Ethics
WRITTEN
ASSIGNMENT 2: ANALYZING NEWS MEDIA's OBSERVANCE OF PROFESSIONAL ETHICS
Student
is required to produce 3 –
5 pages ethical review work of current news stories from 3 mainstream
news media forms:
Radio, Television and Newspapers. The assignment requires student to
read/listen/watch 3 media within 2 weeks period and analyze their
content per ethical guidelines. Student will analyze whether the stories
were
handled properly by the news outlets in Tanzania. The paper will be
graded on the following criteria:
- Did the student choose interesting and illuminating stories?
- Did the student correctly identify the ethical issues
- Did the student understand how the reporter or news outlet made its decisions?
- Are there ethical justifications on the decision made by the reporter or news outlets?
- Did the student make a reasonable case in critique or defense of the reporter or news outlet’s decisions?
- Is the paper well written and clear?
NOTE:
- Choose 2 TV stations, 2 Radio stations, and 2 newspapers(all should be mainstream media) of your choice for the analysis;
- The analysis made should be the student’s own work and thoughts
- Plagiarism and/or cheating of any kind will not be tolerated
- The assignment should be submitted online to benzanda@gmail.com not later than 8th January, 2016 @14 hours
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What is Ethics
- Ethics originate from the Greek word ''ethos'' which means ''character'' which concerns: virtue, reliable character, and proper conduct within a given a given community/social group;
- Ethics has been defined differently by different scholars belonging to different field of specialization.
- Ethics is connected with the question of right conduct within a society, i.e. how a member of society ought to behave in a way that is acceptable;
- It is also concerned with what a professional (journalist/lawyer/doctor) should do/conduct himself in his field of specialization;
- Scholars however agree that ethics is concerned with what constitutes ''rightness'' and ''wrongness'' within a given society/community/institution/social group;
- Almost every field of specialization developed certain standards (code of conduct) to guide its members on what they are supposed to behave in certain desirable manner;
- These code of ethics guide professionals to conduct themselves accordingly. the codes prescribe the right way members should act towards others;
- Ethics and Morality:
- Ethics is to do with the science of morals
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MUSLIM UNIVERSITY OF MOROGORO
Faculty of Arts
and Humanities
Department of Mass
Communication
Semester I –
2015/16
Course
Title: Media Ethics
Course
code: MS 230
Lecturer: Mr. Benson, A.
Course
Description
This
course
examines the process of decision-making, both good and bad, in the media and
the principles on which those decisions are based. Students will gain a practical
perspective on the theories and practices of journalism ethics, different means
of assessing ethical issues.
Course Objectives
·
To develop an understanding of “ethics” in journalism and a
variety of approaches to it;
·
To theorize journalism ethics and its application in the
real-life context;
·
To gain practical knowledge on what constitute ethical and
unethical standards in journalism;
·
To assess and analyze ethical dilemmas facing journalism
professionals;
·
Practice a range of approaches in assessing these issues and
media
·
To gain knowledge on how mass media are regulated in
Tanzania
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course,
student will be able to:-
·
Determine the best
way to write/reports news-stories ethically
·
Identify key
ethical constraints that hinders journalism profession in Tanzania
·
Identify and describe
ethical standards issues
·
Apply the underlying ethical theories and guiding principles
in journalism practice.
·
Apply ethical journalism standards to real-world situations.
Course content
Module 1:
Conceptualizing media ethics
·
Ethics and its
meanings
·
Historical
development of ethics
·
Understanding Media
ethics
·
Why Media ethics
Module 2: Theoretical
approaches of Media Ethics
·
Understanding
theory in media
·
Different types of
Theories in Media ethics
·
Understanding Universal
vs. Afri-ethics
·
Applying theories
in Ethical decision making
Module3: Standard
Ethical guidelines
·
Canon of
Journalism profession
·
Codes of ethics
and professional conduct
·
Standard ethical
practice in Media and Communication field
·
Is lying ethically
acceptable or not?
Module 4: Ethical
Dilemmas in media profession
·
What is Ethical
dilemma?
·
Causes of ethical
dilemmas
·
How to deal with
dilemma in decision making
·
Cases of ethical
dilemmas
Module 5: Ethics in specific
communication profession
·
Ethics in Public
relations practice
·
Ethics in
photojournalism and video journalism
·
Ethics in
broadcasting journalism
·
Ethics in Online
journalism
Module 6: Ethics and Media
Regulations in Tanzania
·
Key Players in
Media ethics in Tanzania
·
Media regulations
in Tanzania
·
Ethical challenges
in Tanzania's media
·
Case studies
Course delivery
Ñ
Lectures, class
discussions and seminar presentation
Course Assessment
·
40% - Continuous
assessment
·
60% - University
Examination (UE)
Class assignments
·
Written test I (10%)
·
Written test II
(10%)
·
Oral test (10%)
·
Seminars (10%)
Course policy
·
Students must
attend all lecture and seminar sessions. Dodging classes leads to penalty
·
Plagiarism,
fabrication and academic dishonesty of any kind lead to severe penalty
·
Assignments ought
to be submitted timely
References
Patterson, P. and Wilkins, L.
(2005), Media Ethics: Issues & Cases, 5th ed., New York,
McGraw-Hill
Kasoma, F. P. (1994),
Journalism Ethics in Africa, Nairobi, African council for Communication
Education
Rioba, A. (2008), Media
ethics, Dar es Salaam, The Open University of Tanzania
Rioba, A. (2012), Media accountability in Tanzania’s
multiparty democracy: Does self-regulation work? Tampere, University of Tampere
Shoemaker, P. J. & Reese,
S.D. (1996), Theories of Influences on Mass Media Content, 2nd ed.,
Texas, Longman Publishers
Roy L. Moore. (1999), Mass
Communication Law and Ethics: A Casebook, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates
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