ZUR540 Media ethics

Faculty of Social Studies
Autumn 2012
Extent and Intensity
2/0. 6 credit(s). Type of Completion: z (credit).
Teacher(s)
doc. MgA. Jan Motal, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
prof. PhDr. Jiří Pavelka, CSc.
Department of Media Studies and Journalism – Faculty of Social Studies
Contact Person: Ing. Bc. Pavlína Brabcová
Supplier department: Department of Media Studies and Journalism – Faculty of Social Studies
Timetable
Thu 14:00–15:40 AVC
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.

The capacity limit for the course is 15 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/15, only registered: 0/15
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The course familiarises students both with the theory of ethics as an element of philosophy and with practical professional ethics of journalism. On successful completion of the course, students will be able to understand basic terms of ethics; to analyze the issue of media manipulation and its types; to characterize war news reporting; and to evaluate selected controversial terms of media discourse. Last but not least, students will be able to compare 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
    required literature
  • Douglas Allchin, The Evolution of Morality. 2009. On-line: http://www1.umn.edu/ships/evolutionofmorality/text/00.htm
  • BRÁZDA, Radim. Ethicum. první. Zlín: VeRBuM, 2010, 188 pp. ISBN 978-80-904273-9-6. info
  • BAGDIKIAN, Ben H. The media monopoly :with a new preface on the internet and telecommunication cartels. 6th ed. Boston: Beacon Press, 2000, lvii, 288. ISBN 0-8070-6179-4. info
    recommended literature
  • Christian Schicha - Carsten Brosda, Handbuch Medienethik. Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften 2010.
  • BĚLOHRAD, Radim. Osobní identita a její praktická hodnota (Personal Identity and its Practical Value). Vyd. 1. Brno: Masarykova univerzita, 2011, 159 s. ISBN 9788021055315. URL info
  • FRIEND, Cecilia and Jane B. SINGER. Online journalism ethics : traditions and transitions. Armonk, N.Y.: M.E. Sharpe, 2007, xxvi, 246. ISBN 9780765615749. info
  • IGGERS, Jeremy. Good news, bad news :journalism ethics and the public interest. Boulder: Westview Press, 1999, xii, 179 s. ISBN 0-8133-2952-3. info
  • Deadlines and diversity :journalism ethics in a changing world. Edited by Valerie Alia - Brian Brennan - Barry Hoffmaster. Halifax: Fernwood publishing, 1996, 255 s. ISBN 1-895686-54-7. info
  • Úvod do etiky. Edited by Arno Anzenbacher, Translated by Karel Šprunk. 1. vyd. Praha: Zvon, 1994, 292 s. ISBN 80-7113-111-3. info
Teaching methods
The course takes place in the form of lectures and discussions.
Assessment methods
Activity, attendance, homework (position papers), one presentation of actual case, test (terminology) and oral examination.
Language of instruction
Czech
Further Comments
Study Materials
The course is taught each semester.
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2013, Autumn 2014, Autumn 2015, Autumn 2016, Autumn 2017, Autumn 2018, Autumn 2019.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Autumn 2012, recent)
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