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Journalism and Mass Communication | © Kalyani Suresh |
The first freedom that goes whenever a dictatorship of any kind assumes power is the freedom of the press. The press is a gigantic force that governs the activities and opinions of the world. Thus it has a great responsibility of uplifting and enlightening humanity. The press must have a respect for truth and should adhere to a code of ethics to preserve the bond of mutual trust and respect between journalists and the people.
Freedom of press is a means to an end, not an end in itself. It is the right to know and not a special privilege of a few people in power. The media all over the world are governed by certain laws and code of ethics. A few terms that one comes across while discussing media/press laws and ethics are given below:
DEFAMATION
Defamation defined by the Faulks Committee (1975)
“shall consist of the publication to a third party of a matter which,
in all circumstances would be likely to affect a person adversely
in the estimation of reasonable people generally.” The defective
traditional press definition, only used as a rule of the thumb, that
defamatory matter was copy which brought a person into
‘hatred,
ridicule or contempt’.
Eg: Youssoupoff vs MGM Pictures Limited (1934): In a film made by the defendants there was a suggestion that the plaintiff, a Russian princess had either been raped or seduced by Rasputin. The princess was living in exile in Paris when the film appeared and she sued successfully because the defendants could not prove either of the suggestions they had made. They argued however that the people seeing the film would not hate, ridicule or feel contempt for the princess. Their argument was rejected because she could not show that certain friends avoided her more out of pity to save her embarrassment if the allegations were true and that she was being shunned without moral discredit on her part.
Defamation is of two kinds: Libel and Slander. Defamation is a tort (civil wrong) while slander or libel are allegations.
LIBEL
According to the American and English Encyclopedia of Law,
a libel is a malicious defamation expressed either
by writing or printing, or by signs, pictures, effigies or the like; tending
to blacken the memory of one who is dead or impeach the honesty,
integrity, virtue or reputation, or to publish the natural or
alleged defects of one who is alive and thereby expose him to
public hatred, contempt, ridicule; or to cause him to be shunned
or avoided, or to injure him in his office, business or occupation.
Libel may be committed by mere insinuation.
Also, allegory and irony may be libelous.
The following list of words from the Scripps-Howard
Synopsis of the Law of Libel and the Right to Privacy by Bruce
W. Stanford are ‘red flag’ words that may lead to libelous
suits if not handled carefully in news stories:
a)- Jekyll-Hyde personality
b)- Ku Klux Klan
c)- Peeping Tom
d)- Illegitimate
e)- Plagiarist
f)- Illicit relations
g)- Humbug
h)- Ex-convict
i)- Bribery
j)- Hypocrite
k)- Drug addict
l)- Defaulter
m)- Double-crosser
n)- Altered records……etc.
Damages resulting from libel suits may
be of three kinds:
a)- General(when injury is recognized as the natural consequence
of such publication and proof of injury to reputation is given)
b)- Special (when the plaintiff can prove particular loss)
c)- Punitive/Exemplary (inflicted as punishment for proved malice
by the offending publication)
Defenses against libel are of five kinds:
a)- Truth/Justification
b)- Privilege
c)- Fair comment without malice (protects expressions of opinions
on public interest matters)
d)- Absence of malice
e)- Prompt publication of retraction by newspaper in which the
"offending news" appeared
Slander is a form of action where defamatory meaning comes from spoken words or gestures.
There are some important distinctions
between slander
and libel:
1. Libel, if it could cause a breach of peace is
both a crime and a tort
2. The injured party need not show any actual
financial loss in libel. The court presumes damages.
Slander however requires proof of monetary loss
(called special damages),
except in four cases:
a)- a criminal offence punishable with imprisonment
b)- a contagious disease which might prevent others form associating
with the plaintiff (applicant)
c)- adultery relating to a woman or girl
d)- words which belittle a man in relation to his office, business
or profession.
CONFIDENTIALITY
Journalists are bound by a code of ethics
that does not allow them to reveal their sources of news.
But nowadays journalistic defendants in libel actions
are handicapped
by the growing inclination of judges to grant plaintiff requests that
they be compelled to reveal their sources of information.
Thus journalists have to arm themselves with rules that allow them
to thoughtfully deal with confidential sources.
It is wrong to argue that stories such
as Watergate would have remained buried if it had not been for
some ‘deep throat’ source.
COPYRIGHT
News cannot be copyrighted, but the actual
wording of an account of the event can.
A newspaper that wishes to rewrite or quote
a copyrighted article appearing in another publication either
buys the copyrighting privileges or requests permission to quote.
Credit must be given to the original source.
If the copyright is purchased, then the credit
line appears at the top of the article.
Articles in magazines and books are often copyrighted but newspapers
are careful in quoting such material in order to steer clear of
violating copyright privileges.
Duration of Copyright
The time period till which the copyright rules are valid depends
on whether the work is published during or after the lifetime
of the author, or whether the work is a photograph.
For works published during the author’s lifetime,
copyright runs for the life of the author plus 50 years from the
end of the calendar year in which he/she died.
Works published after the death of
the author, copyright runs for 50 years from the end of the calendar
year in which the work is published.
For photographs, copyright
runs for 50 years from the end of the calendar year in which the
photograph was first published.
Infringement
If any substantial part of the copyright work is
reproduced without
the permission of the copyright owner, infringement occurs.
Remedies for infringement
Remedies include:
1. an injunction, i.e. a court order that prevents the
infringer
from repeating the breach of copyright. Repeating the infringement
results in contempt of court.
2. damages, wherein the copyright owner seeks to
recover the money
he/she has lost by the infringement.
3. an account of profits, wherein the true owner
claims an amount
of profit made by the infringer, not the value of the infringing
material.
4. criminal prosecution
REPORTORIAL ETHICS
A student of journalism is encouraged to be as open-minded and
objective as possible. This is to prepare him/her to be free of
bias and prejudices, conscious or unconscious.
The reporter should be aware of the importance
of stereotypes, taboos, superstitions and other factors influencing
values and opinions.
A reporter's power is something that has the
ability to draft a certain mindset in people.
Thus integrity, accuracy and objectivity, and fair play
are needed in high doses.
Responsibility:
To serve general welfare and the public’s
right to know is the prime mission of the mass media.
Journalists who use the media and their professional status for their own
selfish needs violate a high trust.
Freebies and Payolas: Reporters covering large meetings and events have access to a whole lot of material advantages and necessities such as gifts, favours, free travel, special treatment and privileges. Newspapers have different opinions about the limit to which these ‘freebies’ can be accepted by the reporter without letting them bias his/her reporting in favour of the party offering these freebies.
The Society of Professional Journalists, Sigma Delta
Chi, has
a code of ethics as follows:
"The Society of Professional Journalists, Sigma Delta Chi, believes
the duty of journalists is to serve the truth.
We believe the agencies of mass communication are carriers of
public discussion and information, acting on their Constitutional
mandate and freedom to learn and report the facts.
We believe in public enlightenment as the forerunner of justice,
and in our constitutional role to seek the truth as a part of
the public’s right to know the truth.
We believe those responsibilities carry obligations that require
journalists to perform with intelligence, objectivity, accuracy
and fairness."
[Your opinion is important to us. If have a comment, correction or question pertaining to this chapter please send it to appropriate person listed in contact information or visit forums for this course.]
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