;id=0503041707567

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9. Nortel Stuns Markets with Major Restatement of 2003 Earnings

OTTAWA

Nortel, the former Canadian corporate star in the technology sector, suffered another severe blow with last week's disclosure that the first half of its 2003 profits will be halved due to inappropriate accounting for losses and expenses....

Full story: http://www.globalethics.org/redir/nl.html?d=5/3/2004&;id=05030417090836

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10. Canadian Doctors Weigh the Ethics of Informing on Patients

MONTREAL

Faced with a growing number of violent crimes, Canadian doctors there say they soon must decide whether to play a greater role in helping police by reporting gunshot victims and drunk drivers involved in accidents....

Full story: http://www.globalethics.org/redir/nl.html?d=5/3/2004&;id=05030417094288

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11. University of Maryland Discloses Details of Coaches' Contracts

BALTIMORE

After losing a two-year legal battle, the University of Maryland last week disclosed details about how it pays its two most prominent coaches, highlighting debates over college sports and salary equity....

Full story: http://www.globalethics.org/redir/nl.html?d=5/3/2004&;id=05030417102256

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12. Research Report:

U.S. Schools 50 Years after Brown v. Board of Education

From the Gallup News Service:

"As the 50th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark decision on racial segregation in public schools approaches, recent Gallup polling finds that the vast majority of Americans (90 percent) acknowledge that educational opportunities for black children have gotten better since 1954. But other results indicate that equality in education remains elusive...."

Full story: http://www.globalethics.org/redir/nl.html?d=5/3/2004&;id=05030417105191

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13. Quote from the Ethics File:

True Courage

"I would define true courage to be a perfect sensibility of the measure of danger, and a mental willingness to endure it."

-- William Tecumseh Sherman (U.S. general, 1820-1891)

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Full issue available here: http://www.globalethics.org/newsline/members/currentissue2.tmpl

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