“We
desperately need an ethics underpinning for American journalism today. We need to think about the consequences of our now random actions. ... We also need to think consciously and deliberately about what we are about. ... If we are going to pretend to speak in the name of the people as their representatives, we will have to offer the American people some proof of our honor beyond what we have."
(Georgie Anne Geyer, syndicated columnist, TV news analyst
and journalism educator)
ABOUT
THIS COURSE: Welcome
to Journalism Ethics! In this course, we will learn about ethical
principles, consider standards of practice and behavior for professional
journalists, and look at American journalism both as it is and
as how we might like it to be.
Our
focus will be primarily on the ethics of newsroom professionals: people
and institutions in the
business of informing others about
news and civic affairs. Many of you plan to go into entertainment
media or public relations, and ethical practice in both those fields
is vital. You will be able to apply much of what you learn here
in your career, as well as in your role as a media consumer. But
journalists, entertainers and PR professionals all have different
goals and different loyalties. In this course, our emphasis will
be on "the news" and the people who provide it.
This
course will help you work out your own guiding ethical principles,
both individually and by exploring ideas with others. By the
end of the semester, you will have gained:
*
A framework for the process of making good ethical decisions
as both journalists and citizens. This relates to the Iowa
Dozen core journalistic value
of creativity
and independence.
|
| *
A deeper understanding of the role of the media in a democratic
society --
the role that underlies our need for ethical journalism in the first place. This
relates to several Iowa
Dozen values, including truth, accuracy and fairness; First Amendment
principles for all individuals
and groups; and a diverse global community. |
| *
Insight into the ethical challenges facing journalists today.
This relates
to two Iowa Dozen areas of exploration: theories and concepts,
and the role of media in shaping cultures. |
| REQUIRED
BOOKS: |
Media Ethics: Issues and Cases
Philip Patterson and Lee Wilkins (McGraw Hill, 5th edition, 2005) |
| |
Journalism
Ethics: Philosophical Foundations for News Media
John C. Merrill (St. Martin’s Press, 1997) |
The Elements of Journalism: What Newspeople Should Know and the
Public Should Expect
Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel (Crown Publishers, 2001) |
| INSTRUCTOR: |
Dr.
Jane B. Singer
W341 Adler Journalism Building
335-3431
jane-singer@uiowa.edu |
| Office
Hours: |
2:30
to 4:30 p.m. Tuesdays and 9 to 11 a.m. Wednesdays
Or by appointment |
| About
your instructor: |
Jane has 15 years experience as a print and online journalist.
She worked as a reporter and editor at three East Coast newspapers
before joining CBS in 1982 as an editor of its fledgling online
service. That project evolved into the Prodigy Services Company,
and she was Prodigy's first news manager. She is a contributing
editor of Media Ethics magazine, writing about online ethics, and
a member of the editorial advisory board of the Journal of
Mass Media Ethics. Jane holds a Ph.D. in journalism from the University
of Missouri-Columbia; an M.A. in liberal studies from New York
University; and a bachelor's in journalism from the University
of Georgia. She came to Iowa in 1999. |
| SCHOOL
INFORMATION: |
School
of Journalism and Mass Communication
Main office: E305 Adler
Office phone: 335-3401
(Lynne Richey or Rosemary Zimmerman)
Director: Pam Creedon, E305 Adler
335-3482; pam-creedon@uiowa.edu |
| LEARNING
ENABLEMENT: |
Jane
would like to hear from anyone who has a disability that may
require modification of seating, grading or other class requirements
so appropriate arrangements may be made. Please see Jane after
class or during office hours, or make an appointment for an alternate
time. |
| HONORS
CREDIT: |
Any student
who is a member of the University
Honors Program based on his
or her overall UI GPA is eligible to take this course
for honors credit. If you’re interested, come talk with Jane
about possibilities. |
| CLASS
POLICIES: |
Attendance: Failure
to attend class regularly may adversely affect your grade. In
case of a dire emergency that prevents your being with us, you
must let Jane know the reason for your absence within 24 hours
of the missed class period. (E-mail is fine.) |
| |
Academic
integrity: Please refer to the College of Liberal
Arts and Sciences Student
Academic Handbook for information about
academic honesty. University penalties for plagiarism -- defined
in Webster's New World Dictionary as taking ideas, writings and so on from another and passing
