Abstract:
Sexuality and violence in the media have received significant attention by the researchers in
communication studies. Unlike the extant literature, this research considers these phenomena as
marketing instruments used by the mass media and approaches them from business ethics
perspective. It aims at determining whether the use of sexuality and violence by the media
institutions is ethical according to business ethics theories. It seeks to answer the research question
by examining some fundamental business ethics theories, namely Kantian, Utilitarian, Aristotelian
and Contractarian approaches to business ethics. In addition, it aims at introducing a framework for
the evaluation of controversial issues in marketing practices in terms of business ethics. The analysis
suggests that the use of sexuality and violence as marketing instruments in the mass media is
unethical. All the business ethics theories examined support this conclusion. The deductions about
the use of sexuality are stronger than the use of violence. Given the fact that the media institutions
use sexuality and violence as a marketing instrument in order to attract more viewers or consumers,
it means that the media companies are trying to market themselves or their products at the expense of
ignoring business ethics.
