Since 1997, when the Snowden Program funded its first summer internships at small and mid-sized Oregon newspapers, students have been increasingly engaged in discussions centered on ethical decision making. Today a formal ethics training component has been fully integrated into the program for use not only by those participating as Snowden interns, but also by journalism students around the country.

This teaching module contains a database of journalism ethics case studies, introductory materials on the importance of the media in society, and the basics of professional ethics. In addition, a process is presented to facilitate discussion and action regarding the case studies. The aim to ultimately provide a tool and a process by which future ethical decisions can be made.