Media Ethics PowerPoint on freedom of speech

1. Mass Media in a
Democratic Society:
Keeping a Promise
Kirsten Floyd, Chance Harbour, Tiffani Hull,
Stephanie Matzelle, Benjamin Hayes,
Rashaun Young

2. The First Amendment
What do you think it is? What rights does it give?

3. The First Amendment
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion,
or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of
speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to
assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of
grievances.”

5. Julian Assange
Director of WikiLeaks, which was founded in 2006
Came to national prominence with 2010’s series of leaks from Chelsea Manning, a former Army
intelligence analyst convicted of violating the Espionage Act
Following the leaks, the U.S. federal launched a criminal investigation into WikiLeaks and
Assange
Requested and was granted political asylum from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London in 2012
Leaked almost 20,000 emails from Democratic National Committee staffers that show the
DNC’s favoritism of Hillary Clinton over Bernie Sanders prior to the 2016 Democratic National
Convention

8. Telephone

9. Kant’s Categorical Imperative
An individual should act as if the choices one makes for oneself could
become universal law
You should act so that you treat each individual as an end and never
merely as a means
Actions are morally justified only if they spring from duties, strict or
meritorious
What do you think Assange would do?

10. Kant
Categorical Imperative: Since Assange leaks some
confidential government information, he should
expect that all of it should be revealed, leaving
nothing secret

11. Mill’s Utilitarianism
The consequences of actions are important in deciding whether they
are ethical
The greatest good for the greatest number - it may be ethical to harm
one person for the benefit of the larger group
An act’s rightness is determined by its contribution to a desirable end
What do you think Assange would do?

12. Mill
Utilitarianism: Assange leaks information to the
general public so that they can know what might
not be revealed to them by the government, serving
the greater good rather than protecting the public
government secrets

13. Ethical?
Do you think WikiLeaks releasing government
information is ethical?
Should Assange be put in prison for his actions
against the United States?

14. al-Jazeera
An Arabic broadcasting group
Owned by the government of Qatar
“Control Room” is a documentary about al-Jazeera and their relations with the US
Central Command and the 2003 invasion of Iraq
Made by American filmmaker Jehane Noujaim, who was criticized for bias in the film
The film presents al-Jazeera journalists’ point of view of the Iraq invasion

17. Aristotle
Golden Mean: state facts and both points of view,
let people create their own opinions

18. Ethical?
Should truth about government activities always be
reported in times of war?
Is someone else’s truth everyone else’s truth? In
other words, should we rely on someone else’s
view?
“Truth is the first casualty of war” - do you agree?

19. Questions for us?

20. Questions for you:
1. Which is not a normative role for the media in democratic political systems?
A. facilitative
B. practical
C. radical
D. collaborative

21. 2. What is it called when government officials use the mass media to leak a story to find out how
others will react to it?
A. horse races
B. whistle-blowing
C. the Rose Garden strategy
D. floating a trial balloon

22. 3. Which right does the First Amendment NOT protect?
A. privacy
B. press
C. religion
D. speech

23. 4. Which is NOT part of Bruce A. Williams’ test for determining information’s political
relevance?
A. Sufficiency
B. Usefulness
C. Practicality
D. Trustworthiness

24. Sources
Patterson, P., & Wilkins, L. (2014). Media ethics : issues and cases. New York :
McGraw-Hill, [2014].
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGsbhPgcKyY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byoqUOfA0jY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-C-pf6ZPmw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YeBI6pbLQdA