Herald rape story

A 202er submits this post:

Katy,
The Badger Herald published a transcript from a rape victim who was supposedly raped at Sigma Chi. We talked a lot in discussion today over whether its fair that the victim was able to mention the fraternity, but didn't have to release the name of her sorority. Looking at it on the flip side, what if the accused went forward with his side of the story and said the girl's sorority but not his fraternity. Should the accuser have more rights than the accused? Also, would testimony like this unfavorably sway opinion in her favor because the investigation is ongoing? This reminds me a lot of the Duke Lacrosse trial where the team was negatively affected by the charges, even though they were found not guilty. Let me know what you think!

http://badgerherald.com/news/2009/03/04/transcript_of_herald.php

I'm curious what the rest of you think of this case. It's being discussed all over campus. But for our purposes, what are the specific media ethics implications? One thing I found particularly interesting was the content of anonymous comments posted to the Herald site. What are the ethical questions there?

Ethics crashes

This author thoughtfully details what he describes as "Ethics Crashes on the Digital Media Highway."
What forces does he cite as problems that can lead to weak ethical practice? Do you agree? What examples can you think of to illustrate any of his points? Contradict any of those points?

Fired for funny

A TV reporter this week paid with his job for altering a video (he says to make it funny) and posting it to YouTube.
What do you think of this? What is the line in cyberspace between your job and you life? Could I get in the same trouble? Would this have been different if he had been a journalism professor instead of a journalist? What if he were a basketball player? What, if any, professional standards were violated? What do you think of the result?
In other vein, what was the Huffington Post's responsibility here? Revisit my exchange this week with Jay Rosen and others about accuracy in citizen journalism. How did accuracy matter here? Could this case be an argument for the participatory nature of online media? A spoof made it to a larger audience as a reality, but ultimately the audience verified that it was inaccurate. How did the pressures of speed and competition play into this case?

Wearing an advertiser's colors

A 202er submits this blog post on the Memphis hoops team's decision not to switch its team uniforms to the FedEx colors for a game.
She highlights an interesting ethical dilemma. What's the limit of corporate sponsorship and support? How far should a team go? What lines should not be crossed? For instance, the UW has an initiative to try to curb binge drinking. Does this mean its athletic teams should not accept sponsorship from Miller Brewing or Absolut? Where would you draw the lines?

Bye-bye Juicy

JuicyCampus shut down. For those of you unfamiliar with the blog, it allowed anonymous posts sorted by campus. These almost always were within the gossip vein, and some escalated to hostile and defamatory posts.
Many people (your prof here included) wanted to see the site die. And it did. But they said they faded not because they were controversial, but instead because the economic downturn is killing online ads.
What do you think? Glad or sad to see it go? What value did the site provide? At what cost? Do sites like this have ethical obligations? Will College ACB just rise up in its place?

Covering Coffins

Much talk about whether the Obama Administration will rescind the ban on photographing soldiers' coffins returning from war in Iraq and Afghanistan. Here's one take on how to approach this ethically.
What do you think? Should this be allowed? Why did the Bush Administration disallow it? How best can photojournalists cover news and respect privacy? What are the implications of showing the coffins? Of not showing them?

Hiring and Scandal

Did a politician hire a reporter into his administration to make a sex scandal story go away?
What do you think of the reporting in this story? Does it give the audience enough to go on and make a judgment? Is this news?

Octuplets and Big Dough

Did you see the interview with the octuplet mom on NBC's Today show? Did you ask yourself how NBC got the exclusive? I did.
But NBC isn't talking and the question doesn't seem to be getting much air or ink in the major media. It is, however, all the rage in the blogosphere. Check out this post, claiming the deal earned Nadya Suleman $300,000. Often, these kinds of arrangements are not direct payments but instead fees for using copyrighted family images, etc.
What do you think of that? Should a news organization pay for interviews? If so, why? If not, why not?

Kellogg Dumping Phelps

The bong hit that continues to haunt:
http://adage.com/article?article_id=134363
Michael Phelps loses an endorsement deal, what may the first in a line.
What is a celebrity's responsibility to the clients that hire him as a face for their brand? What is his responsibility to the public in general? How serious was this mistake? How seriously should he pay for it?

