Painter and Wilkins seamlessly blend engaging analyses of popular cultural artifacts with accessible summaries of philosophical principles to depict the competing interests—including truth-telling, loyalty, privacy, public service, and the profit motive—that confront media professionals in making ethical decisions…. The authors memorably trace the phrase public service from an early use in 1576 to the normative roles of journalism displayed in the TV shows Adventures of Superman (1952–58) and House of Cards (2013–18) and the films All the President's Men (1976) and Contagion (2011) to document the profession's evolving values in the 20th and 21st centuries. This timely book samples popular culture and theoretical scholarship without short shrifting either. It includes discussion questions throughout and a conclusion full of fruitful questions for further research. Highly recommended. Undergraduates through faculty.

Choice Reviews

An exciting read from Star Trek to Madame Secretary. The beauty of this book is that it addresses overarching themes and topics that are relevant to journalism and mass communication and then views it through the lens of popular culture, supporting the analysis through philosophy.

Michael T. Martinez, University of Tennessee

An intelligent, well-written text that can capture students’ attention through the use of popular culture while balancing readability with an appropriate depth of analysis.

Ben Mulvey, Associate Professor of Philosophy, Nova Southestern University

This book offers a fresh take on entertainment ethics, especially the depiction of journalists in popular culture. It integrates ethics theory with excerpted dialogue from several movies and TV shows. Students can learn much about the history of how journalists are viewed and how it supports or refutes journalists' real experiences.

Judith Sylvester, Ph.D. Manship School of Mass Communication, LSU

Painter and Wilkins offer an engaging analysis of entertainment media for insights into competing interests that confront media practitioners today. Abundant discussion questions make good use of contemporary debate about social justice and privacy rights, among many others, to show how pop culture entertainments free us to imagine valid decision-making in the real world. Graduate and upper-division students planning careers in public relations, strategic communications, or reporting will benefit from this consistently accessible blend of normative ethics theory and pop culture commentary.

Journalism and Mass Communication Educator