The importance of copyright

Coming up next on our list of media legal issues is copyright. While it's true that copyright law can get a bit complicated, the important thing to know in this Internet Age is that you can't simply download photos, song lyrics, cartoon characters, etc. into a student publication without permission.    

Here is a comprehensive student guide to copyright law that's worth reviewing.


But there is an important exception that journalists, in particular, need to know about. This exception to the general copyright rule is known as the Fair Use Doctrine. It allows the use of limited amounts of copyrighted works for important purposes like news reporting, critiques and education -- as long as the fair use does not significantly cut into the commercial value of the original copyrighted work.

So, for example, it's permissible for a student newspaper to reprint a short passage from a new book to accompany a book review, or to include sample lyrics from a new album to accompany an album review. Or it's generally considered acceptable to reprint a small photo of U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan, but it probably would not be considered acceptable to reproduce that photo to a very large size for greater impact.

There are four key factors that determine fair use:                              

1) The purpose of your use  (Is your purpose for using the item for teaching or news reporting? Or to make money off of it?)
2) The nature of your work  (Is the work itself factual or highly creative like someone's copyrighted fiction. The more creative and original the work is, the more necessary it is to be sure you're only using a tiny amount for the purpose of critiquing, for example.)
3) The amount you're using  (A small quantity of the original work is usually acceptable.)
4) The effect of your use on the market  (Your use of this item will have no major effect on the market.)

Still, what constitutes "fair use" isn't always clear. Click here to read an interesting article about a copyright legal battle revolving around President Obama's image.


Flickr Creative Commons image by MikeBlogs

Exploring the Right to Privacy in a High Tech World . . . and Beyond

Invasion of privacy law can be a tricky thing because it aims to balance the public's right to know vs. an individual's right to privacy. If the information is "newsworthy" -- that is, if people have a right or a need to know about something, then that will prevail over a person's claim to privacy. Thus, if your next-door neighbor is having an affair, publishing a story about it in the local paper would be a clear violation of his privacy. However, when a public figure does the same thing, the press can reasonably assert that such an event is newsworthy. Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, for example, waged a prolonged legal battle claiming that hundreds of text messages detailing his illicit affair with a co-worker were private. He lost and ended up going to jail for perjury and other charges.

But sometimes a private citizen injects himself or herself on to the public stage, and by doing so, loses the defense of "right to privacy". If that neighbor of yours is having an affair with a 16-year-old, that information is no longer considered private. That's news because it's against the law. Other times, however, it's not always so clear who is a "public figure" and so the courts have to interpret some invasion of privacy claims on an individual basis.

What's more, social networking sites and the Internet have created a myriad of new questions about a private citizen's right to privacy. And when, exactly, does a person's right to privacy end? When he or she dies? Not necessarily, according to the plaintiffs in a new lawsuit. Click here to learn about this interesting case.

Finally, just in case you were thinking that you have no worries about privacy, check out this report about new cell phone spyware that not only tracks your every move but can also be used a means of harassment. Protect your privacy!

"Private" Flickr Creative Commons photo by James Cridland.
 

Media ethics volume I: What's wrong with this picture?

Plagiarism, fabrication, bias, fallacies. As we have seen, whether it's intentional misconduct or unintentional violations of sound journalistic practices, numerous ethical problems have the potential to exist when writing for print or broadcast news. Yet it's not just words that we have to be careful with, but photographs as well. Thanks to amazing software programs like Photoshop, it's incredibly easy to alter a photograph to make someone or something appear better (or worse). While that's fine for something like a senior picture, it's completely unethical to alter a photograph or video accompanying a news story. You wouldn't change someone's quote. Yet some people don't see anything wrong with changing a photograph. Remember, photojournalism must abide by the same ethical principles of truth and accuracy.

Recently political satirist and TV host Jon Stewart criticized Fox TV's Sean Hannity for playing with the facts, the visual facts that is. Click here to watch the clip from the show. Pay close attention to the video and what Stewart is calling Hannity out for. (By the way, Hannity later apologized for what he called an "inadvertent mistake".)

Photo courtesy of mnstate.edu

Who's in control?

We learned from the Tinker and Hazelwood cases that while students DO have First Amendment rights like everyone else, school administrators nonetheless DO have the right to prior review because most high school newspapers are not considered a "public forum".

But remember that sources do not reserve the right to review your work before it is published. Just because a source may be an adult or a teacher or someone in authority does not make them entitled to review your work before publication. However, a source does have the right to ask to see his or her quotes before you use them in an article. Most people don't ask to do this, but you should always comply with that type of request if asked. So if someone you've interviewed asks or demands to see your article before it's published, simply explain to them that "that's not our editorial policy." (In other words, that's not the editorial policy of news organizations, including school publications, that abide by sound journalistic practices -- not to mention the First Amendment.)

Click here to read an interesting article about a recent situation involving a private school that showcases this type of dilemma. Do you think the school did the right thing?

Bias in the News

We're going to be examining the problem of bias in the news. You're probably thinking, "I'm not prejudiced. So I would never be biased in my reporting or writing." But bias isn't the same thing as prejudice. Prejudice is a deliberate negative feeling or attitude. Bias is a tendency to assume a certain viewpoint, and bias is not always deliberate. And even if your work is free of bias, you need to be a critical observer of the news media and have a greater understanding of bias in reporting. Because it happens. All the time.

