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This study examines two dimensions of ethical thinking concerning professional journalists in the United Arab Emirates (UAE): A) the ethical principles that journalists adhere to in their profession and B) the ethics sources that journalists view as reference for their ethical deliberations. The study suggests that journalists adhere to similar journalistic principles but diverge in their appreciation of ethical foundations of journalism ethics. The study argues that journalists’ ethical awareness fluctuates between two gravitational forces; traditional journalism as practiced by established media institutions and modern challenges prompted by journalists’ emerging ethical reasoning, changing interactive audiences and digital communication technologies. The ethics of journalism, a key indicator of professionalism, encompasses every aspect of reporting and editing. While media institutions may not be viewed as either ethical or non-ethical, journalists are. Keeble states the reasons behind the growing of ethical inquiry for journalists as follows: a) the increasing globalization of media, b) the diversity of journalistic roles, c) the tendency of the journalistic culture to underscore technical skills, d) the “advertising/ratings-driven environment” that outweighs other considerations, e) the constraints and vested interests that hinder the ethical requirement of freedom and f) the difficulty in examining ethics in a local media context with global ramifications (Keeble, 2001, pp. 1-2). Even though criticisms of all kinds are often labeled against an entire spectrum of media practices, recent research suggests that contemporary journalists are more concerned about professional ethics than in any previous time period (Knowlton, 2009, p. 3). The most pertinent factor in ethics is not merely the act of making judgments but, to borrow Aristotle’s term, the ability to reason well, i.e., to reason in accordance with virtue (Aristotle, 2004, pp. 15-21.) Mathewson urges researchers to cease the practice of equating the terms ‘ethical’ and ‘unethical’ with ‘good’ and ‘bad’ but rather, employ ‘ethical to describe choices that reflect reasoning, and ‘unethical’ to describe choices based on assumption, emotion or reflex (Mathewson, 2014, p. 6).
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