Chapter 10

Ethics – The study of guidelines that help people determine

right from wrong in their voluntary conduct The Print Era - Early American ethical views

▪ Often depended on political orientation.▪ Advancement of one’s political point of view was

often more important than a search for the truth.▪ Objectivity ▪ Describing something based on factual elements rather

than the feelings of the one describing it (subjectivity) as a journalistic standard.

The Development of the Philosophy of Free Speech Freedom to protest was important to the founders U.S.

colonies ▪ After breaking away from the Roman Catholic Church

Protestants chaffed under England’s licensing laws▪ Not allowed to express religious views for more than a

100 years.

Does the freedom of speech allow Us to say whatever we like? Whenever we like?

Are there any exceptions to freedom of speech If so what are they? What type of speech is NOT protected By the 1st amendment

Do you think it should be protected Why/Why not

The 1st amendment of the constitution Allows the U.S. press & media to be among▪ The freest in the world

What are the 5 clauses of the 1st amendment

Despite freedoms through 1st amendment There are some limitations

The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guaranteed citizens of the new country five essential and related freedoms:▪ Religion▪ Speech▪ Press▪ Assembly▪ Petition

The First Amendment ignited a sometimes bitter debate about free speech that continues to this day.

Conflicting Loyalties There is a wide range of conflicting loyalties that

influence the ethical decisions of media practitioners.▪ Duty to personal conscience.▪ Duty to one’s organization or firm.▪ Duty to one’s profession or art.▪ Duty to society.

Which of these do you think is most important for a Journalist?

Would it be the same for everyone else▪ Why/Why Not

Libel A false statement about a living person

that▪ Does damage to persons reputation

Four most common examples of libel▪ False charge of a crime▪ Suggest that a woman is unchaste▪ Charge that someone has/had horrible disease▪ Discredit someone in their profession▪ Calling a doctor a “Quack”▪ Calling a lawyer an “Ambulance Chaser”

Whether through carelessness or malice Libelous statements can result in 3 possible outcomes▪ General damages▪ Granted for injury to reputation

▪ Special damages▪ Monetary loss, erosion of business, loss of job, etc

▪ Punitive damages▪ Usually awarded if person can prove

Reckless disregard or malicious intent to harm By writer or publisher

Avoiding Libel▪ Check & double check your facts▪ Make sure you can trust your notes

If libel slips through▪ Best defenses have been▪ Truth, fair comment, opinion

▪ If public figure▪ Malice has to be proven to charge libel

Protection of Rights Personal Rights: ▪ An individual’s right to be left alone,

especially in one’s home, ▪ established through common law.▪ Privacy law is always changing with the times.

▪ After September 11th attacks, Congress passed the USA PATRIOT Act ▪ Act gives govt expanded rights to access

personal and private communications and examine books Americans buy or check out of the library.

Invasion of privacy 4 parts to this▪ Casting someone in a false light▪ Embellishing, fictionalizing or distorting a factual

statement

▪ Revealing intimate details of someone’s life▪ Even with proof, this is questionable due to the nature of

privacy

Invasion of privacy▪ Misappropriate someone’s name or likeness▪ Using a persons name or photograph in an

advertisement▪ Without their permission

Can also apply to recently passed celebrities

▪ Intruding physically into someone’s private life▪ Unauthorized wiretaps▪ Trespassing on private property to gather info▪ Committing fraud while gathering info▪ Getting interviews under false pretenses

Intellectual Property Rights Copyright law grants the author right to make

and distribute copies of that work for a specified period.▪ First-sale doctrine ▪ Allows purchasers of copies of a copyrighted work to

resell it or rent it out.

▪ Copyright does not protect ideas, ▪ Only expression of ideas, such as a written works,

screenplay, novel.

▪ The copyright sign does not have to appear in a work for it to be protected.

▪ Fair use allows copying of a work for noncommercial use as long as it does not exploit the copyright holder.

▪ Congress passed the Digital Millennium Copyright Act in 1998 ▪ Made it a crime to break through any technology intended

to secure digital copies of software, literary works, videos, and music.

Copyright Protection For article writers▪ Facts in article are not copyrighted▪ Only the words THEY used to describe those facts

▪ Copyright is assigned to unpublished material▪ As soon as it’s written

Editors may want to buy certain rights All rights▪ You give up the right to use material in same form

later▪ You can’t sell it to anyone else for a reprint

First serial rights▪ Magazine or newspaper has the right to run your article first

Second serial rights▪ Refers to reprint rights after first publication elsewhere

Simultaneous rights▪ When multiple publications with different audience▪ Can run it at the same time – doesn’t happen often

Copyright infringement Violating these exclusive rights of copyright

holders▪ Reproduction of copyrighted work▪ Preparation of derivative work▪ Based on copyrighted material

▪ Selling, renting or lending copies▪ Performing the work in public▪ Displaying the work in public

Essentially▪ You can’t take someone else’s work & pass it off as

yours

So how much of someone's work can I use/reference without getting sued “Fair Use”▪ Doctrine that allows for using someone else’s

work ▪ Within reason

▪ 200 words from a novel – OK▪ 200 words from a 300 word article – Not OK

Ethical guidelines Truth and accuracy Fairness Doctoring Quotes

Ethical guidelines On & off the record Made-up Names & Places Confidential Sources

Ethical guidelines Editorial Bias Pretense and deception Conflicts of interest

Ethical guidelines Multiple submissions Multiple versions Making ethical decisions

Clear and Present Danger doctrine Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote the in 1919 “The question in every case is whether the words used are

used in such circumstances and are of such a nature as to create a clear and present danger that they will bring about the substantive evils that the United States Congress has a right to prevent.”

In 1957, the Supreme Court decreed that a work could be declared obscene ▪ If, according to the perceptions of the average person

applying contemporary community standards, the dominant theme of the material taken as a whole appealed to the prurient (lustfully depraved) interest of the consumer.

▪ This definition tended to confuse rather than clarify.