Robert Steele is the Nelson Poynter Scholar for Journalism Values and the senior faculty in ethics at the Poynter Institute.
The Ethics Cauldron:
Loyalty, Leaders and Tough Choices
Robert M. Steele ‘69 is the Nelson Poynter Scholar for Journalism Values and the senior faculty in ethics at the Poynter Institute, located in St. Petersburg, Fla. He joined the Poynter faculty in 1989, serving as ethics group leader for 14 years. He guides the Institute’s initiatives in values by teaching, writing and coaching at the intersection of ethics, leadership and craft as well as heightening Poynter’s connection to senior executives.
Steele has stayed closely connected to newsrooms through his real-time coaching of journalists, news managers, editors and media leaders on ethics and values issues, and by leading ethics and critical-thinking workshops for more than 75 newspapers, television stations and newspaper and broadcast groups. He has written extensively for Poynter online, including the Talk About Ethics column, articles for various publications and book chapters, as well as guidelines and case studies for American Society of Newspaper Editors, Radio-Television News Directors Association & Foundation, and Society of Professional Journalists.
Before turning to teaching, Steele spent a decade as a television reporter, executive producer and news director in Maine, Wisconsin and Iowa. He also taught journalism at the University of Maine.
Steele earned a B.A. in economics from DePauw, master’s degree in television-radio from Syracuse University and doctorate from the University of Iowa, where he wrote his Ph.D. dissertation on journalism ethics.
