What roles do ethics and power play in journalism? For the most part, journalists have power that can harm, rather than help, citizens' autonomy. The way journalists cover their subjects and their sources has caused much concern. The ethos of these two endeavors has much in common, because both use people in various ways to achieve the other's goals. Well-developed research guidelines designed to protect the autonomy of research participants, to guard against unnecessary deception, and to recognize the special needs of vulnerable research participants have direct application to journalism. Christopher Meyers argues that the news media is ethically bound by procedure, which leads journalists to inappropriately assert power at the individual level and unintentionally relinquish moral authority at the institutional and global levels. In this article I will discuss how journalists use power and the role that ethics plays in journalism. In particular, journalists have power at three levels: the micro level, as in relationships between journalists and news entities or sources; the institutional or professional level, such as the impact of the media on regional political or cultural agendas; and the social level, as in the media's contribution to the creation and maintenance of ideology. Power by definition is the ability to implement one's goals, often, though not always, by successfully manipulating others. The ability to implement one's agenda is seen through power and directly linked to the promotion of autonomy; powerful agents have greater opportunities to act on those choices they deem important for character development. However, power can also be constructed to limit the similar choices of others; that is, power can be used to coerce or coerce, as well as... middle of paper... Empowerment as a Universal Ethic in Global Journalism." Journal of Mass Media Ethics; 2004: p.130 -137. Kennamer, David "What journalists and researchers have in common about ethics." Journal of Mass Media Ethics 2005: p. "A philosophical approach." Journal of Mass Media Ethics broadcasting http://www.rtnda.org/ethics/coe.shtml Journal of Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct 2004. Rao, Shakuntala, Seow Ting Lee “Globalizing Media Ethics? An Assessment of Universal Ethics Among International Political Journalists." Journal of Mass Media Ethics; 2005: p. 99-120. Society of Professional Journalists. http://www.spj.org/ethics_code.asp. Journal of Codeof Ethics; 2004. Ward, Stephen. “Philosophical Foundations for Global Journalism Ethics.” Journal of Mass Media Ethics 2005: p. 3-21.