Chapter 660 minute video clips:Stephen Glass: journalistMade up quotes and entire articles , and created fake voice clips, and tricked editorsWorked at New Republic MagazineLoved how people liked his stories, so he would lie to make them perfectHe ached to pleaseSold fabricated stories to many magazinesFictional people wouldn’t write letters of anger because they are fakeCreated a book on young journalist pathological liar and got a law degreeStephen failed bar exam interview to get lawyer license and his case is currently in California Supreme courtStory of Stephen GlassTrust and freedomRaising 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 mediaPress is arbiter of informationWhen the press makes mistakes, especially egregious ones, it gives ammunition to people who want to curtail press freedomPeople believing what they read by pressed rate has dropped since 1980People 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)Plagiarists and FabricatorsJanet 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/ pictureStephen Glass as a Case StudyThe 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 freedomStill, not a good ethics case studyGov keeps finding more reasons to restrict our freedomsEthicsEthics 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 standardsCode of EthicsDeveloped 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 harmsome people use code of ethics against themEthicsW.D. RossAn insitutionist= philosopherPerfect vs. imperfect dutiesDuties we are obligated to do vs. duties we should try and doPerfect Duties:Fidelity: keep your promisesNonmaleficence: avoid causing harmReparation: make up for harm you’ve caused othersOnly a perfect duty if harm was intentional of the result of gross negligenceRespect for person: treat every person as being autonomousFormal justice: give people what they deserve and treat them equallyImperfect Duties:Beneficence: do what you can to improve the lives of othersGratitude: show appreciationDistributive justice: distribute social justice benefiting least advantagedHonesty: avoid misleading peopleSelf- improvement: work to develop your moral, intellectual, and physical qualitiesExtra Chapter 6 Notes:Journalist’s Creed:“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 journalismmore of a mission statement for journalism than a decision- making strategy for the working journalistthe RTDNA (Radio Television Digital News Association)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 instructionsEssentially admonishing journalists to avoid sensationalizing a story or giving an event too much coverageConnected to formal and distributive justiceAll- too- common trap for making decisions: going on your gut instinct aloneNEED TO USE MIND TOOJournalism is a DISTINCLY PUBLIC ENTERPRISEYou provide information about the public, to the publicFree Speech, Free PressThe Major QuestionsGeneralWhat is law?Holds a lot of room for interpretation“a body of rules prescribed by a controlling authority” –Blacks Law Dictionarythe law prescribes rights and responsibilitiesstability and consistency by solving problemsWhere does Law Come From?People (who can propose or make a law)CongressmenPeople (will of the people)JudgesExecutiveSourcesDifferent Types of Law1) common law2) statutory law: used by federal system; broad social problems3) Constitutional Law: trying to defend yourself4) Administrative Law: government agencies in executive branch: create rules (esp. for broadcasters)prior restraints on publication?The pentagon papersExecutive Orders: instructions to other gov officials about the way they enforce lawsHow do I read Law?Frame things differently based on different perspectivesRoe vs. WadeFirst Amendment LawThere are certain things you cannot say and will be thrown in jailWe have had a messy struggle with free speech and regulating itSeparating person vs. person’s right to speak“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.”Nixon, Branzburg, Collins, Phelps, Flynt, Carlin(all had a huge part in the first amendment)Separate unpopularity of idea vs. persons right to sayNixon: pentagon paper caseNYT 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.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 courtCollin: 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 first amendment--- did this solely to prove