COM 380 - Communication Ethics

Mid-Term

Based on the case outlined in the boxes below, answer six of the eight pairs of questions below (e.g. 1&2, 3&4, 5&6, 7&8, 9&10, 11&12, 13&14, 15&16).

Consider the following ethics case: A photographer, in the course of trailing the First Family on vacation, catches a shot of the 17 year old daughter of the President, on the beach, kissing a young secret service agent. The photographer sells the picture to several large media outlets, including People magazine, the New York Daily News, News of the World, and Fox News.

 

  1. What ethical questions is the photographer faced with in this situation?
  2. What might the philosophical perspectives of Hobbes and Sartre inform the photographers decision to sell the photograph in this situation?

  3. What ethical questions do the editors and publishers of the media outlets that are offered the pictures face in this situation?
  4. How might the philosophical perspectives of Aristotle and Kant inform the decision of the editors and publishers to buy rights to publish the photograph in this situation?

    The next day the New York Daily News publishes this photograph on the front page under the headline: "Secret Service Sex Scandal".

  5. What ethical questions do the reporters who write the story supporting this headline face in writing their story?
  6. How might the philosophical perspectives of Mill and Foucault inform the reporters decisions in this situation?

    The same day Fox News headlines the photograph on their morning and evening news shows with the leader "White House Scandal" and with the closing question "Can a President who can't teach morals to his own daughter be a true moral leader for our nation?"

  7. What ethical questions do the broadcaster anchors who read this story over the airwaves have when faced with this editorializing of news content?
  8. How might the philosophical perspectives of Plato and Rousseau inform the broadcast anchors decisions in this situation?

    The next week the photograph appears on the cover of People Magazine with the headline: "No Longer Sweet Sixteen: The Prez' Daughter Makes Out". The supporting article publishes the names of all of the boys the daughter is known to have dated, with a sidebar chronology of her dates and sidebar interviews of several of her dates.

  9. What ethical questions do People Magazines fact checkers face as they track down all the details of this story?
  10. How might the philosophical perspectives of Aquinas and Schopenhauer inform the fact checkers decisions in this situation?

    Six months later the News of the World publishes a substantially retouched version of the picture that shows the Presidents daughter kissing an "Alien" (as from outer space) with the headline "PREZ' DAUGHTER PREGNANT WITH ALIEN' BABY" with a supporting article that talks about government secrecy about aliens at Area 51, and purports that the picture was taken on the beach in Nevada.

  11. What ethical questions do the editors of "News of the World" face in this situation?
  12. How might the philosophical perspectives of Machiavelli and Durkheim inform the editors decisions in this situation?

  13. What ethical questions do potential buyers of "News of the World" face in this situation?
  14. How do the philosophical perspectives of Bacon and Baudrilliard inform potential readers decisions in this situation?

    Finally:

  15. What ethical questions does a communication professor face when he makes up an ethical case series like this from whole cloth.
  16. How do the ethical perspectives of Kohlberg and Persig inform the communication professor's decisions in this situation?