Legal and Ethical Issues in JournalismLegal and Ethical Issues in Journalism

Journalism 71001Fall 2011 – CUNY Graduate School of Journalism

Ruth Hochberger

Journalism 71001Fall 2011 – CUNY Graduate School of Journalism

Ruth Hochberger

Last name, First nameE-mail and Phone numberUndergraduate school, year graduated,

majorAny journalism experience (summer,

college, high school) and what it was?Concentration at CUNYDream job

Ethical Concerns for Beginners• Plagiarism: borrowing, inventing, or enhancing sources,

quotations or photos (“It’s on the Web.”)• Promises to sources• Identifying oneself accurately• Altering quotations to “help” a source or story• Concealing identity of sources• Interviewing, quoting or photographing children, crime

victims or traumatized witnesses• Enhancing reputations of advertisers of owners• Privacy considerations

What Do You See?

President Obama announcing the death of Osama bin LadenMay 1, 2011 in the East Room of the White HousePhotograph by Associated Press photographer Pablo Martinez Monsivais

What’s Wrong With This?• Caption sent: “President Barack Obama reads his

statement to photographers after making a televised statement on the death of Osama bin Laden . . .”

• National Press Photographers Association Code of Ethics: “Resist being manipulated by staged photo opportunities.”

• Poynter Institute survey of 50 newspapers’ front pages found 30 strongly implying that photo was of live address

• May 31, 2011: White House and news photographers agree to allow one photographer to shoot during the address. No more staging.

Publisher Michael Redding offers journalists and other staffers a $25 bonus for each 3-month subscription they sell to the paper ($50 for a six-month subscription); they also will get $50 for every $100 in advertising they bring in. Redding describes this is an “incentive,” not a requirement. Staffers have had no raise in four years.

Good idea in these tough times?

Front PageAug. 2, 2011

Is There a Justification?• Times executive editor called the decision to

publish the controversial photo “kind of a no-brainer.”

• “... We realize, of course, that the story du jour is the debt vote — to which we devoted the lead story and upwards of four pages this morning — but there's no reason that has to eclipse a human catastrophe in Africa. Readers can follow more than one important story at a time. Jeffrey and Tyler went to great trouble and some risk to get as close as they could to the calamity in Somalia. They sent us a harrowing story and vivid, arresting photographs. We put them before the attention of our readers. That's our job.”

Ethical Dilemma AssignmentIn no more than 250-300 words, write

about an ethical decision that you have had to make: describe the dilemma, what you decided, what affected how you made your decision and whether you would make the same decision again. No decision is too trivial or minor. (If you do not want this read aloud, please indicate; no names will be used)

Assignment for Next Class

Read Chapters 1, 2 (through p. 69) and 3 in the Zelezny text.