Journalistic Ethics

1.  Three Philosophies- define the following

Deontological

Teleological

Situational

2.  Categorize the following philosophies into either deontological or teleological.

John Merrill’s Deontelics

Utilitarianism

 Rand’s Rational Self Interest

 Rawl’s Veil of Ignorance

Aristotle’s Golden Mean

3.  Explain each of these ethical problems and how they relate to journalism.

Ethical Problems

                        Deceit

                        Conflict of Interest- friendship, payola, freebies

4.  Define the following and explain how this relates to the journalist.

Invasion of Privacy

Press Law

Use either the internet or the text to answer the following and send your responses to my e mail.

1. Define libel and slander.  What is the key difference between the two?

2. What is the Freedom of Information Act?

3. What are the “open record laws” and “sunshine laws”?

4. Explain absolute privilege and qualified privilege, and how these privileges relate to one another.

5. What is The Actual Malice Test?  Explain how it was applied to the Ariel Sharon case.

6. How is invasion of privacy defined in press law?

7. What is the Privacy Protection Act of 1980?

8. What is the difference between a search warrant and a subpoena?  Explain what each function as.

9.       Which defense for libel discussed in this chapter would you have used in     defending Time magazine in the lawsuit filed by Gen. Ariel Sharon?  Why?

10.   Scenario- You are on assignment with your photographer, who enters a house without permission and photographs the sale of illegal drugs.  Discuss the issues raised by the circumstances and explain why you would or would not publish the pictures.

Sports Event Coverage

Answer the questions below in complete sentences, as thoroughly as possible.  You must complete the questions by the end of the class.  Refer to your textbook.

1. How does the sports writer make a televised game more interesting?

2. What is helpful in avoiding a cliché in sports writing?

3. How does the sports writer specifically avoid the cliché of sports writing?

4. What 3 things add dimension to sports stories when digging for the ‘real’ story?

5. What 5 tasks should the sports writer always attend to when covering an event?