4 9 13 05 08 2013 Chapter 6 60 minute video clips o Stephen Glass journalist Made up quotes and entire articles and created fake voice clips and tricked editors Worked at New Republic Magazine Loved how people liked his stories so he would lie to make them perfect He ached to please Sold fabricated stories to many magazines Fictional people wouldn t write letters of anger because they are fake Created a book on young journalist pathological liar and got a law degree Stephen failed bar exam interview to get lawyer license and his case is currently in California Supreme court o Story of Stephen Glass Trust and freedom Raising the level of trust in the press is one critical way to ensure the survival of quality journalism for the mainstream media and for the emerging media Press is arbiter of information When the press makes mistakes especially egregious ones it gives ammunition to people who want to curtail press freedom People believing what they read by pressed rate has dropped since 1980 People rely on press reports to help them make decisions ex who to vote for etc When you re the consumer you re not buying news you re buying judgement supreme court said restraint cannot put in press to publish Pentagon Papers NYT o Plagiarists and Fabricators Janet Cooke Washington Post investigative reporter invented an 8 year old boy addicted to heroin Jayson Blair NYT made up stories plagiarized other news reporters Jack Kelley USA Today plagiarized other News Reporters and fabricated stories One other kind of plagiarizing fabrication pictures getting edited and photoshopped so much to completely change the subject picture o Stephen Glass as a Case Study The more Stephen Glasses we see the more reasons we give the public to trust us or support our freedom and the more likely it is that the government would enjoy the conditions necessary to restrict our freedom Still not a good ethics case study Gov keeps finding more reasons to restrict our freedoms o Ethics Ethics comes from the greek word athos and morality comes from the latin word mores and meaning both is customs Ethics goes beyond taste or tradition to matters of right v wrong so ethics is Well founded standards of right and wrong that prescribe what humans ought to do in terms of rights and obligations benefits to society and The study of ones ethical standards o Code of Ethics Developed by associations or institutions different ones for different associations and institutions pg 213 in book engage in social engineering of journalism with guidelines to go and live by as a journalist ex seek truth and report it minimize harm some people use code of ethics against them 4 11 Ethics 05 08 2013 Ethics W D Ross o An insitutionist philosopher o Perfect vs imperfect duties Duties we are obligated to do vs duties we should try and do Perfect Duties Fidelity keep your promises Nonmaleficence avoid causing harm Reparation make up for harm you ve caused others Only a perfect duty if harm was intentional of the result of gross negligence Respect for person treat every person as being autonomous Formal justice give people what they deserve and treat them equally Imperfect Duties Beneficence do what you can to improve the lives of others Gratitude show appreciation Distributive justice distribute social justice benefiting least advantaged Honesty avoid misleading people Self improvement work to develop your moral intellectual and physical qualities Extra Chapter 6 Notes Journalist s Creed o the supreme test of good journalism is the measure of its public service and cities accuracy truthfulness fairness and independence among key attributes of good journalism o more of a mission statement for journalism than a decisionmaking strategy for the working journalist the RTDNA Radio Television Digital News Association o Code Professional electronic journalists should operate as trustees of the public seek the truth report it fairly and with integrity and independence and accountability the code offers much more specific instructions o Essentially admonishing journalists to avoid sensationalizing a story or giving an event too much coverage Connected to formal and distributive justice All too common trap for making decisions going on your gut instinct alone o NEED TO USE MIND TOO Journalism is a DISTINCLY PUBLIC ENTERPRISE o You provide information about the public to the public 4 18 Free Speech Free Press 05 08 2013 Free Speech Free Press The Major Questions o General What is law Holds a lot of room for interpretation a body of rules prescribed by a controlling authority Blacks Law Dictionary the law prescribes rights and responsibilities stability and consistency by solving problems Where does Law Come From People who can propose or make a law Congressmen People will of the people Judges Executive Sources Different Types of Law o 1 common law o 2 statutory law used by federal system broad social problems o 3 Constitutional Law trying to defend yourself o 4 Administrative Law government agencies in executive branch create rules esp for broadcasters o prior restraints on publication The pentagon papers o Executive Orders instructions to other gov officials about the way they enforce laws How do I read Law o Frame things differently based on different perspectives o Roe vs Wade First Amendment Law o There are certain things you cannot say and will be thrown in jail o We have had a messy struggle with free speech and regulating it o Separating person vs person s right to speak o congress shall make no law establishing of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and to petition the government for a reason of grievances o Nixon Branzburg Collins Phelps Flynt Carlin all had a huge part in the first amendment o Separate unpopularity of idea vs persons right to say o Nixon pentagon paper case NYT Co vs US The ruling made it possible for the New York Times and Washington Post newspapers to publish the then classified Pentagon Papers without risk of government censorship or punishment o Branzburg reporter did a story on young people that synthesized own drugs and wouldn t give them the names and argues in court and many lower courts disagreed with supreme court o Collin nazi wanted to go through Skoki IL jewish town and march wearing a swastika town of skoki passed an ordinance that the swastika cannot be shown and Collin said it is an infringement on the