Task 2 Ethical and Legal Constraints In Journalism

Ethics and Legal Ethics can be a debated topic, it is basically a mix of morals and principles that individuals could agree or disagree with In the legal dictionary its definition is; “The branch of philosophy that defines what is good for the individual and for society and establishes the nature of obligations, or duties, that people owe themselves and one another. In modern society, ethics define how individuals, professionals, and corporations choose to interact with one another”.

Ethical Issues There are issues of ethics in the media industry such as; – The Truth, it must be factual and from various reliable sources. – Morality, such as right and wrong have to taken into account. – Exploitation also has to be taken into consideration, if doing a topic on a certain lifestyle, it can not be discriminating. – If a journalist is doing a report for a controversial topic such as abortion, the reporter must not be biased and present both sides of the argument without discrimination.

Legal Issues While reporting a story, journalists have to abide by certain laws in order to allow it publication. The main laws for journalists is Privacy, Libel copyright and Article 8 of the Human Rights act. Privacy In general, privacy is the right to be free from secret surveillance and to determine whether, when, how, and to whom, one's personal or organisational information is to be revealed. Physical: restriction on others to experience a person or situation through one or more of the human senses. Informational: restriction on searching for or revealing facts that are unknown or unknowable to others Read more: Royals William and Kate filed a lawsuit against the magazine Closer for publishing images of Kate topless at a private residence in southern France.

Legal Issues Libel Libel by definition is “a published false statement that is damaging to a persons reputation.” whereas slander is spoken false statement. This published statement can be done written or through broadcast such as television or radio. Frankie Boyle sued the Daily Mirror for libel damage as they had described him in their papers as “racist comedian”, he won £50,400 for his case.

Legal Issues Copyright By the Oxford Dictionaries the definition of copyright is: The exclusive and assignable legal right, given to the originator for a fixed number of years, to print, publish, perform, film, or record literary, artistic, or musical material. To put it simply, uploading/publishing work and claiming to be your own is a breach of copyright A photographer sued Buzzfeed for using one of photographs for direct and contributory infringement, in other words using his work and publishing it without permission.

Ethics Accessibility Accessibility is to make something available to as many people as possible in various ways. The UK ensures accessibility under the Equality Act of Accessibility is seen in everyday life such as disabled bathrooms, braille on signs and ramps for wheelchairs and mobility scooters. In journalism, an article could be written in multiple languages or published in other ways such as brail. There is publications of Braille newspapers in Italy, Japan, California, Ethiopia and quite recently India.

Ethics Discrimination To ensure there is no discrimination within any case there are laws set that all companies/networks must abide by for broadcasting and employment. Discrimination is when an individual of different race, religion etc. Is singled out and treated less favourably compared to others. The Broadcasting Act 1990 defines the standards for companies to comply with in regards to under 18, crime, religion, accuracy, reliability etc. Race Relations The Race Relations Act (1997 N.I) this order closely follows the Race Relations Act 1976 introduced into GB. Car Insurance company Admiral was accused of charging people that lived outside of the UK up to 18% more than other customers born within UK, this is considered discrimination and breach of race relations.

Discrimination Discrimination is by definition; ‘The unfair treatment of person, minority, racial group etc. based on prejudice’ Throughout the media sector, there are many cases of discrimination, however the media should try not to discriminate against; – Age – Race – Religion – Gender – Disability The main regulators such as Ofcom and ASA try to ensure this offence doesn’t occur however, some cases do get broadcast and can cause an uproar of complaints. One of the most famous discrimination cases is of the “Race Row” on the reality show, Big Brother, a few years ago on Channel 4, this caused a major uproar and almost a dispute between 2 countries, Jade Goody (accused of the racism) was forced to publicly apologise for her actions.

BBC Guidelines As the BBC is funded and owned by the public it must ensure there is equality throughout its publications of broadcasts and articles. They must be accurate with information and correct it if inaccurate. It must balance freedom of expression without offending audiences. Both sides of an argument must be presented especially on highly controversial topics.

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