In May 2000, I wrote an Op-Ed for the New York Times (Excuses are not Ethics) about basketball coach Bobby Knight’s infamous throat-grabbing of one of his own Indiana players. After the incident, University President Myles Brand said, “I had never seen him before contrite and apologetic… I think the ethical approach is to give him one last chance.” That “last chance” lasted...

A weekend conversation with a friend prompted the following: “Why be ethical?  What’s the payoff?” The standard fall-back:  “Virtue is its own reward.” Another might be the adage by Louis Armstrong when asked the definition of Jazz: “If you have to ask… you’ll never know.” The reality is that most of us face issues that challenge our ethical integrity on a regular basis.   » Read...

Occasionally, someone will ask, “Why do you use stories to give us the message?  Why not cut to the chase and just give us the message?” Stan Williams’s excellent book, The Moral Premise: Harnessing Virtue and Vice for Box-Office Success was written with that question in mind.  Here’s an edited version of a question about that issue and Stan’s response from his blog.  » Read...

“Some people hope for a miracle cure Some people just accept the world as it is But I’m not willing to lay down and die Because I am an innocent man…”             – Billy Joel, “Innocent Man,” 1983 Considering the “cure” that happened last week when a federal judge dismissed the ethics conviction against former Senator Ted Stevens,  » Read more about: An...

On page A-18 of Thursday’s (April 9) print edition of the New York Times, three of the four stories on that page were about ethics: “New Scrutiny of Other Alaska Corruption Cases” “Director of Ethics Office Is Replaced at Justice Department” “Congressional Ethics Office Opens Inquiry into Rep. Jackson”         I typed “ethics” into The Washington Post search engine and...

There’s always a debate about journalistic ethics when the media goes too far.  But there are journalists who stand by their own standards even when pressured by others. Charles Lewis founded the Center for Public Integrity after eleven years as an investigative reporter at ABC News and CBS News, as well as a producer for 60 Minutes. The following is a story Lewis shared with me...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In a stunning announcement on the steps of the Capitol today, scientists from four leading research centers believe they have found a direct link between the ethics scandals of the last five years – perhaps going back as far as five decades – and a chemical imbalance in the brain. The new disease, which scientists are calling “Involuntary...

You’re facing a crisis. “Know what you can control and what you can’t.” People challenge and criticize you. “Refrain from defending your reputation and intentions.” Some people use harsh language and bombast. “Conduct yourself with dignity.” If you’re looking for the calm while working your way through a great storm, the ancient Greek Stoic philosopher Epictetus just might be the...

Re-interpreting a New York Daily News headline from 1975, the following is in response to a resignation letter written by Jake DeSantis, former executive vice-president, A.I.G. financial products unit to Edward M. Liddy, chief executive of A.I.G., appearing in the New York Times on Wednesday, March 25th.   Dear Mr. DeSantis, It’s difficult to read that you feel “betrayed by A.I.G.  » Read more...

You’re trapped in an elevator with a guy who looks like a cross between Al Franken and a computer nerd. You’re a little uneasy. Wait, he just put his hand in his pocket, reaching for… a BlackBerry.  You discreetly look over his shoulder to read: “Need your help!  Can you come… fast?” Oh, it’s just Norm. Norm Eisen is Mr. Ethics...