Download LEC 312S

LEC 312S
Legal and Ethical Issues
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Legal issues: making reference to the law (communicate
without infringing on the law)
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Ethical issues: acceptable behavior in the society and even in
a given profession.
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Ethics- standards of behavior that tell us how we ought to
behave in different situations
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Code of ethics: define ethical standards set by a profession
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Ethics also define our obligations to one another and also
particular obligations which come with a particular profession
Ethical Issue
 Responding to two or more competing and morally defensible
courses of action
 When there is conflict between two right moral obligations
 When you have to balance competing interests where there is
no ‘right’ a
Law (legal)
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The law plays a significant role in the communication process
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Law: the body of rules which protect rights and prevents
wrongs
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Law regulates human relations
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In communication (writing or verbal) there is a need to assess
issues with the eye of the law
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Good communicator-does not infringe on the law
Legal and ethical issues
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Falsehood/misleading information
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Withholding information
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Plagiarism/ copyright issues
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Selective misquoting and misrepresenting numbers
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Distorting visuals
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Invasion of privacy
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Confidentiality
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Conflicts of interest
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Defamation
Branches of Ethics
 Meta-ethics
 Is concerned with the study of the characteristics or
nature of ethics
 Examines meanings of terms ‘good, right, justice and
fairness
 What is the meaning of moral statements (meaning of
saying something is right or wrong)
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Normative ethics
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prescriptive ethics, Provide rules and principles that should guide our
behavior
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Consequential ethics (teleogical)
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Deontological ethics (duty, principle, rights)
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Utilitarianism, ethical egoism, hedonism, ethical altruism
The categorical imperative formula
– Test of universalization
– Respect for human dignity
– Action proceed out of good intentions
Virtue ethics character
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Character
Character developed through practice (Learn by practice in a community)
Golden mean
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Applied ethics
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Identifying the morally correct course of action in various
fields of human life.
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Decision can be informed by principles of morality (thinking
about the good and bad)
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It is the link between theory and practice
– Examples: bio-ethics
– Business ethics; political ethics; environmental ethics; medical
ethics
Moral reasoning
 Moral Reasoning is a systematic approach to making ethical
decisions
 It is a structured process, an intellectual means of defending
our ethical judgments against the criticisms of others
 Moral judgments should be based on sound ethical theories
and defensible through reasoned analysis
Process
 moral agent must posses knowledge and skills in three areas:
 context
 philosophical foundations of moral theory
 critical thinking.
Model for Moral Reasoning
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SAD formula
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Situation: acquire knowledge and facts and understanding of
the context of the ethical dilemma
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Analysis: identify the issues, information and assumptions
surrounding the problem
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Decision: Rendering of moral agents decision
– Defense of that decision based- upon moral theory
Media and Privacy
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Balancing individual interest in privacy against the interest of the public
in access to information is a challenge
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Privacy: the right to be left alone, to be able to control unwanted
publicity about one’s personal affairs
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Enshrined in the Constitution of Namibia
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Value of Privacy
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Ability to maintain the confidentiality of personal information and
autonomous individual
Privacy can protect us from scorn and ridicule by others
Produces a mechanism by which we control our reputations
Valuable in keeping distance and regulating the degree of social interaction
Privacy shields against power of government
Four categories of Right to Privacy
 Appropriation
 Intrusion
 Publication of information that places someone in false light
 Publication of embarrassing private facts
Defenses
 Newsworthiness- It is the content of an article or picture
which determines whether it is newsworthy or not.
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Public interest principle-also determines newsworthiness of a story.
 Consent (implied – participating in a newsworthy event-or to
a reporter)
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Explicit- giving verbal or written consent
 Media practitioners have a moral obligation to respect the
solitude of others unless they have relinquished their privacy
 (participating in a newsworthy event and the overriding
public interest principle.)
Defamation
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The law of defamation attempts to create a viable balance between
two important rights–
a persons right to an unimpaired reputation and
– another's right to freedom of expression.
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Article 8(2a) guarantees respect for human dignity
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Two types: Libel and slander
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Elements of Defamation
– Publication
– Falsity
– Identification
Defenses
 Absolute and qualified privilege
 Fair comment
 Truth and public interest
Intellectual Property
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The legal way to protect our inventions
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Protection of the products of the mind (mans artistic and
intellectual creation)
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IP comes in four different types of rights
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Patents
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Trademarks
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Trade secrets
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Copyright
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Patent: patent right gives exclusive right granted for an
invention
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Trade mark: a symbol, words or words representing the
company or products
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Trade secret: technique used in manufacturing a product
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Copyright: exclusive right to print, publish and record
(copyright is with the author)
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Copyright requirement
 Physical material
 Work in form of writing and other material qualify for protection
 Originality
 Qualify for copyright if its original
 Not copied from other sources
 Author- maker of the work (first to make or create an artistic
work)
 Ownership- author or co-authors of the work.