them off as one's own -- range from grade reduction to dismissal
from the University. The same rules apply online as elsewhere: If
someone else created it, that person or organization owns it. For
journalists, plagiarism or other dishonesty is a sin deadly
to any career. Don’t do it. |
| |
Student
rights and responsibilities: You have the right to
expect an environment that enables you to learn. You have a
responsibility to colleagues and instructors to help create
an environment in which others may learn. If you have a complaint
against any member of the College’s teaching staff, you
are responsible for following the procedures described in the
Student
Academic Handbook. In summary, the manual advises you
to try to work out a solution with the instructor first; please
come talk with Jane. If the complaint is not resolved to your
satisfaction, it should be taken up with the School’s
director, Pam Creedon. If the matter is still unresolved, you
may submit a written complaint to associate dean Helena
Dettmer at 120 Schaeffer Hall. |
| |
Time
allocation: College policy states that for each semester
hour of credit in a course, students should expect to spend
two hours per week in out-of-class work or preparation. This
is a 3 s.h. class, which means an average of six
hours a week of outside-of-class work. |
| |
Cross
enrollment: This course is given by the College of
Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS). Class policies on matters
such as requirements, grading and sanctions for academic dishonesty
are governed by CLAS. Students wishing to add or drop this
course after the official deadline must receive the approval
of the CLAS Dean. Details of the University cross-enrollment
policy are available for download from the CLAS Student
Academic Handbook site. |
| BLOG: |
Details
about how to sign up as a blog member (it’s free
and easy, and as a member, you can originate your own messages)
will be provided in class. But in the meantime, anyone can post
comments to the blog anonymously. Here’s how:
1.
Go to our blog: iowajournalism168.blogspot.com
2.
Find the item (posted by Jane or someone else in the class)
to which you want to contribute your comments.
3.
Click on the word “Comments.”
4.
Click on “Post
a Comment.”
5.
Share your thoughts! Be sure to include your name in the
text of the post so the
rest of us know who it is from.
6. “Preview” if
you like. When you are satisfied, select "Anonymous" and
publish your comment.
7.
Welcome to the blogosphere! |
GRADING
A total of 1,000 points are possible in Journalism Ethics.
All work must be completed on time to be eligible for full
credit.
Below is the breakdown for undergraduates. An additional assignment
will be required for graduate students.
PLUS-MINUS: We
will use plus-minus indications for final grades.
GRADE CHANGES:: If
you believe a grade is wrong, you must see Jane within one week after
the graded
item has been returned to you. After that, the grade stands.
TESTS
(400 points total) |
We
will have three tests during the semester, worth a total of
400 points. The tests will cover main ideas and their applications.
We will not have a final exam.
First
test, 100 points: Thursday, Feb. 9
Second
test, 150 points: Thursday, March 30
Third
test, 150 points: Thursday, April 27
|
WEEKLY
DECISION-MAKING and DISCUSSION
300 points total |
Most Thursdays, we will have some sort of graded
in-class exercise in ethical decision-making, each worth 25 points. These
exercises typically will draw on the Patterson/Wilkins case studies
of ethical choices faced by journalists. Much of this work will
be done in small groups. In addition, you will be expected to
post
comments related to journalism ethics to our class blog regularly, with postings worth a total of up to 50 points. Details
will be provided in class.
Note: In-class exercises cannot be
made up if you miss the class. |
ETHICAL
ANALYSIS of JOURNALISTIC WORK
200 points total |
You will find two current (January 2006 or later)
media articles during the semester that raise issues of journalism
ethics. These
can be from a newspaper or a magazine, in print or online. They
can be articles or columns talking about ethics, or they can
be stories that raise an ethical issue or question in your mind.
You
will cut or print out the article and attach it (or a photocopy)
to a cogent, typed, two- to three-page double-spaced analysis of
the key ethical issue(s) raised in or by the article, and your
ideas for addressing them. Your analysis must be based on ethical
concepts (principles, philosophical approaches, codes, tools, whatever)
discussed in class or in your readings. More details will be provided
in
class (and online). Each analysis is worth 100 points.
