The Partnership
The Department of Communication at CU Denver is delighted to partner with the Daniels Fund to present the Daniels Fund Colloquia on Ethics in Communication, an educational enhancement designed to promote principal-based media ethics in a rapidly changing news environment. The series promotes interaction between eminent seminar guests and university students, faculty, partners, and the wider community to generate in-depth scholarly discourse about the meaning and impact of ethics and integrity in gathering, disseminating, and interpreting information.
About the Daniels Fund Colloquia on Ethics in Communication
Among this country's founding principles is the importance of an informed and participatory citizenry. Journalism is a cornerstone of the concept, and its traditional standards of fairness, integrity, and accountability have been essential to the media's contributions to the vigor and stability of American democracy.
Today, in a world of technology without borders and 24/7 immersion in communication, the challenge is that instant information is often unsourced and difficult to verify. The risk is that a lack of transparency as to source and intention undermines public trust in the content. People surrounded by a constant flow of potentially unreliable words and images may just cease paying attention and opt out of thoughtful participation.
More than ever before, widespread circulation of credible information matters as the basis for reasoned discourse that respects the views and interests of others. Indeed, without such respect there is potential for erosion of the principles of civility and community that so far have contributed to the nation's durability, yet these values and practices must be taught, protected, and strengthened again and again. In this networked age, there is compelling need for expert leadership in reshaping the mechanisms of gathering information, ethical means of evaluating information, and sustainable models of distributing information.
These concerns define the Daniels Fund’s purpose in collaborating with CU Denver's Department of Communication to establish programs that emphasize principle-based ethical education and advocacy in a context of critical thinking, clear and creative expression, and high standards of technical competence and professionalism. It was the institution's attributes of practice-based scholarship and proactive innovation that allow us to build on interdisciplinary academic strengths in the liberal arts, business, public affairs, and engineering that are strongly linked to the area's sizeable media and communications industries.
The goal is that students will be educated to thrive in and shape new media landscapes locally, nationally, and globally. Whether as content specialists, producers, managers, policy advocates, entrepreneurs, marketers, or community organizers, they will be equipped to lead and evaluate practices and processes that promote the viability and sustainability of communications businesses.
As an educational enhancement, the Daniels Fund Colloquia on Ethics in Communication will facilitate interaction between our eminent seminar guests and the university's students, faculty, and professional partners, as well as the community at large. Classroom visits provide a forum for in-depth exploration of topics related to the guests' experience and expertise.
Seminars, classroom visits, and workshops will provide opportunities for students, faculty, and professional partners to collaborate with guests in program planning and implementation. Public events and receptions will ensure that all area professionals and the public at large will have access to the guests and exposure to the topics.