ABSTRACT

THIS THESIS EXAMINES THE MANIFESTATION, FUNCTION, AND CHALLENGES OF THE CORE VALUE OF ""RESPECT"" WITHIN CONTEMPORARY COMMUNICATION AND MEDIA THEORY, PRAXIS, AND GENERAL CONTEXT AND ENVIRONMENTS. IT AIMS TO CLARIFY THE CONCEPTUAL AND ACTUAL DIMENSIONS OF THE UNDERSTANDING OF RESPECT IN MEDIA CONTEXTS—INCLUDING RESPECT FOR FACTS, PRIVACY, DIVERSE ETHNIC GROUPS AND AUDIENCES — AND ANALYZES ITS CRITICAL ROLE IN MEDIA EVALUATION, PLANNING, PRODUCTION, CONTENT PRESENTATION, DISSEMINATION, AND SOCIAL INTERACTION. THROUGH LITERATURE REVIEW, THE STUDY ESTABLISHES THE THEORETICAL AND ETHICAL FOUNDATIONS OF THE REALITY OR VALUE OF RESPECT IN THE FIELD OF COMMUNICATION AND MEDIA. UTILIZING CASE STUDIES (E.G., NEWS REPORTING, FILM/TV, SOCIAL MEDIA INTERACTIONS, ADVERTISING, BUT ALSO PERSONAL EXPERIENCES), IT ANALYZES THE UNDERSTANDING OF RESPECT, AND THE THE PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS OF RESPECT, ITS POSITIVE EFFECTS (ENHANCING CREDIBILITY, PROMOTING SOCIAL HARMONY, ENSURING ACCURACY, UPHOLDING DIGNITY, FOSTERING HEALTHY COMMUNICATION), AND PREVALENT SHORTCOMINGS OR CONTROVERSIES AS A CONSEQUENCE OF A LACK OR EVEN BLUNT ABSENCE OF RESPECT IN THE FIELD OF COMMUNICATION AND MEDIA (MISREPORTING, STEREOTYPES, CYBERBULLYING, PRIVACY VIOLATIONS, INFLAMMATORY RHETORIC). KEY FINDINGS OF THE PRESENT THESIS INDICATE THAT RESPECT IS NOT ONLY A FUNDAMENTAL REALITY AND VALUE IN THE FIELD OF COMMUNICATION AND MEDIA ETHICS, BUT ALSO AN INDISPENSABLE DRIVER AND SAFEGUARD FOR MEDIA'S PROPER SOCIAL FUNCTIONS (E.G., THE PROPER AND NECESSARY DISSEMINATION OF APPROPRIATE INFORMATION IN THE VARIOUS LEVELS AND SECTORS OF A GIVEN SOCIETY, THE OVERSIGHT IN A SOCIETY (SOCIAL AND POLITICAL CONTROL), CULTURAL COMMUNICATION AND TRANSMISSION OF IMPORTANT EVENT AND VALUES, THE IMPORTANT ROLE OF SOCIAL INTEGRATION IN A SOCIETY). IT INFLUENCES AUDIENCE COGNITION, ATTITUDES, AND BEHAVIOR ON THE MICRO LEVEL, AND IMPACTS ON THE GENERAL LEVEL OF SOCIAL TRUST, THE CULTURAL CLIMATE, AND THE “HEALTH” OR HARMONY IN THE PUBLIC SPHERE ON THE MESO AND THE MACRO LEVEL. THE PRESENT RESEARCH ALSO HIGHLIGHTS THE COMPLEXITIES AND DIFFICULTIES THAT MEDIA FACE IN UPHOLDING THE VALUE OF RESPECT AMIDST RAPID AND FUNDAMENTAL TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE (E.G. A.I.), INCREASING COMMERCIAL PRESSURES, AND OTHER VALUE CONFLICTS, E.G., THOSE ROOTED IN THE INTERCULTURAL NATURE DUE TO THE RAPID PROCESS OF GLOBALIZATION IN CONTEMPORARY SOCIETIES. ULTIMATELY, EMBEDDING RESPECT AS A CORE VALUE IS VITAL FOR COMMUNICATION AND MEDIA PROFESSIONALISM, ITS CREDIBILITY, POTENTIAL FOR CONFLICT RESOLUTION, AND IN VIEW OF FOSTERING A CONSTRUCTIVE MEDIA ECOSYSTEM SERVING THE COMMON GOOD OF SOCIETIES SO THAT THEY CAN THRIVE IN A HUMAN, HARMONIOUS, AND JUST.