Watch
for these all semester long; the meatier the article you select,
the easier your job will be. In fact, why not go ahead and write
your analysis when you see a good article? It will be a more
pleasurable and valuable experience
if you don't do it "on deadline" but rather when something
catches your interest (and you have time to devote to it). But
for hard-core deadline addicts:
First analysis is due no later than:
Tuesday, February 28
Lots
of people wrote about the Danish
cartoon controversy, so here's
a compilation of a few excellent links on the topic. Thanks
for the pointers!
Second analysis is due no later than: Tuesday,
April 11 |
INTENSIVE
CASE STUDY
100 points total |
You will work in groups to probe the ethical issues involved
in either a recent controversy involving the media or in ongoing
media coverage of a major story. Your group will write up a summary
of your work and, at the end of the semester, lead a small-group
discussion of the case. Details about this assignment will be
provided in class.
Written summaries are due no later than: Thursday,
April 20
Class discussions will be on: Tuesday, May 2, and Thursday,
May 4 |
PROPOSED
SCHEDULE of CLASSES, READINGS and ASSIGNMENTS
Here is a tentative outline of where we will go together this semester,
subject to change as events and your interests dictate. After the first
week, please complete the readings (on the right below) by Tuesday. Reserve
materials are in the Journalism Resource Center on the 3rd floor of Adler.
Readings on reserve are also available through ICON.
| FIRST
SEGMENT: INTRODUCTIONS and ETHICAL GROUNDWORK |
| WEEK
ONE: INTRODUCTIONS to COURSE and CONCEPTS |
Jan.
17
Jan. 19
|
Introductions
Ethics, morals and journalism
READ:
Kovach/Rosenstiel: Intro, Chapter 1 (9-35)
Patterson/Wilkins: Foreword, Preface (xi-xvi)
Chapter
XII (296-305)
Merrill: Chapter One (1-26)
Online: “State of News Media 2005,
Overview”:
Intro, Five
Major Trends, Public
Attitudes (Project for Excellence in Journalism)
IN
CLASS:
Thursday,
Jan. 19: Decision-making exercise (ungraded) |
| WEEK
TWO: APPROACHES to ETHICS: MAKING CHOICES |
Jan.
24
Jan. 26
|
Kant
and Ross: Duty-based ethics
Aristotle and Mill: Not just duty
READ:
Patterson/Wilkins: Chapter I (1-17)
* Case Study II-A (39-42)
* Case Study III-D (75-76)
* Case Study IX-A (226-227)
* Case Study XI-B (282-284) Merrill: Chapter
Two (27-51)
Chapter
Three (52-76)
IN
CLASS:
Thursday,
Jan. 26: Decision-making exercise and/or quiz (graded) |
| WEEK
THREE: OTHER USEFUL APPROACHES ... plus a GOOD DECISION-MAKING
TOOL |
Jan.
31
Feb. 2
|
Elliott,
Bok and Rawls
The Potter Box
READ:
Kovach/Rosenstiel: Chapter 3 (50-69)
Patterson/Wilkins: Chapter I essay (18-19)
Chapter
IV (84-94)
* Case Study II-E (51-53)
* Case Study IV-A (95-97)
* Case Study IV-D (104-106)
Merrill: Chapter Four (77-104)
IN
CLASS:
Thursday Feb. 2: Decision-making exercise and/or quiz (graded)
|
| WEEK
FOUR: PRESS RIGHTS and RESPONSIBILITIES |
Feb.
7
Feb. 9
(Reserve
readings available through ICON.) |
Codes,
councils, civic journalism and ombudsmen
First test
READ:
Patterson/Wilkins:
Case Study IV-C (101-103)
Online:
Ethics codes
* Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ)
* Radio and Television News Directors Association
(RTNDA)
* American
Society of Newspaper Editors (ASNE)
* Online News Association (ONA)
Online: Minnesota
News Council: “About Us” (browse
around site, too)
On
reserve: "Codes of Ethics and Beyond” (Black,
Barney, Steele)
On
reserve: Excerpts from Tuned Out (Mindich)
Handout: “An
Advocate for Times Readers Introduces Himself” (Okrent) |
| SECOND
SEGMENT: FUNDAMENTAL ISSUES for JOURNALISTS |
| WEEK
FIVE: ACCURACY and TRUTH-TELLING |
Feb.
