The Carol Burnett Fund for Responsible Journalism
Ethics Programs at the University of Hawaii

Aloha!

The University of Hawai'i Journalism program in the School of Communications has a long-standing emphasis on ethics and excellence, strengthened by a gift of $100,000 from actress Carol Burnett.

Income from the $100,000 endowment, which was received in summer 1981, is used "to support teaching and research designed to further high standards of ethics and professionalism in journalism, and for awards to outstanding students who have demonstrated a strong sense of journalistic responsibility and integrity."

UH-Journalism Carol Burnett Prizes

With part of the proceeds, the department awards annual Carol Burnett Prizes to UH student journalists whose work reflects ethics and excellence. Ms. Burnett personally presented the prizes at the ceremony in April 1983.

UH-Journalism Annual Ethics Program

The department also has established a special lecture series, which brings a prominent mainland journalist or ethicist to the campus for a formal lecture on journalism ethics, a panel discussion with Hawaii journalists, and interaction with student and professional journalists. The first Carol Burnett Fund Lecture, in March 1982, was delivered by Norman E. Issacs, then chairman of the National News Council. Subsequent lecturers have been:

In addition, the department has funded faculty research projects on ethical issues; developed relevant instructional materials and library sources; and joined the Honolulu Community-Media Council, the Hawaii chapters of the Society of Professional Journalists and Asian American Journalists Association, and other community and professional organizations in sponsoring public forums on the rights and responsibilities of the news media.

Carol Burnett/UH/AEJMC National Student Competition

In the belief that journalism students throughout the country should be encouraged to think and write about ethical problems, the UH Journalism Department in 1984-85 joined the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communications in establishing a national competition for the best articles or research papers on ethical issues in journalism or public relations. The annual Carol Burnett/University of Hawaii/AEJMC Prizes are given at the annual AEJMC convention for the best student research paper selected for presentation by the Media Ethics Division.

See the AEJMC web site for the annual Call for Papers and deadlines for submission.


For more information on the Carol Burnett Ethics Programs, e-mail Professor Tom Brislin at: tbrislin@hawaii.edu or write:

Carol Burnett Fund for Responsible Journalism
Attn: Prof. Tom Brislin
School of Communications
University of Hawai'i
2550 Campus Road
Honolulu, HI 96822-2217


Some Related Websites

School of
Communications

University
of Hawaii

Media Ethics
Resources on the Web

Ethics on the
World Wide Web


tbrislin@hawaii.edu