The article discusses ethical and legal conditions referring to media management. The following thesis is discussed: tendency for manipulative behaviors in the media is conditioned primarily by needs. Their expressions are rather independent from socio-economic system. For the purpose of proving the thesis the case study analysis was applied, including Watergate scandal, being the most substantial one and perceived widely as acknowledgment of the power of American democracy. The author proves that it is a faulty belief. An alternate element that proves the rightness of the assumed thesis is the analysis of legal documents referring to media institutions and deontological codes accepted by journalist associations.

The article discusses ethical and legal conditions referring to media management. The following thesis is discussed: tendency for manipulative behaviors in the media is conditioned primarily by needs. Their expressions are rather independent from socio-economic system. For the purpose of proving the thesis the case study analysis was applied, including Watergate scandal, being the most substantial one and perceived widely as acknowledgment of the power of American democracy. The author proves that it is a faulty belief. An alternate element that proves the rightness of the assumed thesis is the analysis of legal documents referring to media institutions and deontological codes accepted by journalist associations.