MMC110
Instructed by Hillarie Zimmermann

• Assignment 1 (due Sept. 24) - review marking rubric
• Presentation sign-up
• Chapter 13 – Review
• Activity – What would you do?
• Activity – Personal code of ethics
• Review blog comments from week 2
• Review homework

• Canadian media laws
• Limits to “freedom of the press”
• CRTC and the Broadcasting Act
• Relationship between copyright and the internet
• Media ethics

• Grants the media freedom of speech
• This freedom however is not guaranteed
• Publication bans – weigh the individual’s right to a fair trail against the media’s freedom of speech
• The media must also take responsibility for their actions

• Defamation (libel or slander) – a statement that harms someone’s reputation.
• “Libel chill”
• Defamation and the Internet
• Defences for Defamation
• Consented
• True
• Privilege (public record)
• Fair comment

CRTC/Broadcasting Act
• Canadian broadcast regulator – governed by the Act
• Ensures that Canadians are seen and heard on
Canadian media
• Ownership, public/private system, Canadian culture, contraventions of the law (case study on pg. 242)

• Protect someone’s creative work (includes books, music, movies, newspapers, maps, etc.) from theft
• Public domain – anyone may use it without permission
• Copyright and the web – digital technology is testing older copyright laws but the law of copyright also applies to the web

John Perry Barlow (pg 235 – 236) – envisions the future, giant media companies will shrivel ….. What do you think?
• Internet makes it possible for people to acquire mass messages, like music, directly from artists
• These direct transactions undermine the profitable role of media companies
• Example of Napster being shut down
• Who needs protecting – artists or large media companies??

• Code of ethics – prescribe how practitioners should go about their work – most media organizations in
Canada have one
• Conflict in duties
• Duty to self
• Duty to audience
• Duty to employer
• Duty to the profession
• Duty to society

On your own, search the internet for one of the following mass media organization’s Code of Ethics:
1. RTNDA (Radio-Television News Director’s Association)
– “the world's largest professional organization exclusively serving the electronic news profession, consisting of more than
3,000 news directors, news associates, educators and students” – rtdna.org
2. CAB (Canadian Association of Broadcasters) – “the national voice of Canada’s private broadcasters, representing the vast majority of Canadian programming services, including private radio and television stations, networks, specialty, pay and pay-per-view services” - cab-acr.ca

In pairs, take 10 minutes to skim through the Code of
Ethics to determine exactly what is required.
1. Look for the definitions of key terms like plagiarism, misrepresentation, and conflict of interest.
2. Is it clear what broadcasters/journalists should do in all cases?
3. What might be open to interpretation?

• The Golden Mean – avoid extremes and seek moderation
• “Do unto others”
• Categorical imperatives – commitment to consistency, clarity and principled evaluation of arguments
• Utilitarian Ethics – happiness for the greatest number
• Pragmatic ethics – based on consequences
• Egalitarian ethics – veil of ignorance

This model can help sort through ethics problems.
Situation Values
Principles Loyalties
What do think are some limitations of this model?

• Divide the class into six groups.
• Hand out media libel scenarios and have students discuss them in their groups.
• Take notes on what you would/wouldn’t do in each situation. Use Potter’s Box to guide your discussion.
• Appoint one person from each group to present back to the group as a whole.
• Conclude with a group discussion on ethics.

• The mass media in Canada enjoy great freedom under the
Charter
• Freedom has its limits
• Moral decision is rooted in conscience, which makes it highly individual
• Codes of ethics attempt to bring order to moral issues
• There are a variety of other models/principles to help humans do the right thing
• There is no substitute for human reason and common sense.

• Considering some of the different ethical philosophies presented in your text, try to identify your own personal ethical style.
• Write a short, basic personal code of ethics for yourself.
• If there is time, share with the class.

• What do you think about the ethicist’s point of view from the New York Times?
• Is defamation on the internet the same as defamation in print?

• Pre-read Chapter 2 for next class
• Reflection paper is due next class
• Comment on blog - week 3
• Remember you will always be commenting on the upcoming week