Bias can occur in many ways, particularly through:

•  Selection and omission of specific details
  
•  Placement of a story
•  Choice of sources
•  Word choice and tone
•  Headlines
•  Photos and camera angles
•  Captions
•  Names and titles
•  Statistics

So we'll explore how and why bias occurs. For now, click here to examine how two articles cover the same news event in much different way.

Less is More

There's an old saying in journalism: "Less is more."

Forget about the times you wrote as much as you could about something in order to impress the teacher or give your reader the impression that you really know what you're talking about. In journalism brevity is key. Hard news stories must be concise or you'll confuse and lose the reader. While feature stories allow writers to be more descriptive and more creative, that doesn't mean you should necessarily start writing a lot more. Right now we're focusing on short profiles so that means first do thorough reporting and interviewing, then pick the very best information to write your story. Don't give the reader all of the information. While your words may be sacred to you, you have to be able to cut what's not necessary and edit wordy phrases.

Think of it as fat-free writing.

Click on the links below to see three more examples of 300-word stories by Brady Dennnis, then comment on which you like the best and why.

Looking for a laugh

One minute and $123 dollars

As time goes by

Let's talk . . . and LISTEN

Although everyone in the class still needs more practice with writing hard news leads and writing stories that follow the basic inverted pyramid structure, we're going to move for now towards other forms of journalistic writing, beginning with basic feature writing. Features rely more heavily on quotes and interviews, so we need to spend some time in and out of class considering and practicing what makes a good interview.

It's true that the best interviews are like good conversations. That is, in most cases the interview should be a comfortable give-and-take session where you and the person you interview talk with each other, not at each other. Of course, if the interviewee is hostile or defensive, this may not be the case. But the three best things you can do to have a good interview are:

1) Prepare thoroughly by researching the topic and/or the person and list questions.
2) Take good notes and record the interview if possible.
3) Listen very attentively.

Being a good listener is the most important thing you can do. One of the biggest mistakes many inexperienced reporters make is worrying so much about what question to ask next, that they don't realize something important or unexpected that the interviewee has just said.

Here are a couple of short videos I would like you to watch. The first is some good advice about interviewing from network anchor Katie Couric. The second is from National Public Radio's Scott Simon.

The most important journalistic equation

It's a simple formula:  Lack of attribution = lack of credibility = lack of readers.

There is nothing difficult about attribution. It's simply saying who or what your source is, whether it's a fact, an opinion or a quote. As we've discussed in class, attribution is the soul of journalism because without it, your article or broadcast is not believable. Reporters need to protect themselves. In the event that the information proves to be false, at least the reporter can truthfully say that her source was wrong, not her. And attribution establishes credibility by showing  readers or listeners where they can go if they challenge anything in the article or if they want to obtain more information from your sources.

Getting the story first is nice. Getting it fast is nice too. But getting it right supercedes everything else. Without journalistic integrity, reporters or publications have nothing to offer readers or listeners. Recently an Irish college student conducted a media experiment that, unfortunately, major news organizations failed. The results were alarming and should make everyone -- especially aspiring journalists -- remember to not only attribute their own facts, but to check and re-check any unattributed information they obtain online. Click here to read an article about the hoax.

Tweeting in Journalism

Alright, so I admit it. I'm one of those middle-aged adults who is highly skeptical of the intrinsic value of Twitter. But I'm evidently not alone. According to a recent 60 Minutes/Vanity Fair poll, only 15 percent of Americans believe that Twitter is an important new tool for mass communication.Thirty-nine percent said the microblogging site is a fad that will fade away, while 43 percent had either heard of it but didn't know what it is, or had never heard of it.

My colleague Larry Baker has recruited me to sign up for a Twitter account, so I'll see if this social media experiment changes my viewpoint. Either way, I readily admit that Twitter has its usefulness for certain people -- not only celebrities -- but journalists and bloggers. During breaking news, in particular, both professional and citizen journalists have used Twitter to great advantage. For example, Twitter was a useful tool in reports about the Iranian crackdown on mass demonstrations this year, especially after Western journalists were deported from the country. Click here to read how journalists are using Twitter. To tweet or not to tweet? That is the question.

Deep Throat: Patriot or Traitor?

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Free expression or animal rights?

The First Amendment is the foundation of an open society. Two of the five protections guaranteed by the First Amendment -- freedom of speech and freedom of the press -- help ensure that we provide citizens with a "marketplace of ideas" free from censorship. Yet the right to free expression often comes into conflict with other rights, especially when it infringes on the safety or morality of others. Yelling "fire" in a crowded theatre, for example, is not protected by the First Amendment. Neither is child pornography or material that is considered obscene in nature. This is why the First Amendment is not just a static document that was written by our forefathers over 200 years ago. Because society and technology change and evolve, the First Amendment is continually challenged by cases that need to be interpreted by the courts.

Click here to read about a First Amendment case that is currently before the Supreme Court. You be the judge.

Convergence journalism

"Convergence journalism" is a new type of journalism that combines various forms of media (writing, video, photos, and more) to create a larger journalistic project. The web is an ideal platform for convergence journalism, and papers like The Washington Post are moving toward multimedia presentations. More newspapers are discovering that it's not enough to simply put the exact same content from their paper on the web. Their product on the web has to offer something different than their paper product -- something of real value. 
                                                                                                                                                
For a good example of convergence journalism, click here to read an article from The Washington Post about the recession's impact on a Midwestern family.

After reading, share some of your immediate reaction -- either about the story itself or about its presentation. Do you think this story has more of an impact reading it online than it would in a traditional newspaper? