Media Ethics and Law

What are the legal and ethical rights and responsibilities of journalists, the news media, and anyone who publishes on social media? From privacy, to censorship, to defamation, to fake news and fabrication, to conflicts of interest, students will research, critically analyze and discuss legal and ethical issues of concern to journalists, the news media, news audience and social media publishers. Among the topics covered: censorship, confidential sources, conflicts of interest,copyright infringement, defamation, fabrication, First Amendment protections, news gathering liability, plagiarism, privacy, sensationalism, undercover reporting and thewatchdog role of the press. Coursework includes online research, close reading ofcourt cases and news articles, and multiple writing assignments. Students will beevaluated on the basis of exams, written assignments and, in some cases, presentations to the class.

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