PERSPECTIVES ON JOURNALISM ETHICS JRNL 6202 SUMMER II 2015

• Instructor: Bill Mitchell • 10 August 2015 | Northeastern Univ.

PERSPECTIVES ON JOURNALISM ETHICS JRNL 6202 SUMMER II 2015

• Instructor: Bill Mitchell• Bmitch (at) gmail dot com• 727-641-9407• 10 August 2015 | Northeastern Univ.

WHAT WE’LL DO TONIGHT• Final version of Correct That Error due Friday

• Privacy: The ethics and the law

• Taste: Moving past your gut

• Diversity: Why staffing & coverage are so linked

• 10 minute break (at about 7:30 p.m.)

• Diversity: A case study

• Upcoming assignments, etc.

• Discussion of Final Paper

FROM THE HEADLINES, A CASE:

OPTIONS THE REPORTER MIGHT CONSIDER?

• Inform her editors

• Have the paper contact Teague directly and demand an end to the behavior

• Have the paper inform Teague’s superiors

• Wait and see if the behavior continues before taking further action

FROM CHINESE SOCIAL MEDIA, A REMINDER OF FRAMING ISSUES

ELEMENTS OF CORRECT THAT ERROR

• The error you found

• How you found it

• Why you noticed it

• Why it matters

• The process you followed to get it corrected

• Email? Telephone? Social media?

• If one path doesn’t work, try another

• What this experience suggests to you about the role of audiences in helping journalists improve accuracy

PRIVACY:PUBLIC VS. PERSONAL INTEREST • Information shared as central to community life

• Information withheld as central to civilized life

• An issue of both law and ethics

• A tension best resolved with courage & compassion

• A key tool: Discerning journalistic purpose

THE MAYOR’S TEXT MESSAGES ABOUT THE OLYMPICS

CONTEXT FOR JOURNALISTS’ PURSUIT OF THE MAYOR’S TEXTS:

• Information shared as central to community life

• Information withheld as central to civilized life

• An issue of both law and ethics

• A tension best resolved with courage & compassion

• A key tool: Discerning journalistic purpose

THE (RELATIVELY) EASY CALLS WHEN IT COMES TO PRIVACY

• Public performance of public officials

• Crimes

• Accidents

WHAT MAKES EASY CALLS MORE DIFFICULT

• Public performance of public officials

• Appropriate zones of privacy for public officials, celebrities?

• Crimes

• How much privacy for victims of crimes committed in very public ways?

• Accidents

• What about private tragedies of public disasters?

THE 4 NO-NO’S OF PRIVACY LAW• No intruding into a person’s solitude or private affairs

• Apart from whatever’s published, beware the intrusion

• No publishing embarrassing private facts

• Unless relevant to a matter of public concern

• No portraying somebody in a false light

• Beware file photos illustrating bad stuff

• Appropriation

• No making money off somebody else’s image

WHERE THE LAW MAY PERMIT WHAT ETHICS MIGHT LIMIT

• Public places

• Lovers in the park example

• Public records

• Home addresses of potentially vulnerable stakeholders

THREE-STEP PRIVACY PROCESS• Assess the information

• Is there really a legitimate public interest?

• Analyze the likely harm

• How much harm is inflicted in gathering the info?

• In publishing it?

• Frame up at least 3 alternatives and pick one

• Balance public interest against private harm

RECURRING SCENARIOS• Private people thrust into the news

• Victims of sex crimes

• Private lives of politicians

• Suicides

• Juveniles accused of crimes

• Adult relatives of public people

• Information gathered via social networks

THE ARTHUR ASHE CASE: HOW MIGHT YOU PROCEED IF THE

CASE AROSE TODAY?

ON NAMING THE ACCUSER AS WELL AS THE ACCUSED

TASTE: A MIX OF COMMON SENSE, COMPASSION AND COURAGE

• Discerning which words & images may be hurtful

• And how (or if) they should be used in the public interest

• Discerning which words are so vulgar, profane, sexist or disparaging to preclude their everyday use

• But when might journalistic purpose justify their use?

• Discerning which images portray unacceptable violence or nudity

• But when might journalistic purpose justify their use?

DAVID SHRIBMAN, POST-GAZETTE EXECUTIVE EDITOR:

• “I can identify no real journalistic purpose at this time in violating our own standards of good taste by publishing these crude and demeaning, personal descriptions, no matter how shocking the impact of those words might be on our own readers.”

DWYER SUICIDE PHOTOS• Journalistic purpose?

DIVERSITY IN STAFFING & COVERAGE

• Minorities account for one-third of U.S. populations but

• 24 percent of TV news workforce

• 12 percent of radio news workforce

• 14 percent of daily newspaper workforce

• (These figures are from 2007; 2014 figures for daily newspapers show slight decline)

DIVERSITY IN STAFFING & COVERAGE

• Hutchins Commission (1947) says journalists should “give a comprehensive picture of constituent groups in society, avoiding stereotypes”

• Kerner Commission (1968) notes that segregation of American society even worse in newsrooms, made up almostly exclusively of white males

DIVERSITY ESSENTIAL TO SPJ’S TRUTH-TELLING PRINCIPLE

• “Tell the story of the diversity and magnitude of the human experience, even when it is unpopular to do so”

• “Examine their own cultural values and avoid imposing them on others”

• “Avoid stereotyping by race, gender, age, religion, ethnicity, geography, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance or social status”

WHEN REPORTING ABOUT CULTURES OTHER THAN YOUR OWN…

• Get in touch with your own stereotypes, and do some reporting about those impressions

• Ask about traditions of the culture you’re stepping into

• Learn basic protocols and courtesies

• In short, do the homework required to interact respectfully with the subjects of your reporting

KEITH WOODS’ FOUR CRITERIA OF GOOD REPORTING ABOUT RACE

• The story provides context

• The story embraces complexity

• We hear the voices of people

• The story has the ring of authenticity

SCENARIOS TO PREPARE FOR:

• Covering new immigrants

• When to identify news subjects by race

• Is race relevant to the story’s overall context?

• Have I explained the relevance

• Is it free of codes?

• Racial identifiers used evenly?

• Do I need some advice?

SCENARIOS TO PREPARE FOR, CONT.:• Expanding your Rolodex

• Ending racial & ethnic disparity in coverage

• Missing children example

• Even-handed coverage of GLBT community

CASE STUDY #1

CASE STUDY #2

ASSIGNMENTS: • For all assignments, see bit.ly/EthicsAssignments• Reading: Chapters 16,19 & 20 in Foreman book• By 7 a.m. Friday 14 August: Final version of Correct That

Error• By 7 a.m. Sunday 16 August: A post to your blog (if

helpful, it can be related to your final paper)• By 3 p.m. Monday 17 August: A comment about a

classmate’s post• By 7 a.m. Friday 21 August: Final version of your final

paper

FINAL PAPER DUE 7 A.M. FRIDAY 21 AUGUST

• Describe a dimension of media ethics that needs work

• Explain the shift you propose

• Explain how the reform you propose would benefit journalism

• Use specific examples

• Invite assessment of your ideas from knowledgeable sources

• Explain how this reform or rethinking fits with your personal ethics guidelines

• See discussion of Final Paper in syllabus: bit.ly/SummerEthics

• Questions about your final paper? Email or call me 727 641 9407