My Take Away from Journalism 4470

This ethics class it the third ethics class that I have taken at UNT.  While this one focuses mainly on the journalism and advertising side of things, my others focused on media ethics and the other with race and gender.  I now feel as if I know all sides of the ethical stratosphere for the media world, and it is very helpful to know what to do and what not to do when I go on to be a professional in this field.

                The part I enjoy most about these classes are the case studies that we use to gain some knowledge about.  My personal favorite is the last case study we did over the Blackfish documentary and SeaWorld controversy.  I had seen Blackfish when it originally first came out, and I knew that the film would not be very good for SeaWorld.  However, what was most interesting was to see the way in which SeaWorld handled all of the controversy.  Let’s just say, they didn’t handle it very well.  It surprised me how much SeaWorld has gotten away with over the past 30 years, especially when it came to protecting it’s trainers and the killer whales.  The biggest issue I saw with SeaWorld and Blackfish was the fact that SeaWorld said that Dawn Brancheau was responsible for her own death because she had her hair in a ponytail.  It’s kind of amazing how far a place like SeaWorld will go just to cover up their own mistakes.  It is comforting to know that SeaWorld has taken a major blow and isn’t doing as well as they used to.

                Another part of this class that I really enjoyed was the second blog post we did, which was over ethics in advertising.  I find it interesting because I do more of the PR side of journalism, and so when I can research case studies on advertising, I feel like I learn a lot.  It is a little insane to me to know how much some companies get away with their advertising.  The one I mainly talked about was American Apparel, and their objectification towards women and promiscuous advertising. I remember reading articles about the owner of American Apparel and he has always caused trouble because of his perversion. 

                One of my favorite lectures was over subliminal advertising.  I had always believed that subliminal advertising was very real, but after the lecture I was a little unsure.  However, there were some advertisements that I felt like were looked into too much by people, such as Coca-Cola where people swear they see a person snorting cocaine in the logo.  I think people try a little too hard sometimes when trying to find subliminal signs in advertising.  While I still believe that subliminal advertising is somewhat prominent, I also don’t think that advertisers try that hard to get someone to buy their product.  While it is fun to research different theories that people have about certain logos or advertisements they sometimes are a bit too much.

          One of the “oh-wow,” moments that I had came from when we talked more about the law in media.  I think that one thing we forget as journalists or PR people is the fact that you have to deal with a lot of legal issues as well, and you have to be very careful about what you put out there.  We focused mostly on libel and slander, and while researching for blog, I realized just with one simply statement, you can start an entire legal battle that can cost you.  It is a little intimidating thinking about all that can go wrong, but it is also good to learn about it, so that we know not what to do when we work in this field.  It seems that you also learn a lot about just how protective people are of their trademarks and copyright material.  The most shocking one was when Starbucks tried to sue that other coffee logo even though it really did not look that similar.  However, when a company like Starbucks, with its’ wide reach, doesn’t like something, it is a lot easier for them to sue another company and win.  I have always found the legal side of media ethics to be the most interesting, and it was nice to hear about cases on the journalism and advertising side of things. 

                The most important thing I learned that can help me in my profession was mainly the law part, but really all of what we learned is most likely going to be used at least once when I go on to be a professional.  Ethics is an important class for college students to take mostly, because we haven’t fully worked in the professional environment yet, and if we can go into a job with a code of ethics already learned, we can be more successful. 

Free Speech Vs. Libel and Slander

"There is much unsettled and unsettling about areas of the law that so profoundly affects how journalists do their job and how people get their news.”  This quote is from Paul McMasters, the First Amendment Ombudsman for the Freedom Forum, and it really speaks for the general outlook that journalists have.  Journalists in a lot of ways have to really watch out for what they say, even though we are guaranteed Freedom of Speech in the constitution.  The unfortunate part of it is that while we do have this freedom, history has brought upon laws that make it dangerous for journalists to be safe.  Sometimes journalists risk getting jail time or sued over the issues such as slander or libel.

Sometimes I feel as if being a journalist, you have to walk around on egg shells a lot.  Anything from misquoting someone, or using anonymous sources, to your interviewees saying that it is off the record, is hard to avoid.  The job of the journalist is to get the news to the people, and give them what they want to hear.  It makes our job a little more difficult when an interviewee wants over half of their interview off the record.  It really is just a denial of our first amendment rights.  It’s different if someone just doesn’t want to be interview at all, but if someone takes the time to set up an interview but doesn’t give any information, than it’s time wasted for both parties.

