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
