Posts

#9 - Freedom of Information Act

Image
Anyone in the field of journalism or journalism adjacent careers know what the Freedom of Information Act is. It is a big part of what we do. The  Freedom on Information Act  was passed in order for citizens (U.S. or otherwise) to have access to government files and documents. This information is important for publishing accurate news articles and doing investigative journalism. As mentioned pretty much anyone can make a request under the FOIA. This bill applies to all government agencies. There are limitations but they are put in place for protective purposes. The information available is generally nothing too in depth or personal.     What does it cost to file a FIOA request? The initial cost is 25 dollars but a waiver for that fee can be presented. There are cases where the searching and acquisition of the information can cost more than that and it is responsible for the person making that request to cover the charge. According to the official website "Each f...
Post a Comment
Read more

#8 - Global Law or Ethics

Image
  Coronavirus has been a hot button topic with the recent quarantines and the subsequent reopenings in the U.S. Recently studies in Canada have confirmed what many of us had feared. The main causalities of the coronavirus were predicted to be the elderly and that has held true. Canadian long-term care facilities have been the number one location for deaths in the country. Hundreds of the virus deaths comprised of elderly people in said care facilities. Their immune systems are weaker and the often close knit communities that make up these homes means the disease is highly communicable. The tragic part is that a young orderly could have the virus but no symptoms seeing as how only about 20% of cases are severe and unknowingly give it to every senior they come into contact with at work. Shutdowns and limitations are being implemented among other changes to try to keep another outbreak from happening in these types of facilities.     As  mentioned the U.S. ...
Post a Comment
Read more

#7- Exploiting News

Image
  Unless you've pulled a Jarred Leto and been living in isolation in the dessert you've definitely heard about the Coronavirus. This is bad news for most businesses. Movie theaters, many restaurants, and other establishments. However, business has never been better for the Mafia. I know what you're thinking, "this sounds like a bad movie". It does but it's still true. The Mafia in Italy has used the news of the virus to their advantage, people are scared to go out an look for essentials which is allowing them to come in and provide them for low income neighborhoods for a price.  They have are also more aware of police presence and safe locations for their deeds due to the massive amount of information being televised for the safety of the Italian people. They are fear mongering in a way that benefits them. It is said that much of the stimulus checks that these citizens will receive has been traded away to the Mafia for basic needs. They ar...
Post a Comment
Read more

#6 - Copyright and Fair Use

Image
Sampling has always been a hot topic in music. Many great artists use samples to enhance their songs or honor other musicians. Rap music is generally the main genre sampling is used in. This play differently than situations like the Queen/Vanilla Ice debacle. For an example look towards many of Kanye West , Jay-z , or Eminem's music . As three of the greatest rap artists of their generation their music is know world wide. A big question is what is considered plagiarizing and what falls under fair use.  This has always been tricky for courts to settle. One example involving Kanye West was the lawsuit he received from the family of a young lady who's viral video was sampled for West's song  Ultralight Beam . The original video shows a little girl praying and West decided it fit the theme of his semi-gospel song featuring Chance the Rapper. In my personal opinion West should have asked permission for the girl's audio clip to be used, he had plenty of money ...
Post a Comment
Read more

#5- Reporter's Privilege

Image
  Journalism is a dangerous job. In certain parts of the world this danger is physical but in the U.S. the danger is often from a standpoint of legality. Luckily in addition to the first amendment  many states protect journalist with shield laws . These laws are put in place to protect both the journalists and their sources confidentiality. While these laws don't apply strictly to people in the field of journalism they do benefit them greatly.       In addition these laws protect witnesses in court cases and rape victim's privacy. The majority of states have some form of shield laws or protection with the exception of Wyoming. Most all states provide at least some sort of qualified privilege . This provides safety from lawsuits usually involving defamation or slander. As long as the person in question meets the states requirements they cannot be sued for truthful statements, or in most cases personal opinion. This is particularly helpful for...
Post a Comment
Read more

#4- Plagiarism and Fabrication

Image
  Recently Mike Bloomberg had to make amends to many of his policy proposals. For those who haven't been on any social media or news site in the past year and a half, Mike Bloomberg is a billionaire businessman and former New York mayor who is running for president as a democrat. Personally I could care less about politics, what I care about also starts with a "p" though. If you were thinking I meant anything other than plagiarism than you'd be dead wrong. Plagiarism is an egregious offense in the field of mass communication. A good majority of our work is original writing and the other bit is cited and referenced statistics, stories, or other info. If some one stole my hard written work I would be especially angry, that's why I take such displeasure in hearing of professionals committing "errors" of this sort. In this case Bloomberg was accused of plagiarism in a good amount of his policies.    According to the quotes obtained by the site I...
Post a Comment
Read more

#3- Advertising Ethics

Image
   From snake oil salesmen in the old west to modern day corporations deceit has always been a sales tactic. Dishonesty whether intentional or unintentional is a major problem for casual uninformed buyers. In some cases the damage done is minimal such as prices being slightly higher than anticipated but other times products outright lie their way into the homes of consumers. The products we use everyday are pushed constantly through all the far reaching expanses of media so it's not surprising that some information gets misconstrued every now and then.    I'm sure everyone remembers the humorous Subway $5 Footlong debacle. In case you don't allow me to sum it up relatively succinctly, people were angry that they were served eleven inch sandwiches when the ad promised a twelve inch. This was mildly amusing because an inch doesn't seem like that much in most cases (go ahead and giggle at that one). This seemed to be the biggest issue despite the fact that these ...
Post a Comment
Read more