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COM 419A, B&T: COMMUNICATION ETHICS AND LAW
January, 2016 SEMESTER
Facilitator: Dr Clayton Peel
Email: cpeel@daystar.ac.ke
Purpose of the Course
There is no doubt that media wield considerable power over the way society live.
Whenever people or a group of people have power to influence the behavior and
lives of others, ethical obligation become imperative. This course is therefore an
interplay between the media law (rights and freedoms that media practitioners
enjoy) and ethics (professional obligations and responsibilities they have to be
conscious of while expediting their rights).Emphasis shall be in the legal
privileges and legal limitations affecting journalists in their practice as well as
ethical dilemmas they face on a day to day operation using various media
platform such as: broadcast, print media, public relations or advertising,
entertainment, digital platforms but also about Christian commitment as
communicators. This course will help students to explore what is right and good
about communication and media practice; to understand freedom and
responsible professionalism from a Christian worldview; and to gain a working
knowledge of Kenya media law.
.
Course Objectives
Upon completion of the course students should be able to:
1. Define ethics.
2. Discuss various broad approaches to ethics and moral theory.
3. Integrate ethical theory with their Christian faith.
4. Identify and respond to major ethical issues in the field of communication.
5. Evidence a good comprehension of the media laws of Kenya.
6. Act as knowledgeable professionals within the legal boundaries of
communication as part of the audience (society).
Learning objectives
1. Recognize ethical issues
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Knowledge will give you power, but character respect.
Bruce Lee
2.
3.
4.
5.
Develop analytical skills
Tolerate disagreement and ambiguity
Stimulate moral imagination
Elicit a sense of moral obligation and personal responsibility
Course Procedures
The Class shall consist of individual written, and group or paired assignments. All
class presentations shall be handed over to the facilitator for grading. Other
methods employed for delivery in this class shall include critique of a movie
(NIGHT CRAWLER), case studies drawn from media ethics as well as
contemporary cases, student presentations, guest speakers, and in-class
exercises.
Grading
Your final grade will be based on the following:
1. A first assignment worth 20% -This is an individual assignment. You will
be resolving an ethical or moral dilemma in an area of media and ethics.
Support your writing with valid arguments , laced with theoretical
underpinnings and at least include 10 references demonstrating your use
of credible academic literature. Kindly note that Wikipaedia is banned as a
source or reference: it has some interesting information and you can refer
to some of the authors it mentions, but Wikipaedia itself is not accepted as
a credible academic source.
2. Group papers/presentations (2x7.5)= 15%
3. Ethics portfolio assignments 35% (i.e. 25% a group portfolio and 10%
individual reflection on the entire process of building up a portfolio).
Instructions
You and /or group will research an ethical controversy related to
communication practitioners and create a portfolio of your work. You are
encouraged to select an area related to your areas of communication
concentration. The portfolio should consists of
(a) Ten controversial issues related to current ethical dilemmas in your
concentration
(b) Case study: A description of an important real event or a specially
created composite fictional event related to your concentration.
Investigate the event to be able to answer the following questions
1. What are the facts of the event? What actually happened? Note
that they may be more than one account of the facts
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Knowledge will give you power, but character respect.
Bruce Lee
2. What are the ethical issues associated with the events to
participants, observers, for family, friends, reporters, for editors, for
public relations professional and others.
3. Every event that has ethical issues will generally have a sense of
problems or decisions that grow outward from the core, what are
they?
4. What ethical perspectives or frameworks did you use to arrive to
your answer(s)? Explain in detail how you arrived at the decision(s).
4. Final exam is 30%
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Knowledge will give you power, but character respect.
Bruce Lee
Week/date
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Topic
Readings
Introduction & course
Definition of ethics
overview: Schaubroeck, K
(2015) “Everyday
Reason Talk: An
Introduction” (ecampus);
Gammel, Stefan
(2008) “Ethics
and Morality” (ecampus).
Ethical theories, values,
and Media Ethics
principles; ethical decisions; Potter chapter 1-2
Box ; a five step process
Bok, ch.1 & 2
Principles of Moral reasoning
Pre-Christian Ethical Theories:
Aristotle, Confucius
Modern Ethical Theories: JS Mill,
Immanuel Kant, Jeremy Bentham,
Jesus Christ, Nel Noddings;)
Post-modern ethics: Situation Ethics
(Joseph Fletcher; Bishop Robinson;
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Knowledge will give you power, but character respect.
Bruce Lee
Exam/Assgn
In pairs:
Prepare for
interviews (Q
& As) where
each will have
to ask the
other qs. On
ethics,
morality,faith.
In pairs: Public
presentation of
Q & As.
Wrap-up:
- Ethics vs
Morality
- Role of faith
- Values vs
Principles.
-Potter’s Box
Case Study in
groups to
demonstrate
implementation
of the Potter’s
Box.
Group
presentations
demonstrating
implementation
of the Potter’s
Box.
Submission of
term paper –
RESOLVING A
PERSONAL
DILEMMA. The
deadline for this
assignment is
MIDNIGHT on
Saturday 19
September.
Seven
Eight
Nine
Communicator’s values/loyalties
Truth-telling and lies
Code of Ethics –Freedom of
expressions
Ethics in Advertising
M.C.K booklet
Chapter 6-9
Media Ethics; Bok
ch.5
Ten
Freedom of Press; journalistic ethics; Media ethics chap
Protecting sources/public relations
3
Eleven
Respecting Privacy
Issues of Defamation
Twelve
Media and the Constitution of Kenya
Media Ethics
chap 10-13
Bok ch.8
Thirteen
Entertainment, indecency, Obscenity
Bok ch.9 & 10
Fourteen
Stealing other people’s work
Investigative Reporting/Undercover
journalism
EXAM
Fifteen
Texts
Bok, Sissela. (1999). Lying: Moral choice in public and private life. New York:
Random House.
Bujo, Benezet. (1997). The ethical dimension of community: The African model
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Knowledge will give you power, but character respect.
Bruce Lee
and the dialogue between north and south, Nairobi: Paulines Publications
Africa.
Christians, C., Fackler, M., Rotzoll, K., and McKee, K. (2001). Media ethics:
Cases and moral reasoning. 6th ed. New York: Longman. (there is also 5th Ed.)
Gammel, S. (2008) Ethics and Morality (Available on Daystar e-campus).
Holmes, A. (1984) Ethics: Approaching moral decisions. Downers Grove, ILL:
Interversity.
Jackson, Tudor. (1986) The Law of Kenya: An introduction, cases and statutes.
Kasoma, F., ed. (1994) Journalism ethics in Africa. Nairobi: African Council for
Communication Education.
Media Council of Kenya (2013) Code of Conduct for the Practice of Journalism in
Kenya Nairobi: Media Council of Kenya
Patterson, P. & Wilkins, L. (2008) Media Ethics: Issues and Cases. NY: McGrawHill.
Pember, D.R. & Calvert, C. (2006). Mass Media Law. New York: McGraw.
Schaubroeck, K. (2015). “Everyday Reason Talk: An Introduction”. Ethical
Theory and Moral Practice 18: 217-222 (Available on e-campus).
Smedes, L. (1983) Mere Morality: What God expects from ordinary people.
Grand Rapids Eerdmans.
Upkapi, Chudi. (987) Handbook on Journalism Ethics: African Case Studies.
Windhoek:
MISA
Any other additional readings that the lecturer may assign. Note: Please check
the Daystar e-Learning Campus for updates.
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Knowledge will give you power, but character respect.
Bruce Lee
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Knowledge will give you power, but character respect.
Bruce Lee