Abstract
This chapter contends that journalism ethics courses are an important early step in encouraging future journalists to engage with ethical standards. When done well, ethics courses can help future journalists develop sophisticated skills in recognizing ethical issues, reasoning through those issues, and then deciding on justifiable actions. Through this chapter, I present a pedagogical approach to journalism ethics courses that teaches certainty about some things but uncertainty about others. Although important, formal ethics education is not enough to prepare students for their future work. Rapid changes in the media landscape, particularly since the arrival of the digital age, have made ethics instruction more challenging while also making career-long skills development essential. Students cannot learn all they need to know about ethics in university courses, but through these courses, they can develop foundational knowledge, skills, and even attitudes that will help equip them to effectively deal with ethical issues that arise long after they have left the classroom. Ideally, the kinds of discussions that start in an ethics classroom will continue in the workplace.