Defenses
 Innocent infringement
 Fair use
 Copyright expiration
 Consent
Traumatic events
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What: “What” is usually about the content of the story. What is the purpose of this story? Focus
on the purpose of the story. Trauma journalism should have a larger purpose than simply
recounting the grisly details of violence for curious listeners. Focus on:
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Does this story illuminate a larger public policy problem?
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Does this story help people understand the plight of trauma survivors? Does this story help –
with information or with examples – communities recover from trauma?
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Does this story help survivors?
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Who: Who should be our sources?
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Good trauma journalism begins with the premise that individuals are experts in their own lives.
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Primary sources must be survivors themselves.
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Questioning eyewitnesses of an event can often unearth useful
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When: knowing when to ask or interview victims or people who
have witnessed a traumatic event
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Some instances require that reporter interviews witnesses of the
attack, even though they may be experiencing trauma, as they talk
to them.
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Emphasis is on working respectfully in such conditions (identifying
ourselves immediately, asking sources politely, and reserving
follow-up questions for details that need to be clarified)
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In other instances, a good reporter, must know when to back off.
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Where: knowing where to ask victims about sensitive issues
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Emphasis is on protecting the privacy of the subject
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Allow subjects to decide where they can meet for an interview and where they want to sit.
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Use physical presence and body language to make people comfortable and reinforce their
control of the situation
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Why: understanding the ‘why’ of an incident.
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The question why may never be satisfactory answered, thus you cannot explain to the victims
why something has happened to them
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Therefore in interviewing and reporting one must not pretend that the story will give a solution
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Report here to show the extent of the traumatic event
Reporting on children
 Consider the age and emotional maturity of the child
 The nature of the news even about which a child is involved
 The extent to which the child’s information are vital to a story
 Note: The law prohibits publication of minors proceedings in
legal proceedings
Ethics and Political advertising
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Described as ‘messages that support or oppose a candidate
for nomination either to a public office or political party’
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It conveys impressions about a candidates character as well
as information about their issues of interest
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Through advertisements , political messages can reach
beyond the politically active citizens to reach uninterested
and unmotivated citizens (apolitical)
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Name identification spots or advert
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Argument spots/ adverts
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Attack spots
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Positive visionary
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Government regulation: Enforce regulations that disallow the use
of a certain type of negative advertisements
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Establishing a code of conduct: establish a code of conduct
to ensure honesty and respect for others
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Use Code of conduct to ensure adhere to standards of
accuracy and dignity
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Use public opinion as a motivator and enforcer for ethical
behavior in political advertising.
Ethics of social media
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Advantages of social media
– Reach people beyond the specific groups
– Foster dialogue and participation
– Provide an efficient and quicker method of measuring and
knowing public opinion
– Provide a means for identifying target publics preferences
– Enhance visibility- social media can support or increase public
awareness of an organization and overall image of the
organization
– Build a connection between the organization and its publics
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 Challenges
 Deceptive conduct (identity issues/false representation)
 Maintenance of confidentiality
 Knowing when to respond to comments on social platforms (how
to respond and whether to respond or not)
 Privacy issues
 Defamation issues
Ethics
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Avoid deceptive conduct/true representation of you or the
organization
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Know when to respond and how to respond on social media
platforms
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Consider the tone of your contents before posting
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Determine appropriate format of communication relevant for social
media
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Provide truthful information all the times
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Recognize the diverse audience you are communicating with
(cultural sensitivity)
Namibian law
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The Namibian Press Agentry Act, 1992
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The Namibian Broadcasting Corporation Act, 1991
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The Namibian Communications Commission Act, 2009
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The New Era Publications Act, 1992
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Freedom of expression (Article 21(1))
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Respect for human dignity
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Privacy
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Prohibit publication of:
– Minors identity in legal proceedings
– Certain information relating to criminal proceedings
– Identities involved in protection order proceedings
– Defense and security information
– Obscene photography
Judging ethics of a campaign discourse
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Campaign discourse- political communication
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Examples of campaign discourse: debates, political ads,
manifestos, media coverage, leaflets
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Political campaigns help the publics in formulating opinion
about an individual or organization
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Ethics of a campaign- useful in deciding what ought to be and
what ought not to be
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Importance of ethics in a campaign
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Purpose of a campaign is to educate and facilitate flow of
information to the public
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Information is necessary for decision making
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Application of ethical conduct in campaigns could reflect
general ethical conduct/temperament
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Disregard of ethics could be an indicator of future disregard
of ethical conduct in public office
Problematic campaigns
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Absence of truth
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Limited information
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Discrediting political opponents
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Unrealistic and unattainable promises
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Intimidation, provocation
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Smear campaigns
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Negative or attacking campaigns- do not reflect integrity
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 In any jurisdiction, the electorate commission provides an
ethical code of conduct
 This code of conduct can be the basis for judging the ethics of
a campaign discourse
 ECN provides such a code of conduct.