MED581: Issues in Media Ethics
Semester: Spring 2008
Times: MWF 11:00 a.m. to 11:50 a.m.
Room: 324 CRAG
Professor: Andrew R. Cline, Ph.D.
E-mail: acline@missouristate.edu
Office: 202 PCOB (downtown)
Office hours: MWF 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Office phone: 836-4923
URLs
Rhetorica: Press-Politics Journal
IMPORTANT: You are responsible for all the information and instructions in this syllabus. Please read it carefully. Please ask questions about anything you do not understand.
Required Texts: Controversies in Media Ethics 2nd Ed. by Gordon and Kittross
The bookstore has limited copies of this textbook. Amazon has used books for $50 or less. Click here!
News consumption: I assume you will always be familiar with the news of the day and ethical issues in the mass media as they arise.
Note to graduate students: I will give graduate students an addendum to the syllabus on the second class meeting.
Course Description and Goals
The purpose of MED 581 is to explore contemporary issues in mass media using the tools of ethical reasoning. Emphasis will be placed on: 1) understanding ethics as a branch of philosophy, 2) encouraging moral awareness and imagination, 3) recognizing ethical issues, 4) developing analytical skills, and 5) applying ethical reasoning to current issues in media.
Students will be able to recognize ethical situations that may arise in different media.
Students will apply their knowledge of ethical theories to ethical choices.
Students will learn to defend their ethical decisions based on rational thought.
Students will situate their ethical stands historically, politically, and socially.
Central questions we will ask in this class:
What constitutes an ethical problem or dilemma and from whose point of view?
What are the sources of ethical standards, and whose agendas do/should these standards serve?
How do we solve ethical problems, and whose interests are served by the methods we use to arrive at solutions?
I expect you to have, and to fight for, your own positions in regard to all that we discuss and write. But I also expect you to take an academic stance, i.e. a desire to discover and understand how and why media professionals make the ethical choices they do.
Educational Philosophy
MED581 is a senior/graduate seminar. This class is a public forum. I will not give lectures. Instead, I expect the class, as a community of learners, to engage in intelligent and critical discussion about the topics listed in this syllabus and other topics as they may arise based on your interests. Cogent verbal participation and excellent class preparation are critical to your success in this class.
Attendance
The Missouri State attendance policy states: “Because class attendance and course grade are demonstrably and positively related, the University expects students to attend all class sessions of courses in which they are enrolled.”
Excellent attendance is necessary to pass this course. I do not, however, have a specific policy designed to penalize you for lack of attendance. Poor attendance will naturally result in poor academic performance considering that this class is a seminar, i.e. your verbal participation constitutes a large portion of your grade.
Regarding attendance and illness: If you have symptoms of a communicable illness (e.g. fever or a severe cough), for the sake of your health and the health of your classmates, please stay home and take care of yourself. I will grant no excuse unless you contact me that day by any appropriate means. I also excuse for family emergencies.
Regarding sports and other official Missouri State functions: You are excused to attend events sponsored by Missouri State for which you play an important role. Please let me know about your participation before your absence.
Grading
I will grade you for the course in these areas:
Class participation (my evaluation of your VERBAL performance): 20 percent
Case study: 20 percent
Writing your media weblog (reading response): 20 percent
Mid-term exam: 20
Individual/Collaborative final exam: 20 percent
Please note: You only earn the percentage spread if you complete all work. If you fail to complete (i.e. blow off) the work in any grading category, you will fail the class.
Good class participation includes:
1. Reading all assignments on time and reading them well (as demonstrated by your verbal participation)
2. Offering cogent discussion and insightful questions
Grievance Procedure: Missouri State is an equal opportunity/affirmative action institution, and maintains a grievance procedure available to any person who believes he or she has been discriminated against. At all times, it is your right to address inquiries or concerns about possible discrimination to Jana Estergard, Equal Opportunity Officer, Siceluff Hall 296, (417) 836-4252. Other types of concerns (i.e., concerns of an academic nature) should be discussed directly with your instructor and can also be brought to the attention of your instructor’s Department Head.
Disabilities:
To request academic accommodations for a disability, contact Katheryne Staeger-Wilson,
Director, Disability Services, Plaster Student Union, Suite 405, (417) 836-4192
or (417) 836-6792 (TTY), http://www.missouristate.edu/disability. Students are required
to provide documentation of disability to Disability Services prior to receiving
accommodations. Disability Services refers some types of accommodation requests
to the Learning Diagnostic Clinic, which also provides diagnostic testing for
learning and psychological disabilities. For information about testing, contact
Dr. Steve Capps, Director, Learning Diagnostic Clinic, (417) 836-4787, http://www.missouristate.edu/contrib/ldc.
Academic Honesty: Missouri State is a community of scholars committed to developing educated persons who accept the responsibility to practice personal and academic integrity. You are responsible for knowing and following Missouri State’s student honor code, Student Academic Integrity Policies and Procedures, available at http://www.missouristate.edu/acadaff/AcademicIntegrity.html and also available at the Reserves Desk in Meyer Library. Any student participating in any form of academic dishonesty will be subject to sanctions as described in this policy.
Dropping the Class: It is your responsibility to understand the University’s procedure for dropping a class. If you stop attending this class but do not follow proper procedure for dropping the class, you will receive a failing grade and will also be financially obligated to pay for the class. To drop a class anytime after the first week of classes, you must complete and turn in a drop slip at an authorized registration center (see http://www.missouristate.edu/recreg/chnsched.html). You do not need to obtain any signatures on the drop slip. It does not need to be signed by your instructor, your advisor, or a department head. If you wish to withdraw from the University (i.e., drop all your classes), contact the Registration Center, Carrington 320, 836-5522.
