ZUR404 Media and ethics

Faculty of Social Studies
Autumn 2008
Extent and Intensity
2/0. 8 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Pavel Macků (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
prof. PhDr. Jiří Pavelka, CSc.
Department of Media Studies and Journalism – Faculty of Social Studies
Contact Person: Drahomíra Soldánová
Timetable
Thu 18:00–19:30 P24
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
The capacity limit for the course is 70 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/70, only registered: 0/70, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/70
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The course familiarises the students both with the theory of ethics as an element of philosophy and with practical professional ethics of journalism. The course also includes a comparison of the approach to the ethics of journalism in Czech and foreign media.
Syllabus
  • 1. Introduction to the course. 2. Basic terms of ethics. 3. Journalists' legitimacy and the concept of the freedom of speech. 4. Truth and lies in media. 5. Media manipulation and its types. 6. Objectivity as a ideological tool, bias and stereotypes in journalistic practice. 7. Screening of the film Good night and good luck (directed by George Clooney; the films tells the story of CBS TV reporters whose head was Edward R. Murrow. In their weekly thirty-minute programme “See it now”, commenting the most important events of the after-war USA, they spoke out against suppressing basic human rights by senator Joseph McCarthy). 8. Tyranny of the moment and politics of speed: current concepts of the phenomenon of online journalism. 9. War news reporting. Media and terrorism. 10. Private information about celebrities and “common” people. 11. Controversial terms of media discourse: the concept of public service, public interest, public journalism, objectivity, balance, etc. 12. Comparison of codes of ethics issued by individual Czech and foreign media. 13. Screening of the film “A Mighty Heart” (directed by Michael Winterbottom and starring Angelina Jolie and Dan Futterman. The film reconstructs the events centred around the British journalist Daniel Perl, a Wall Street Journal reporter, working in Pakistan after 11 September 2001).
Literature
  • Thompson John: Média a modernita, Karolinum, Praha, 2004, str. 15–41.
  • Ramonet, Ignacio: Tyranie médií, Mladá Fronta, Praha, 2003, str. 55–72.
  • Montaigne, Michel de: Eseje, Praha, 1995, str. 134–190.
  • Ramonet, Ignacio: Tyranie médií, Mladá Fronta, Praha, 2003, str. 55–72.
  • Campbell, Vincent: Information Age Journalism, Oxford University Press, New York, 2004, str. 153–177.
  • Jamieson, Kathleen Hall, Walkman Paul: The Press Effect, Oxford University Press, New York, 2003, str. 130–164.
  • Lasch, Christopher: The culture of narcissism, W. W. Norton & Company, New York, 1978, str. 3–51, 187–217.
  • Allport, Gordon, W. : O povaze předsudků, Prostor, Praha, 2004, str. 202–229.
  • Day, Louis Alvin: Ethics in media communications, Wadsworth: Thompson learning, Belmont, 2003, str. 76–102.
  • Etický kodex České televize
  • Gray, John: Slamění psi, Dokořán, Praha, 2004, str. 36–40.
  • Watzlawick, Paul: Jak skutečná je skutečnost?, Konfrontace, Hradec Králové, 1998, str. 53–137.
  • Day, Louis Alvin: Ethics in media communications, Wadsworth: Thompson learning, Belmont, 2003, str. 76–102.
  • Aristoteles: Etika Níkomachova, Nakladatelství Petr Rezek, Praha, 1996, str. 25–66.
  • Etický kodex BBC
  • Allan, Stuart and Zelizer, Barbie: Reporting War, Routledge, London, 2004, str. 77–95.
  • Bugeja, Michael: Living Ethics: Developing values in mass communication, Allyn & Bacon, 1996, str. 191–218.
Assessment methods
Lecture. Mid-course tests based on the assigned literature. Exam: The course may be successfully completed by those students who obtain a sufficient number of points for mid-course tests and the written exam. For tests marked on the scale of 0, 10 or 20 points, the students can obtain up to 60 points. For the final written exam, the students may obtain up to 100 points. The answers to the final test, based on the lectures and the assigned literature, are marked on the scale of 0, 5 or 10 points. The maximum number of points which the students may obtain in the course: 160 points.
Language of instruction
Czech
Further Comments
The course is taught annually.
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2001, Spring 2002, Spring 2003, Spring 2004, Autumn 2004, Spring 2005, Spring 2006, Autumn 2006, Autumn 2007, Autumn 2009, Autumn 2010, Autumn 2011, Spring 2012, Autumn 2012, Autumn 2013.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Autumn 2008, recent)
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