comm 10 final pt 7: ethics in mass media

court cases and trials

mass media can sometimes influence jury members and prevent someone from having a fair trial Ex. OG simpson trial Scare away important witnesses bc shown on TV in front of millions OR some ppl just wanted to be on TV → make up stories as testimonies

reporting on risks

media should Give ppl an accurate picture of risks that it covers Making ppl afraid of the wrong things Focus on things v unlikely to happen to you BUT are sensational Ex. plane crashes get great coverage Reality: 1 fatal crash in every 120 million plane departures More likely to die in car crash > plane crash

How is stereotyping people an ethical issue in mass media? (4 ways)

negatively stereotyping people can influence how people across the nation view these types of people Ex. gay men being shown as sissies or not featured at all a. whitewashing b. racial erasure c. colorblind casting d. reverse whitewashing

checkbook journalism

paying for stories Reporters should not pay for stories bc sources are encouraged to deceive/exagerate ex. ABC paid $100,000 for an interview involving the Hannah Anderson case

taste

sometimes it might just be bad taste to report on things happening What should be aired and what not Ex. ppl jumping out of buildings during 9/11

gifts and payola

Giving gifts to influence coverage Ex. food critic offered free meal Payloa: paying to get smth played on the radio Ex. record companies pay DJs to play their record Reverse payola: unethical deed committed by record companies Ex. KROQ threatened to stop playing artist's songs if they didn't come to KROQ concert (blackmail)

privacy

Journalists must balance Individual right to privacy vs. public's desire to know Ex. should rape victims names be released Online websites monitor what you're doing online Ex. preferences, location, purchases Info sold to 3rd parties Ex. google still tracks location even if you turn off location

conflict of interest

People in the media have multiple interest, and sometimes those interests come to conflict with each other Ex. Newspapers uneasy reporting stories abt companies that advertise for them Journalist duty: Duty to themselves / family (Ex. doing your job but risk getting killed) Duty to employer How far should you go to protect your employer? Ex. story that makes company look bad

12 ethical issues of mass media

Privacy Basically conflicts trump paying criminal strippers accurate undercover checks risking taste 1. Privacy 2. basic Obligations to fellow human beings 3. Conflict of interest 4. trials and Court cases 5. gifts and Payola 6. reporting a Crime 7. Stereotypes 8. Accuracy of information 9. Undercover reporting 10. Checkbook journalist 11. Risks 12. Taste

reverse whitewashing and flower vases

casting someone of a different race in media that has nothing to do with the media Flower vases: put beautiful chinese actor in a role just to appeal to the Chinese audience Ex. Transformers Li Bingbing

whitewashing

ethnic character casted as white actor reduces exposure of POC Ex. Scarlet Johanson played Japanese character

reporting on crime

information about the crime could lead to copycats, and encourage stigma and stereotypes Ex. should rape victims names be public? Does it further stigmatize rape? ex. Include race, gender, age? Important? Or just reinforcement of stereotypes?

undercover reporting

is it ethical to go undercover to get a good story? Lying about identity, Using hidden cameras Ex. Food Lion Chain: Journalists pretended to apply as workers Exposed the company: sold expired food, unsanitary conditions

Basic obligations to fellow human beings

journalists must decide if they should do their job or be a decent human being Collision of being a good journalist vs basic human principles Ex. Dallas newspaper wrote a story about a Russian spy and published it even when they knew he would have to kill himself if it was published

racial erasure

lose all trace of original ethnicity of character ex. Ex. scarlett johansson's character: Changed name from japanese → european sounding name

accuracy of information

journalists not supposed to lie, make up evidence, create/manipulate info, etc Ex. Article abt 8 year old heroin addict named Jimmy Won a Pultser Prize until they found out it was all made up native ads: ads masquerading as normal articles (They cite a certain product and put it in a good light) AI ex. Deep fake: editing michelle obama's face onto a porn actress

colorblind casting

select actors regardless of race / ethnicity Cast bc best actor for role Hollywood prided actor's ability to transform themselves ex. Tom Hanks playing a gay man when he is straight