Ads and Accuracy

The two presidential campaigns got into multiple kerfuffles last fall over the accuracy of campaign advertising. It's a pretty common development.
Here's just one example.
But now that we have the benefit of time and distance, did it matter? In what ways does campaign advertising sway the electorate? Should we expect it to be "accurate"? How is that accuracy determined in the arena of politics? Isn't one man's misinterpretation another man's firm conviction? Are these ethics questions only or should we think about legal ramifications?

Promises, promises

So it turns out that Barack Obama handed out a lot of assurances during his campaign. Many, many more than his predecessors (about double Bush and Clinton).
These came out in speeches and his online content but also very prominently in his campaign advertising.
Now PolitiFact wants to check out how good he is at keeping them.
What is the role of campaign advertising in establishing policy? How closely should we scrutinize campaign ads? Are they really about issues or really about personality? How do they matter?

Obama tours the Post

Here's an illuminating inside look at what happens when a popular new president checks out the newsroom in his new hometown.
What is the difference between news and celebrity coverage and how might that affect this administration? What does it mean that people are "star struck" by Obama? How can reporters overcome this in themselves? Is that feasible? Why might people be concerned about personal relationships between reporters and the people they cover?

New administration meets the press

It seems like the claims that the news media adore Barack Obama may be on the wane. Lots of concern and complaints about access.
What obligation does a presidential administration have to give reporters access? How does Obama's affinity for alternative information channels affect the traditional news media (e.g., bypassing the press during the campaign and making announcements directly to voters via Web sites, blogs and texts)?

BBC edits Obama video

Ethicists are raising questions about a BBC decision to edit together separate parts of President Obama's inauguration address.
What does this choice do to the BBC's credibility? How would the audience know about this editing? Does it matter?

Helping the presidency

Submitted by a student:

Professor Culver,

Here is a link to a video of Chris Matthews being interviewed by Joe Scarborough. Matthews says, "I want to do everything I can to make this thing work, this new presidency work." Is Matthews job to make the presidency work? Or should he strive to provide critical coverage no matter who is in the White House? I just thought it was an interesting ethical question.

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/mark-finkelstein/2008/11/06/odd-job-matthews-says-his-role-make-obama-presidency-success

What do you think of that? Is Chris Matthews (or Rachel Maddow or Bill O'Reilly, etc.) a "journalist"? If so, is opinion out of bounds? Can you think of another time a "helpful" approach from the media helped get us into trouble (hmm, perhaps the run-up to the Iraq war?)

Media bias and the election

With some trepidation, I offer the following links on the subject of news media liberal bias.
Politico: Why McCain is getting hosed in the press
Slate: No surprises in Fox News discussion of liberal media bias
MarketWatch: Most Republicans see media bias
For some pointed left-right commentary:
Huffington Post
NewsBusters
This came to a head this week, when the McCain campaign lashed out at the LA Times for declining to release a video of Obama. I post with trepidation because I often cannot have healthy conversations on this issue with people who hold political views. Heated and divisive are two good ways to describe the exchanges. What say ye?

Journalists and voting

I received a question this week from a student, asking whether she should cast a ballot, given that she's a journalist. "Does it hinder my ability to be objective," she asked.
This is an interesting effort at transparency from Slate, the online magazine.
What do you think of this? Frankly, I remain a bit unsure myself. I voted when I was a reporter, mainly because the mere act of voting didn't seem to threaten my objectivity. In fact, I was usually better at being fair when I was honest with myself and others about my own opinions.

Journalism schools' ethics obligations

What would you do as a faculty member in this situation?
Annenberg USC-Dubai journalism program
What factors did you consider? What does not matter in your consideration?

Strat comm vlogging

What do you do when you want to get around the "filter of the mainstream media"? Check out this State Department staffer's attempt at getting average citizens to engage with him on YouTube.
Do you think people will pay attention? Do you think journalists need to do a better job covering things that aren't "edgy"?

Cartoonist bias

Some are questioning Doonesbury cartoonist Gary Trudeau's decision to send a strip for this Wednesday, declaring Obama the winner. Check out this brief note from a paper that runs the strip, but also read the comments posted below. What are the ethics of posting and deleting comments? Is anything fair game as long as a reader is posting it and not a person who works for the publication? Should they be moderated?