There also come times when libel and slander mean something different in depending on where you are.  In the U.S. the dead cannot be libeled; however in the U.K. the dead can be libeled.  Sometimes even repeating a statement that is considered defamation can be turned around, and said to be libelous because you are speaking it. 

Where Public Relations people come in, is when a public figure or a company is suing for libel or defamation.  The case involvingDavid Beckham suing In Touch magazine for claiming that he slept with a prostitute is a good example of this.  When a magazine makes such a claim on someone of such caliber it has the potential to hurt both parties in many ways.  First, if the writer did lie about this, the magazine would be under much scrutiny for their actions and could end up being sued for millions of dollars.  If David Beckham actually did do this, then his PR person would have to cover up what he has done with either denial or apology.  Either way, both parties have the potential of getting hurt, which is why sometimes I believe these laws are good. 

There are many magazines that put celebrities’ lives at stake, simply by making one statement in the magazine that they write for.  I think sometimes the law really does help for some celebrities’ who are just looking to have some privacy every once in a while.  If a magazine comes out with a false story just to get people reading, they forget sometimes that it has a major affect on that celebrity.  Stories such as saying that a celebrity is cheating on their wife, or that they are on drugs, or have a drinking problem.  In these cases, the story should actually be true instead of inferring something based on what someone may have seen.  In many ways, I believe that celebrities’ have a right to privacy, but they are really limited to what they can do.  The subject does have relation to the First Amendment as well as libel and slander because many celebrities are faced with this issue in regards to what they do in their day to day lives.

From what I have learned, it is very difficult to be a journalist, which is why I like to stick more to the Public Relations side of things. Based on all the articles that I have read you have to be very careful when it comes to writing news stories, because even one bit of information that is incorrect can be very costly.  All of the cases that come from libel and slander all seem to be a little more difficult to rule upon when it comes to the jury and judge, mainly because the words are spoken or written.  There is not really anything that illegal done, but even a simple statement can get you into trouble.  There have been times in some of my classes where I have not been completely honest when it comes to a quote or maybe even a part of a news story.  While I told myself it was just for a class, I know that it could really lead to a lot of trouble in the future.  The First Amendment sounds appealing when you first read it, but when you really delve deep into it, it’s not as easy as it sounds on the surface.

The Whole Truth: Ethics in Advertising

The Whole Truth: Ethics in Advertising

In a speech by ChrisMoore of Ogilvy and Mather he talks of advertising ethics much like applying for a job; when you go on a job interview or a first date, you don't assume a false identity - but you probably don't make a full disclosure either (Moore). I believe that this statement truly does speak the truth about how ethics and advertising really do tie in together. Advertising really is looking to tell the audience the truth because that’s what they want, but sometimes the whole truth is not necessary especially when trying to appeal to a certain audience.

            There are many different categories that fall into advertising ethics such as legal issues, sexual advertising, and advertising hazardous substances.  However the first thing that really comes to my mind for advertising ethics is the sexual advertising as well as race and gender in advertising.            

We see sexual advertising all around us, even for the most random services or products. The one that comes to mind the most would be for clothing stores that are attracting teens and young adults.  There are some stores that like to keep is classy and also show a wide variety of races and such, but there are still some who really stick out and in all the wrong ways.  The first one would be Abercrombie.  The owner and founder of Abercrombie has always been known for saying that the clothes the produce are for young adults that are “popular” or pretty” and also not for people who are overweight. If you have ever been in a Abercrombie store, you will certainly see, based on their advertisements, that it is only for what the society considers “attractive” people.  Their advertisements consist of guys with their shirts off with 6-pack abs, and girls who are skinny with blonde hair, and it is also very rare that there is any other race except for white. Sometimes however, these advertisements aren’t considered unethical, because they are clearly not stating that they are racist, but they are definitely sexual.  They also do not sell shirts that over a size Large, which is the reason for the attractive, muscular, and skinny models.

            An advertisement that I really find a little strange, are the commercials for GoDaddy.  When you see their advertisements, you honestly think that they are advertising for a pornography website, but they are actually advertising an online search engine.  Even the title of the website is a little sexual, but the commercial doesn’t help to deter it away from the sexual nuance.  I believe that GoDaddy has more recently changed their advertising technique, simply because they weren’t having many people use their site.

            While some of these advertisements are seen as not clearly stating that they are overly sexual or maybe a little racist, I would consider them a little unethical.  My theory on it is that if you can’t sell your product just the way that it is, and you can’t sell it in any other way than sexual advertising, than your product really isn’t worth it.  Pamela Divinsky of CNN says “while "seduction" may continue to be a guiding desire, today we know that it is truth that "sells."  However, while I believe that is true for who I am, it is not always necessarily true for the way the rest of our society views advertising.

