Write a 5-page (~1500 word) paper (plus references) discussing a case or multiple cases of your choosing, from the perspective of media ethics and law.
To stay organized, feel free to use the questions developed by Black and Roberts, dubbed the 5 Ws and an H, to generally guide your writing:
What’s your problem?
Why not follow the rules?
Who wins, who loses?
What’s it worth?
Who’s whispering in your ear?
How’s your decision going to look?
The Approach
Using these questions too rigidly will probably make writing up and reading your paper too clunky, but definitely incorporate all of these questions in your discussion of the case.
In addition, use readings from the course, including chapters from Black and Roberts to support your arguments/perspectives, and since these papers are about case studies of your choosing, you will obviously need to bring in outside sources.
There is no set number of sources required for writing this paper. Roughly three per page is an approximate number to keep in mind.
Grading Rubric
The instructor will grade this paper based on five main criteria:
1) How well you articulate the case or cases;
2) How well you utilize sources, especially scholarly research or case law;
3) How well you frame your paper in terms of the 5Ws and H model;
4) The originality of your paper; and,
5) How well you write your paper.
Four Sets of Research Questions to Consider
1) Protest and news reporting:
Who is considered a journalist?
Whose voices are privileged? Whose are generally suppressed?
What about the landscape helps cultivate particular news gathering practices?
What could reporters do better?
2) Whistle blowing cases involving journalists or public relations:
What are some examples of whistle blowing cases?
What overall cultural and social issues/attitudes contributed to the response of the organizations involved, and society at large?
What ethical questions and consequences were at stake for the individual and society?
3) Public relations issues: what are some examples of public relations cases where ethical decisions did and/or did not prevail?
What are the responsibilities PR officials have to uphold for themselves, their clients, and the many potentially impacted stakeholders?
How could PR officials have done a better (more ethically) job in the case(s)?
4) Issues of privacy or defamation (libel and slander):
What are some examples of stories in the news which involve breaches of privacy, or accusations of defamation (you can also focus closely on one example)?
How are these stories being reported? What is the background?
Who is making the accusation(s) and why? Or, what were the breaches (in terms of privacy)?
What are the legal standards at work here regarding your matter(s) at hand?
What are the ethical considerations which must be or should have been made when constructing and circulating these stories?
Possible Case Topics
Edward Snowden, Julian Assange, and WikiLeaks;
TMZ and entertainment reporting;
JonBenét Ramsey/Amanda Knox, or other high-profile murder victims;
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict, or other conflict zones around the world;
Identity, political campaigns and reporting (Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, etc.);
Drones in policing and warfare;
Freddie Gray/victims of police brutality, race, and protests;
The War in Iraq/Global War on Terror;
The War on Drugs, drug legalization, and industry.
The News International phone hacking scandal;
Black Lives Matter movement;
BP Oil Spill/Deepwater Horizon public relations snafu;
The Oregon standoff/militias/white nationalism/right-wing populism;
Corporate public relations and reporting on issues such as drug safety or pricing (e.g.. Vioxx, Risperdal);
The campaign of Donald Trump or any of the other candidates;
Bill Cosby rape case;
Digital media issues such as those raised in the actions of Anonymous;
How deaths related to social movements are framed.
Celebrity photo leak scandals in the US and abroad;
ISIS and social media;
The documentary Blackfish, animal welfare activism, and Sea World’s attempt at using public relations;
Corporate use of social media to shape public opinion (e.g., re tobacco)
Shield laws (Judith Miller, protection for reporters) who is and is not a journalist.
Russian invasion of Ukraine