14
Feb. 16 |
A
commitment to truth
Jayson Blair et al.
READ:
Kovach/Rosenstiel: Chapter 2 (36-49)
Patterson/Wilkins: Chapter II, with essay (20-38)
* Case Study II-D (48-50)
* Case Study II-F (54-57)
* Case Study VII-B (175-178)
* Case Study VII-C (179-181)
* Case Study VII-D (182-184)
Merrill: Chapter
Five (105-129)
Online: “All
About the Retrospect” (American Journalism
Review)
Online: “Marketplace
of Ideas – with
a Vengeance” (Media Ethics magazine,
in Spring 2005 issue)
Online
(optional): “Making
Stories More Accurate" (Project for Excellence in Journalism)
IN
CLASS:
Thursday, Feb. 16: Decision-making exercise and/or quiz
(graded)
|
| WEEK
SIX: INDEPENDENCE and CONFLICTS of INTEREST |
Feb.
21
Feb. 23 |
The
business of journalism
Citizen or journalist first?
READ:
Kovach/Rosenstiel: Chapter 5 (94-110)
Chapter 6 (111-130)
Patterson/Wilkins: Chapter VIII (188-204)
* Case Study IV-E (107-108)
* Case Study V-D (126-128)
* Case Study VIII-A (205-206)
* Case Study VIII-B (207-209)
* Case Study VIII-D (212-214)
Merrill: Chapter Six (130-154)
IN
CLASS:
Thursday, Feb. 23: Decision-making exercise and/or quiz
(graded) |
| WEEK
SEVEN: FAIRNESS, BALANCE and OBJECTIVITY |
Feb.
28
March 2
|
Objectivity
News that is truthful, unbiased, full and fair
READ:
Kovach/Rosenstiel: Chapter 9 (163-178)
Patterson/Wilkins: Chapter VII (157-171)
* Case Study II-C (46-47)
* Case Study III-A (67-68)
* Case Study IV-B (98-100)
* Case Study V-B (120-121)
* Case Study VII-E (185-187)
* Case Study VIII-C (210-211)
Merrill: Chapter Seven (155-173)
Chapter Eight (174-191)
Online: “Rethinking
Objectivity” (Columbia Journalism Review)
DUE:
Tuesday, Feb. 28: First story analysis
IN
CLASS:
Thursday,
March 2: Decision-making
exercise and/or quiz (graded)
|
| WEEK
EIGHT: PRIVACY |
March
7
March 9 |
A
right or a need?
The "Argument Culture"
READ:
Kovach/Rosenstiel: Chapter 7 (131-146)
Patterson/Wilkins: Chapter VI (132-144)
* Case Study VI-A (145-146)
* Case Study VI-B (147-150)
* Case Study VI-C (152-154)
* Case Study VI-D (155-156)
* Case Study XI-F (293-295)
IN
CLASS:
Thursday, March 9: Decision-making exercise and/or quiz
(graded) |
| ***
WEEK NINE: SPRING BREAK!! *** |
| WEEK
TEN: DECEPTION and SOURCE / REPORTER RELATIONSHIPS |
March
21
March 23
|
Deception:
Ends and means
Anonymous sources
READ:
Kovach/Rosenstiel: Chapter 4 (70-93)
Patterson/Wilkins:
* Case Study II-B (43-45)
* Case Study III-B (69-71)
* Case Study IX-C (231-232)
* Case Study X-D (264-265)
Merrill: Chapter
Nine (192-212)
Online: “The
Plame Leak Investigation” (Project for Excellence
in Journalism)
Read the timeline for
an overview. Then pick two or three other pieces that look
interesting to you from "Central
Texts" and/or "Press
Criticism" for more context.
