Chapter 14 Terms

self-righting principle

John Millton's articulation of libertarianism

policy books

delineates standards of operation for local broadcasters

normative theory

explains how media should ideally operate in a given system and social values.

pornography

expression calculated soley to supply sexual excitement

metaethics

fundamental, cultural values

normative ethics

generalized theories, rules and principles of ethical or moral behavior

Democracy

government by the people

standards and practices department

he internal content review operation of a television network

copyright

identifying and granting ownership of a given piece of expression

ad hoc balancing of interests

in individual first amendment cases, several factors should be weighed in determining how much freedom the press is granting.

ombudsmen

internal arbiter of performance for media organizations

indecency

language or material that depicts sexual or excretory activities in a way offensive to contemporary community standards.

shield law

legislation that expressly protects reporters' rights to maintain sources' confidentiality in courts of law, or court precedent upholding that right

social responsibility theory

media must remain free of government control, but in exchange, media must serve the public.

editorial policies

newspapers and magazines' positions on a specific issues

obscenity

no protected form of press expression

music licensing company

organization that collects fees based on recorded music users' gross receipts and distributes the money to song writers and artists

media councils

panels of people from both the media and the public who investigate companies against the media from the public and publish their findings

moral agent

person making the decision in an ethical dilemma

digital rights management

protection of digitally distributed intellectual property.

absolutist position

regarding the first amendment, the idea that no law means no law

ascertainment

required broadcasters to ascertain or actively and affirmatively determine the nature of their audiences' interest, convenience, and necessity

fairness doctrine

required broadcasters to cover issues of public importance and to be fair in that coverage

ethics

rules of behavior or moral principles that guide our actions in given situations

operating policies

spells out standards for everyday operation for newspapers and magazines

traffic cop analogy

the FCC has the right to control not only the flow of broadcast traffic, but its composition

confidentiality

the ability of media professionals to keep secret the names of people who provide them with informations

applied ethics

the application of metaethics and normative ethics to very specific situations

libel

the false and malicious publication of material that damages a persons reputation.

slander

the oral or spoken defamation of a person's character

libertarianism

the philosophy that people cannot govern themselves in a democracy unless ey have access to theninformation they need for that government.

prior restraint

the power of the government to prevent the publication or broadcast of expression

actual malice

the standard for libel in coverage of its public figures consisting of "knowledge of its falsity, or reckless disregard for whether or not it is true "

public domain

the state of allowing things to used without permission

safe harbor

times of the day where children are not likely to be listening/viewing audience