Ethics, Standards and Laws

Transcription

1 Ethics, Standards and Laws

2 Six Main Standards of Ethics Can you define these in the chat box? Accuracy Fairness Attribution Credit Taste Honesty

3 Ethical Breaches Type an example of each in the chat box! Plagiarism Fabrication Bias Conflict of Interest Invasion of Privacy Payola and Gifts Checkbook Journalism Misrepresentation

4 Types of Bias Language choice Lack of balance Lack of fairness Missing information Unnecessary Information Reporter s Opinion What was the toughest part about the Bias Busters assignment?

5 Who did you choose? A. Jayson Blair, New York Times B. Stephen Glass, The New Republic C. Janet Cooke, The Washington Post Who do you think was the worst?

6 PRE- PUBLICATION Code of Ethics Two- source rule POST- PUBLICATION Ombudsman Corrections Letters to the Editor

7 CRIMINAL Invasion of Privacy Trespassing Contempt CIVIL Libel Slander What are the defenses against libel and slander?

8 Truth Privilege Public Figure Fair Comment and Criticism Absence of Malice

9 Are bloggers subject to the same rules of libel? If you link to a blog entry that invades someone s privacy, are you guilty by association? What self- regulation is available for bloggers?

10 Protections of the media from the government

11 Sometimes the government tries to protect secrets the media wants to report about (such as?) The government may try to use prior restraint What is being done to protect journalists and maintain their rights in the U.S. and across the world? How are the U.S. and other countries different in terms of freedom of the press?

12 FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) any citizen to request nonpublic information from the government Shield Laws protects a reporter from being forced to testify before state or federal grand juries Prior restraint?

13 What criteria should news organizations use in determining whether to publish material that the government says could jeopardize national security?

14 If you were the editor of a newspaper and one of your reporters uncovered a secret report that the government asked you not to publish, what would be your process for determining how to proceed? When has this happened recently in real life?

15 Research journalists who defied the law Judith Miller of The NY Times the Plame case Blogger Josh Wolf the street protest video Walter Pincus of The WaPo the Wen Ho Lee case Choose ONE of these people Paragraph (min. 6 sent) of dilemma and why journalist was going against the court Paragraph (min. 3 sent) of what laws might be involved and how

16 Is Wikipedia a reliable source to quote in a story or paper? Is Wikipedia valuable for research at all? What s the best way to use Wikipedia?

17 Choose one of the three dilemmas presented Answer all the questions posed in a single response Respond to TWO of your classmates Respond to someone who commented on your post (or on another person s comment)

18 A university journalism class investigates a man who is convicted of murder and is serving a life sentence. They have a source within the prosecutor's office who has given them information proving that the prosecutor tampered with evidence. The judge has subpoenaed the class's records, but the students and teacher refuse to give up their source. The judge is threatening to throw the whole class in jail until they comply. Respond to the following: Do you think the class should hand over the source or should the class protect the source, even if it means they all go to jail? State your opinion and explain your reasons, citing, as they apply to this case, the laws and ethical standards you have learned.

19 A blogger learns from a government source that the U.S. intelligence community has reliable information that another 9/11- type attack is being planned by a militant group in another country with connections to a known terrorist organization. The source gives the information to the blogger because he thinks the public has a right to know about the threat and this blog is widely read. Government officials state that they do not possess enough specific information to inform the public in any meaningful way. The government wants to exercise prior restraint to keep the blogger from reporting the information and also wants the blogger to reveal his source. Respond to the following: Do you think the blogger should be barred from publishing the information or does the public have the right to know the information? State your opinion and explain your reasons, citing, as they apply to this case, the laws and ethical standards you have learned.

20 A cameraman for a local TV news station shoots video of a snowball fight in a major urban center. What started as winter fun grew out of control and turned into a brawl. An off- duty police officer witnessed the scene, and in order to break up the fight, drew his weapon and threatened to shoot the snowball- wielding teenagers. The TV station is subpoenaed, and the courts want the video with all its outtakes to use as evidence. The TV station refuses, saying that it is not an arm of law enforcement, that it is not required to supply information, and that the request infringes on its First Amendment rights. Respond to the following: Should the station comply with the court subpoena and turn over the video? State your opinion and explain your reasons, citing the laws and ethical standards you have learned as they apply to this case.

21 Finding story ideas Finding sources for your stories Gathering information Interviewing Story Proposal Assignment coming up

22 Where can you get ideas for stories? What are some beats that interest you? Once you have an idea, what do you do? Where can you find non- human sources for your stories? Where can you find human sources for your stories?

23 Overview of your story idea Description of story idea Why it s a compelling subject for readers Who would be interested in reading this story sentences Identify human sources Name, position, organization, connection to story What information can they provide? Minimum three sources Identify nonhuman sources Title, location and any other identifying information What information can you get? Minimum two sources

24 A broadcast journalist does a story about a doctor who claims his herbal tea cures cancer and patients say on- air they think the guy is a quack. The doctor threatens to sue, charging which of the following? A. Invasion of privacy B. Slander C. Libel D. Fraud

25 A celebrity journalist is doing a story about a movie star who is getting a facelift. The journalist pretends to be a messenger and sneaks into a private hospital. He then hides in a supply closet next door to the celebrity s room to eavesdrop. She steals the movie star s medical chart off the hospital room door and uses it to write a story. What breach is this? A. Invasion of privacy B. Slander C. Libel D. Fraud

26 BREACH A writer uses the description of the Lincoln Memorial from the D.C. website in their story A reporter sifts through the mail of a person running for Senator No one does a good job of explaining a certain concept in a reporter s story, so he writes his own appropriate quote A journalist writes about the hospital where his wife is on the board of directors An amusement park gives free admission to a roller coaster reviewer OPTIONS A. Fabrication B. Invasion of Privacy C. Payola/Gifts D. Conflict of Interest E. Plagiarism

27 BREACH OPTIONS A journalist claims to be a city inspector so he can get access to a restricted area of a city building A health reporter writes about a new drug and studies showing it prevents heart attacks, but he doesn t discuss three studies that show the drug s side effects A reporter writes about the new products at a company that fired his daughter A reporter gives $20 for a cab ride to a homeless man he interviewed about city services for the homeless A restaurant sends three $20 gift certificates to the local newsroom A reporter works on the Rick Perry campaign and then writes a story about Mitt Romney A. Bias B. Checkbook Journalism C. Payola/Gifts D. Conflict of Interest E. Misrepresentation