JOURN 1100 1st Edition Final Exam Study Guide Lectures 21 26 Lecture 21 Plagiarism a kind of intellectual theft in which one passes off someone else s work and ideals as his own Craft Davis Which ethical rules of journalism did Jayson Blair violate Credibility of himself and the Times was Was anyone else responsible Editors should have been more involved Timeliness can cause us to make bad decisions Ethics vs Law News aggregation copyright law allows fair use of content created by other people How is that consistent with our view that plagiarism is unethical Example from Craft Davis morning edition business letter Pittsburg Business Times Need to attribute to original source link to original source verify put into own words or quote directly Important Concepts Morality code of conduct As the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy notes this term can refer either to a description of how a group or society actually behaves norms standards followed or to a more universal code of conduct that everyone should endorse Craft Davis Norms established practices Values what we aspire to do Ethics way we look at norms and values perceive what is right and wrong Ethics is NOT Same as morality About personal feelings Just custom social norms Same thing as law Ethics IS Standards of right and wrong that prescribe what you should do Study development of ethical standards Are you minimizing harm 4 Views of Ethics 1 Intuitionism our intuition can tell us what we ought to do prima facia duties strong presumption of doing the specific duty ex keeping a promise Perfect Duties what you MUST do Fidelity faithful to a person cause or belief shown through loyalty and support doing what you promise to do Non maleficence avoid harm Reparation making amends for a wrong one has committed repairing something Respect for persons being humble and treating everyone fairly Formal justice use legal system to hold people accountable Imperfect Duties what you SHOULD do Beneficence improving the lives of others Gratitude showing thanks Distributive justice distribute goods to help the needy Honesty telling the truth Self improvement making yourself and your writing better 2 Utilitarianism Consequentialism Outcomes of our actions determine whether our decisions are ethical Judge ethics by consequence Happiness should be maximized J S Mill 3 Deontologicalism Rules duties lead us to moral actions Immanuel Kant Judge ethics by adherence to the rules 4 Virtue Ethics Emphasize an individual s character Aristotle All ideas go with the idea of non maleficence Lecture 22 1 First Amendment 1 No established religion 2 Freedom of speech 3 Press 4 Assemble 5 Petition For most of the United States history a state could restrict and regulate first amendment 14 th amendment changed this so that amendments then had to apply towards the states 2 NY Times vs Sullivan Affects the future of Journalism 3 Important Concepts a Prior restraint government prohibition of speech in advance of publication b Sedition crime of revolting or inciting revolt against the government c Defamation any intentional false communication either written or spoken that harms a person s reputation decreases the respect regard or confidence in which a person is held or induces disparaging hostile or disagreeable opinions or feelings against a person d Libel written or broadcast defamation A false statement that damages a person s reputation e Actual malice standard set by Supreme Court in NY Times vs Sullivan 1964 In libel lawsuits public officials must prove false statements were published knowingly or with reckless regard for the truth 4 What ethical principles apply to libel Be aware of making ethical decisions avoid harm and legal implications remember libel 5 Virtual realities The concept of presence is created through feeling you are there in the event 6 Code of Ethics Consensus decision of people in a certain profession Standards of professional conduct stated by associations Radio Television News Directors Association Society of Professional Journalists a SPJ Code of Ethics 1 To seek the truth and report it 2 Minimize harm 3 Act independently 4 Be accountable when making decisions consider the possible outcomes and consequences choose perfect duty over imperfect duty b 9 steps with ethical decisions 1 Start with an open mind 2 Get all the facts you can 3 Listen to what your gut is saying 4 Identify duties at stake 5 Figure out kind of conflict you re facing 6 Brainstorm and analyze 7 Reach conclusion try to reach consensus 8 Try to minimize harm the decision may cause 9 Look toward the future c St Louis news story at Kirkwood elementary 1 Start with an open mind lets consider the idea of going into a school undercover 2 Get all the facts you can gather safety policies potential consequences of walking into a school unannounced 3 Listen to what your gut is saying doesn t seem right trespassing 4 Identify duties at stake telling the truth and serving the public minimizing harm 5 Figure out kind of conflict you re facing it could all workout OR you end up breaking the law and cause an inconvenience from the lockdown 6 Brainstorm and analyze look at after event and see the positives and negatives 7 Reach conclusion try to reach consensus bad idea 8 Try to minimize harm the decision may cause news organization had to explain itself 9 Look toward the future did some good by showing the good and bad ethical decisions reporters make Lecture 24 I Congresses Regulation of the Press Congress shall make no law Congress started regulating the press almost as soon as we became a nation Alien Sedition Act 1798 criminalized criticism of the government Sedition crime of revolting or inciting revolt against the government Under 1 st amendment doctrine it is rare but sedition remains in U S criminal code The law died off but came back again in WWI Schenck vs U S 1919 14th Amendment Supreme Court ruled the 1st Amendment applies to state and local laws Red Scare extended federal protection of individual liberties to state governments state had to follow federal law Gitlow vs New York 1925 Whether the words are used in circumstances related to creating a clear present danger that will bring substantive evils that U S congress has the right to prevent can t interfere with war New sedition laws after WWII targeted suspected Communist sympathizers Yates vs U S 1957 Supreme Court raised bar ruling that speech must advocate specific violent overthrow of the government to be