            There is one company however, that always will reign the highest for the most unethical type of advertising, and that company is American Apparel.  You rarely see American Apparel advertisements on television, but if you have ever seen a print ad for them, you know that there is rarely one that is not sexual.  The typical ad for American Apparel is a woman, usually white, who is wearing almost nothing except for underwear.  The women are typically topless and are seen in sexual poses with the most popular being their legs being spread open.  If there are males in the ad, they are typically clothed, but are shown in a dominant role over the women.  The company has received flack for over 5 years now, but the owner of the company does not seem to care, and is also very vocal about his opinions over their advertising. 

            While I just touched on the sexual side of advertising, there are many other facets of advertising that are considered to be ethical.  For instance advertising to children, which is illegal in some countries, or advertising hazardous products such as cigarettes, which is banned in Canada.  It is hard however to really fight against advertisements that are sexual, because most of those businesses or products are still being bought, no matter the way in which they advertise.  You may not look like the people in the advertisements but some people have the mentality that they want to try and look like the people they see for their favorite stores.  It is important to me though to realize that if I was ever a copyrighter, that people nowadays are more looking for the truth in ads.  If your advertisement is truthful to what it is selling than I am more inclined to use that product.  Unfortunately, that is not the case all the time, in today’s society. 

We're All People: Why Media Ethics Matters

Almost every day in the news we see news articles about any subject from celebrities, to athletes, to musicians, to murder stories and sex scandals.  We hear about politicians lying on the resume, or sexting their interns.  We hear about cheating celebrities and drug abuse.  We are constantly bombarded with everything that is going on with the people we look up to and they are written by journalists who have to put out this very personal information.  There is a hard line to draw though between media ethics in the celebrity world and the world in which we live our day to day lives. 

            Nowadays we are getting more and more used to citizen journalism and being able to receive news almost as soon as it happens.  There comes an issue though with false information or anonymous sources.  We could get completely wrong information about something that has happened in the news which can sometimes be very ethically wrong.  When I first heard about the West fertilizer plant explosion, I read articles that were saying over 100 people were dead.  Shocked at the amount of people affected I assumed that this would have a very severe impact on our history.  And while it will still always hold an impact, there were significantly less people that were actually found dead.  It is a disrespect of the friends and family of the ones they lost, and jumps the gun on something that really no one has information about.

            An article from Professor Stephen J.A. Ward at the University of Wisconsin talks about the images and videos we see today, and how we are seeing news more explicitly recently. He calls it the “ethics of images,” and talks about how people can shoot videos or take photos from a completely biased perspective and can even alter the photo.  That photo or video we see may be the first thing we see about a news story, and can be very misleading.  Taking it back to the West explosion, there were videos of the explosion from peoples car that were rather disturbing, but were posted almost instantly online for everyone to see.  It’s the same with the Boston Marathon bombing.  The videos and photos taken are something that not everyone should have to see, especially when it comes to the people affected.

            Since what I want to do with my career is work with celebrities, I like to talk about the issues that arise with the privacy of celebrity lives. In the book Controversies in Media Ethics, it discusses that news and entertainment media cannot be the sole judges of the privacy boundary between appropriate and excessive coverage.  Celebrities are held at a higher standard for what they do in their lives, because they have chosen that type of lifestyle.  That is why media ethics is important for this matter; you are dealing with peoples personal lives even though they may be famous.  There comes a time when a journalist must ask whether it is right to take that nude picture of that celebrity in their house, or was it is right to picture their family while they are in their house in their backyard.  In some cases it is not legally right, but the more important question to ask is if it is ethically correct.  Some stories about celebrities have been fabricated in magazines such as the National Enquirer and it is not ethically correct to have false information about a celebrity, or a non celebrity for that matter. 

            An example to think about is if you were randomly photographed on the street and that picture was then used for an advertisement for getting tested for sexually transmitted diseases.  That is not ethically correct to put that person’s picture there, because it is against their consent, and that person most likely does not have an STD.  You would be pretty embarrassed.  It is similar, not the same, but similar to what celebrities deal with.  You essentially have to not make mistakes because the media is constantly watching what you do.

            These are all examples of why media ethics is important for our society.  We are more affected by what we see in the media than ever before mainly because of our constant want for the most breaking news.  We are addicted to our Twitter, Facebook, News stories, and other forms of social media, that we sometimes forge the stories we read are about actual people. The death and tragedies we read about, the drug problems with celebrities, the sex scandals with political figures are still all people.  It is important to realize the ethics in what we are putting out there, especially if we put ourselves in their same positions.

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