DePauw News Archive

Journalism ethics is topic of Poynter Institute's Robert Steele '69

April 23, 1999

"Is 'Journalism Ethics' an Oxymoron?" will be the question addressed at DePauw University when Robert McKay Steele, director of the journalism ethics program for The Poynter Institute for Media Studies in St. Petersburg, Fla., speaks on Monday, May 3.

Steele, a 1969 graduate of DePauw, is scheduled to speak at 7:30 p.m. in the Center for Contemporary Media, Watson Forum. It is open and free to the public.

At The Poynter Institute, Steele also teaches in management and reporting seminars. He joined Poynter in 1989 from the faculty of the University of Maine, where he taught media ethics, media law and broadcast journalism. He also taught at the University of Iowa.

Prior to his teaching career, Steele spent nine years in broadcast journalism as a television news reporter, executive producer and news director in Bangor, Maine; Green Bay, Wis.; and Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Steele is co-author of Doing Journalism Ethics: A Handbook and Case Studies, published in cooperation with the Society of Professional Journalists. He produced and hosted a series of 16 half-hour television programs for the Maine Public Television Network that focused on the media and the public's reaction to media issues.

Beyond his educator and journalist roles, Steele is an experienced coordinator of workshops and public symposia on ethical decision-making. In addition to journalists, he has worked with public officials, attorneys, physicians, small business owners, law enforcement officers and educators.

After receiving a bachelor's degree in economics from DePauw, Steele earned a master's degree in television-radio from Syracuse University and a doctorate in mass communication from the University of Iowa.