Ethics for High School Journalism

1. A n Overview Ethics for High School Journalism

2. What are ethics? • Ethics are principle, especially those moralistic principles set by certain professions. • What are some professions that have codes of ethics? 1. 2. 3. 4.

3. Ethics provide a code of expected behavior. • Fairness • Objectivism • Honesty

4. In the field of journalism, ethics are vital in order to • Avoid lawsuits • Maintain credibility • Create a readership that trusts the paper • Maintain an objective point of view

5. Who decides what journalistic ethics should be? • The Society of Professional Journalists outlines a code of ethics at spj.org/ethics_code.asp. • Here is a brief outline from SPJ:

6. 1. Seek Truth and Report It! • The truth is the most important aspect of a newspaper. • Do everything in your power to verify facts and report in a straightforward manner.

7. 2. Minimize Harm • Be fair and cautious about what you print. • If printing something will cause the subject harm or pain, make sure printing the story is essential to the public. • An example is publishing a photograph portraying someone in emotional pain.

8. 3. Act Independently • Don’t give favors and don’t take bribes. • Try not to get in situations where there is • a conflict of interest. • For example, if a reporter is personally involved with a story, don’t assign him/her to it. • The quarterback shouldn’t cover a story about a Sectional game.

9. 4. Be Accountable • Take responsibility for any mistakes. • If a reporter gets a name or fact wrong, run a correction as soon as the mistake is discovered. • Be clear to all staff members about what is expected ethically. • Use common sense and think things through before printing.

10. What are the repercussions to violating journalistic ethics? • Violating journalistic ethics can have several repercussions… • Legal actions • Loss in credibility for the paper • Loss of personal credibility

11. Legalities: • Freedom of the Press is protected by the First Amendment • In total, this amendment ensures 6 rights: 1. Religion 2. Speech 3. Press 4. Association 5. Assmebly 6. Petition

12. Let’s check out the amendment • http://www.archives.gov/national-archives-experience/charters/bill_of_rights_transcript.html (We know this is a reliable source… it is the National Archives… you can usually trust “.gov” sites…)

13. No doesn’t always mean no? • Few judges have interpreted the “no” in the wording of the First Amendment to be absolute. • Several forms of speech are NOT protected.

14. Obscenity • Roth v. US (1957) • This ruling defined obscenity as “material calculated to debauch the minds and morals of those in whose hands it might fall.” • The impact upon the average person must be determined. The test is the effect of a whole work (not one picture or passage) on the average person applying contemporary community standards,not national standards.to determine if the work is without redeeming social importance or patently offensive.  • If an idea has "redeeming social importance," however, it is protected, and this would include unorthodox ideas, controversial ideas, and even ideas hateful to the prevailing climate of public opinion. 

15. Obscenity (cont.) • Miller v. California (1973) • This decision made the definition less stringent and shifted more of the decision making process back to the states as opposed to the Federal Government.

16. Libel • Defamation of one’s character has by a publication of a known falsehood. • Victims of libel can bring a civil action against the offending party and collect both compensatory and punitive damages. • Libel and libelous statements are beyond First Amendment protection.

17. Libel (cont.) • Truth is the only defense to libel; good motives don't matter. • Half-truths are as bad as lies. • Public officials are held to a higher standard than private citizens when proving libel because the Constitution says people can speak out against government, whether true or false (unless the libel is seditious or treasonous). 

18. Libel (cont.) • Hustler Magazine v. Falwell (1988) • Required that not only public officials but public figures in general must prove actual malice, or intentional infliction of emotional distress, even if no damage is done to reputation. • The test is whether a parody, cartoon, or something clearly for entertainment purposes is outrageous in its intent.

19. Dem’sFightin’ Words! • “Fighting Words” are not protected speech, especially when uttered against law enforcement officials or in court.

20. Fighting Words (cont.) • Many of these cases involve citizens calling cops "a-holes" and other terms, which usually results in some altercation with later allegations of police brutality. • Speech that directly threatens the officer's safety ("I'm coming down to the station and kill you") is criminal, but certain types of profanity, name calling, and obscene gestures are also not constitutionally protected. • There's too many examples to list them all, but most of the unprotected language involves four-letter words…

21. Fighting Words (cont.) • Lewis v. City of New Orleans (1974) • Defined "fighting words" as anything abusive and insulting, under face-to-face circumstances likely to provoke an immediate violent response. • Police are held to a higher standard of being able to take more abusive language than the average person. • There must be some conduct (spitting, moving one step closer, pointing a finger) along with speech that is expressed violently.

22. Nudity • Gross and open indecency has always been a common law crime, especially in cases where a person cannot avert their eyes. • The Court has NOT banned all nudity, however, and in fact has declared that nudity by itself cannot be declared obscene simply to protect minors.

23. In Review • The following speech and expression is NOT protected by the First Amendment: • 1. Obscenity • 2. Libel • 3. Fighting Words • 4. Nudity

24. Clear and Present Danger • Any class of speech that seeks to create a clear and present danger that will bring about evils the government has a right to prevent is not protected. • The most stringent protection of free speech would not protect a man in falsely shouting fire in a crowded theatre. It does not protect a man from uttering words that have the effect of force.

25. Restricted Speech • The following types of speech are restricted, yet still protected: • Hate Speech • Internet Defamation • Commercial Speech • Campaign Finance Reform

26. How do we avoid unprotected speech? • Ethics!!! • Good taste. • Don’t inflict harm. • Verify the truth!

27. The kicker? • Student newspapers at private schools are NOT protected by the First Amendment. • The administration CAN legally censor our paper. • Even more reason to err within the bounds of ethics and objectivity, so we always have a leg (or two) to stand on.