Dr. L. John Durney
Provost & Vice President For Academic Affairs

Professor of Communications

S105-Spellman Hall -- Academic Affairs Suite

Office Hours: 9-5, M-F

ldurney@stac.edu

845-398-4083 (Mrs. Gilmour – Administrative Assistant)

CA403 – Media Law & Ethics – Fall 2006

Students can review and/or download some limited course study notes and capsules of important legal cases in the categories of Prior Restraint, Libel, Invasion of Privacy, Newsgathering & The Law, and Obscenity by clicking on the CA403 link above. Remember that these notes are elemental, and must be supplemented by careful examination of the pertinent chapters in the Pember text.

Students are encouraged to visit the Ethics section of The Society of Professional Journalists website (http://www.spj.org/ethics.asp) to view the SPJ “Code of Ethics,” several interesting case studies, and a variety of other sources regarding journalistic ethics.

The Society of Professional Journalists’ “Code” was borrowed from the American Society of Newspaper Editors (www.asne.org) in 1926, and has been a model for several other print media codes of ethics. Students can also review a comparable “Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct” for the electronic media, which is published by the Radio-Television News Directors Association & Foundation (http://www.rtnda.org/ethics/coe.shtml).

The Poynter Institute, based in Florida, is a valuable resource for anyone interested in Mass Media studies. Their website (www.poynter.org) has a wealth of information, including an extensive Ethics Bibliography (books and online sources), case studies, current media ethics discussions, etc. The Institute also sponsors the website (www.newsu.org), which has a variety of tools and electronic courses for journalists to use to improve their skills. As is the case with many professional groups in media arenas, NewsU is designed by peers to assist professional communicators in maintaining the professional standards which are necessary for continued public credibility…and which, under First Amendment protections, can not be imposed upon us by external agencies, either through licensing or legal intimidation.

Basic material about the work of Journalism, including information about daily issues in the press rooms, FOI challenges, critical peer reviews of journalistic performance, professional concerns, etc. is available in various trade/professional publications or their websites: The Columbia Journalism Review (www.cjr.org) or the American Journalism Review (www.ajr.org) among others. Each of these sites also has a wide variety of links to related sites. Likewise, the site www.journalism.org includes a diverse group of links with accompanying professional material. A wealth of information on Reporters’ Privilege (protection of sources), FOIA, federal Shield Law legislation, ethics-at-work and many other issues is available from The Reporters Committee For Freedom of Press and they maintain a fabulous website at www.rcfp.org.

Students interested in pursuing additional information about any of the court cases we discuss in class, can often find further detail on the website www.oyez.org, a U. S. Supreme Court multi-media site, which contains summaries, full citations, and in some cases, even transcripts of oral arguments. It’s a great research tool! Several other sites can provide important background information for our various class discussions: www.newslink.org has a series of links to print media, electronic media, and other news resources’ websites; www.firstamendmentcenter.org has a series of research tools on various elements of the First Amendment (i.e. free press, free speech, religion, assembly, etc.); and the www.freedomforum.org has further resources.