Main Aim(s) of the Unit:

In undertaking this unit students will learn the philosophical and ethical assumptions which underpin much of today and tomorrow’s journalistic endeavours. They will also understand how ethics informs much of the media law and regulation that is derived from it, and how that applies both nationally and internationally.

They will then look at voluntary regulation as it mainly applies in the press and the more closely regulated broadcast media, and how the development of web will impact these various codes and strategies, where a surprising amount of existing and established law already applies and where case law and new legislation is bringing new restrictions on what was originally see as something of a wild frontier.

Main Topics of Study:

What Are/Is Ethics?

• Why do journalists need ethics and morals
• Classical theories
• Language of morals
• Press Freedom and Democracy

Professional Morality and the Public Interest

• Limits on journalists
• Truth and accuracy
• Privacy and Media Freedom
• The good journalist
• Impartiality and objectivity

Vulnerable Groups

• The mentally ill
• Elderly
• Disabled
• Victims of crimes, disasters etc.
• Discrimination

Other vulnerable and special groups - and privacy

• Celebrities
• Politicians and public figures
• Witnesses
• Criminals and offenders

Children

• The Children Act
• Interviewing and reporting
• Filming and identification
• Rights of Children in International Law
• Children Involved with social Services

Ethics and Newsgathering - sources and confidentiality

• Privacy and intrusion
• History of privacy
• Intrusion and Harassment
• Clandestine listening, secret filming
• Sources and their protection
• Payments to sources
• Bribes, corruption and conflicts of interest
• Suppression
• On and off the record
• Plagiarism
• Misrepresentation

Taste and Decency/ Harm and Offence

• Defining taste - What is good taste?
• What is Indecent
• Causing offence

Ethics and Regulation - Voluntary and Compulsory

• How Ethics Inform Regulation and Production codes
• Voluntary Regulation - Press Complaints Council
• Statutory foundation of regulation
• Other regulatory systems - Local (national) and international Regulatory Codes

Voluntary codes (UK Models)

• The Press Complaints Commission
• New Irish Press Council
• Self Regulation
• NUJ Code of Conduct
• Local codes

Statutory Codes (UK Models)

• Ofcom programme code
• The Production Guide - Channel 4 Channel 5 producers
• BBC Producers Guidelines
• Local codes

Publishing Ethics

• Plagiarism
• Editing Pictures
• Manipulating visual images
• Editing Text & Quotes
• Headlines
• Taste and decency
• Conflicts of interest

Ethics and the Internet

• In the Internet - the wild frontier?
• Ethical considerations online
• Ethical, legal and regulatory constraints on use of the internet
• Intellectual rights
• Copyright

International Ethics and Regulation

• Journalism ethics an international perspective
• UN Declaration of Human Rights
• European Community Human Rights law and regulations
• European Media regulation
• Television Without Frontiers

Learning Outcomes for the Unit

Knowledge and Understanding - having completed this Unit learners will be able to:

1. Understand how ethical considerations underpin all systems of regulation
2. Apply their knowledge of ethics to their work as journalists
3. Critically evaluate the ethical constraints on their reporting activities and the limits to publication and distribution
4. Apply this knowledge to all areas of journalism
5. Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the main UK regulatory codes
6. Relate the main issues of ethics to the development of national and international codes of regulation - compare their various applications around the world.

The numbers in the boxes below show which of the above unit learning outcomes are related to particular cognitive and key skills.

Learning and teaching methods/strategies used to enable the achievement of learning outcomes:

Learning should take place on a number of levels, principally through lectures, but centres should also encourage seminars, presentation and class discussion, including review and analysis of current media issues.

Formal lectures should provide a foundation of information on which the student builds through directed learning and self managed learning outside the class.

Assessment methods which enable the student to demonstrate the learning outcomes for the Unit:
Written examination : 3 hours duration Weighting : 100%

Indicative Reading For This Unit

Core Texts

Frost, C (2007) - Journalism, Ethics and Regulation (Pearson)
Quinn, F (2007) - Law for Journalists (Pearson)

Recommended Alternative Texts and Further Reading

Frost, Chris (2003) Designing for Newspapers and Magazines (Routledge)

Channel Four/Channel 5 (2008) The Producers Handbook
BBC Producers Guideline (2008) BBC - available online - http://www.bbc.co.uk/guidelines/editorialguidelines/
NUJ Code of Conduct (revised 2008) available online - www.nuj.org.uk
Ofcom Broadcasting Code (revised 2008) available online - http://www.ofcom.org.uk/tv/ifi/codes/bcode/
U.S. Federal Communications Commission - http://www.fcc.gov/
Irish Press Council - http://www.presscouncil.ie/v2/presscouncil/portal.php?content=_includes/about.php

Guideline for Teaching and Learning Time

Unit Content : this course will consist of : -

50 hours Lectures/ Seminars/Tutorials/Workshops
Tutorial support includes feedback on assignments and may vary from college to college according to local needs and wishes

50 hours Directed Learning
Advanced reading, research and preparation, background reading, Group study and portfolio

50 hours Self managed learning
Working through the course text and other recommended reading material, use of the web, interaction with other students and in the field research at relevant sporting events