Class Behavior: Please do not 1) Sleep in class; 2) Do homework in class; or 3) Engage in willful ignorance.
Special note on the course topic: We have the opportunity this semester to focus our attention on media coverage and representation of the presidential campaign. We will attempt to discuss all the topics listed below in the context of the campaign.
Syllabus (subject to change)
CME = Controversies in Media Ethics
Week 1. 12 Jan.
Class introduction
Philosophical foundations
Week 2. 19 Jan.
Read: CME Overview
Philosophical foundations continued
MLK Holiday 19 Jan.
Week 3. 26 Jan.
Read: CME Overview
Philosophical foundations continued
Week 4. 2 Feb.
Read: CME chapter 1
Mass media accountability
Week 5. 9 Feb.
Read: CME chapter 2
Individual autonomy and ethical decisions
Week 6. 16 Feb.
Read: CME chapter 3
Codes of ethics
Pres. Day 16 Feb.
Week 7. 23 Feb.
Read: CME chapter 4
Manipulation by the media
Week 8. 2 March
Monday: Exam
Wednesday: Review
Week 9. 9 March
Open discussion
Week 10. 16 March
Read: CME chapter 5
Influences on media content
23 March to 29 March
Spring Break
Week 11. 30 March
Read: CME chapter 8
Privacy
Week 12. 6 April
Read: CME chapter 10
Violence and pornography
Spring Holiday 9-10 April
Week 13. 13 April
Read: CME pgs. 281 to 285
Digital manipulation of pictures (video and still)
Week 14. 20 April
Read: CME chapter 7
Culture, race and the mass media
Week 15. 27 April
Class presentations of case studies
Case Studies Due 27 April
Week 16. 4 May
Exam Prep and Class Evaluation
Final exam: TBA
Assignments
Case Study
Choose an ethical problem or dilemma of interest to you (perhaps involving your professional interests), and write a case study in which you examine a specific incident or specific circumstance in which this ethical problem arose in the media.
Arrange your case study this way:
Introduction
Facts of the case
Descriptions of the ethical stances of individuals/organizations involved
Description of how the case was resolved (i.e. the ethical reasoning used)
Your consideration of a credible alternative outcome (i.e. what reasoning could/might have been used)
Your assessment of the actual outcome (especially: whose interests were served?)
Conclusion
Length: 8 to 10 pages plus bibliography
Format: MLA or APA, double space, 1-inch margins, 12 pt. Times or 10 pt. Courier New
Citation method: MLA or APA
Grading criteria: 1) Conforms to style and content as noted above; 2) Proper arrangement; 3) Cogent analysis and effective use of sources; and 4) Clean copy.
Please note: This is a 500-level class. So I expect you to know how to write a proper academic paper. If you do not know how, please seek help from the Writing Center. You may also seek my help during any stage of your research/writing process as long as you don't burden me with your procrastination.
Class Weblog
I would like each student to start a personal weblog of media issues. You will write regularly for your weblog throughout the semester. Your weblog is a public forum and may attract readers from around the world interested in media issues, especially ethical issues.
What is a weblog? Here's a little background:
There are many free services available to run a weblog. The two most popular are Blogspot and Wordpress. I prefer that you use Wordpress (makes my life just a little bit easier).
If you have your own server space or wish to run a weblog under your own domain, please see me for help and advice.
Please do not use MySpace, Facebook, or other social networking sites for your blog.
Beginning on week 2 of the semester, and each week there is a reading assignment, you will post one article on your blog about issues of media ethics following from our class readings--a reading response. Here are the details:
Reading response: For each chapter we read in CME, you will write a 300-to 400-word response. Each response should link or refer to an example of the issue you find on the internet. And your response should include a consideration of that example by defining the issue and ethical choices. You should also attempt to answer our central questions (see above). Then give your own opinion (backed up by rational/ethical thinking). You may take any position on the issue that you please, but each response entry should include a well-reasoned argument that demonstrates your ability make and defend ethical choices.
Reading response entries for the week are due on Mondays before class.
You are not restricted to a reading response entry. This is a required minimum. You may post as often as you wish and as much as you wish as long as you are discussing issues of media ethics.
Other requirements:
For all articles, be sure to link to material on the internet.
Something to keep in mind: You may develop a real audience. And they will take you seriously, as they should. Further, others may link to your site and comment on individual entries. You can expect that readers will respond directly to you and even engage you in discussion. Be prepared. Don't just slap your entries together. Edit carefully. You don't want to be flamed or dismissed because of poor usage and grammar. And one final thing to remember: If you write it on the internet it will be archived and searchable.
Grading Criteria: 1) Articles posted on time; 2) Articles are complete, i.e. includes a link/referral to an example, defines the issue and the ethical choices, attempts to answer the central questions, and takes a reasoned position.
Note: I grade your body of work over the semester.
Class discussion
Please be prepared for each class. That requires you to read the assigned material carefully and to think about it. Further, I expect you to be prepared for each class meeting with one or more examples of ethical issues and/or dilemmas from the mass media that correspond to the week's topic. Make careful notes, and be prepared to discuss and respond fully. It is not possible to pass this class without reading the book.