IN
CLASS:
Thursday, March 23: Decision-making exercise and/or quiz
(graded)
|
| WEEK ELEVEN: DIVERSITY |
March
28
March 30
(Reserve
reading available through ICON.) |
Serving
the public
Second test
READ:
Kovach/Rosenstiel: Chapter 8 (147-162)
Chapter 10 (179-194)
Merrill: Chapter
Ten (213-225)
Online: "Covering
Race: Back to the Future" (Poynter Institute)
On
reserve: "Just Add Color" (Brill's
Content)
E-mail: “To
My Former Students: How Race Works” (Chronicle
of Higher Education)
|
| THIRD
SEGMENT: DEALING with SPECIFICS |
| WEEK TWELVE: ENTERTAINMENT and SPORTS JOURNALISM |
April
4
April 6 |
Special
guest Mike Triplett, New Orleans Times-Picayune sports reporter
Entertainment and sports journalism
Please
bring
two typed questions for Mike to class on Tuesday
(5 points)
READ:
Patterson/Wilkins: Chapter XI (266-278)
* Case Study III-E
(77-79)
* Case Study XI-A (279-281)
* Case Study XI-C (285-287)
* Case Study XI-D (288-289)
Online: “Box
Scores and Bylines” (Project for Excellence in
Journalism)
Other
resources:
Ethics
guidelines, Associated Press Sports Editors (For those interested
in sports journalism, the newsletter archives are a great resource
of current topics in the field ... so to speak.)
Thompson,
"Surviving
the Storm" (APSE newsletter article about Times-Picayune sports department in wake of Katrina) Hardin,
"Survey Finds Boosterism, Freebies Remain Problem for Newspaper
Sports
Departments" (Newspaper Research Journal; Jane
will send you a .pdf file by e-mail)
IN
CLASS:
Thursday, April 6: Decision-making exercise and/or quiz
(graded) |
| WEEK
THIRTEEN: VISUAL JOURNALISM |
April
11
April 13
|
Photojournalism:
Digital manipulation and news judgment
Visual storytelling
READ:
Patterson/Wilkins: Chapter IX (215-225)
* Case Study VII-A (172-174)
* Case Study IX-B (228-230)
* Case study IX-D (233-237)
* Case study IX-E (238-242)
* Case study XI-E (290-292)
DUE:
Tuesday,
April 11: Second story analysis
IN
CLASS:
Thursday, April 13: Decision-making exercise and/or quiz
(graded) |
| WEEK
FOURTEEN: ADVERTISING and PUBLIC RELATIONS |
April
18
April 20
|
Special
guest Neil Brown, St. Petersburg Times executive editor
Public relations
READ:
Patterson/Wilkins: Chapter III (58-66)
Chapter V (109-116)
* Case Study III-C (72-74)
* Case Study III-F (80-81)
* Case Study III-G (82-83)
* Case Study V-A (117-119)
* Case Study V-C (122-125)
* Case Study V-E (129-131)
DUE:
Tuesday, April 18: Two typed questions for Neil Brown
Thursday, April 20: Summaries for group case studies
IN CLASS:
Thursday, April 20: Last decision-making exercise and/or
quiz (graded)
|
| WEEK
FIFTEEN: ONLINE JOURNALISM |
April
25
April 27
(Reserve reading available through ICON.)
|
Are
the rules different?
Third test
READ:
Patterson/Wilkins: Chapter X (243-255)
* Case Study X-A (256-258)
* Case Study X-B (259-261)
* Case Study X-C (262-263)
Online: “Siegenthaler
and Wikipedia” (Project for Excellence in Journalism)
Online: "A
Scorecard for Net News Ethics" (Online Journalism
Review)
Online: “What
Are the Ethics of Online Journalism?” (Online
Journalism Review)
On
reserve: “Who Is a Journalist – I,
II?”
|
| WEEK
SIXTEEN: APPLYING the IDEAS |
May
2
May 4 |
Intensive
case studies: Class presentations and discussions
Intensive
case studies: Class presentations and discussions
|
ADDITIONAL
RESOURCES ABOUT ETHICS and the MEDIA
The Web offers many excellent sites related to media ethics. Of course,
there are hundreds of books and thousands of magazine articles, too.
A scholarly journal (the Journal of Mass Media Ethics) is devoted
to the topic, along with a bi-annual magazine (Media Ethics);
journalism reviews such as American
Journalism Review,
Columbia Journalism Review, Online
Journalism Review and Quill cover ethics in every issue. But there are a few other excellent online
sites. They're in alphabetical order; if not self-explanatory, I've included
a brief description.
|
|