College of
Business
Administration
College of
Business
Administration
1) There are differing opinions as to whether or not the milk from cows treated with BGH is safe or not. How does the lack of reliable answers and research influence your opinion of the Fox firing suit?
2) Did Fox have legitimate reasoning for firing the two news reporters in this classic whistleblowing case?
3) What past examples illustrate why food companies and the media are especially careful when it comes to statements concerning food and health issues?
4) In the end, the two Fox news reporters were rewarded for standing up for what is right. What are your thoughts on the nine months they spent rewriting the scripts 80 times?
5) If you were one of the reporters, would you have risked your career and reputation on this issue/story? More importantly, to you consider the majority of “the press” to be ethical or simply out for buck?
6) According to the articles, in 1993 the FDA approved the use of BGH. However, in Europe the hormone has yet to gain approval after having been linked to cancer. Based on this disagreement, do you believe there to be any ethical issues associated with American farmers using BGH to boost their overall milk production? Defend your position.
7) The article notes that several grocery stores reneged on promises not to sell milk from treated cows until BGH gained widespread acceptance by consumers. Does this make sense from a business standpoint? Do businesses have an ethical obligation to ensure the absolute safety of the products they sell or is it enough trust the FDA and other government agencies?
8) What ethical issues are presented in the following quote, “Every editor has the right to kill a story and any honest reporter will tell you that happens from time to time when a news organizations’ self interest wins out over the public interest.”
Return to Professor Dunn's home page.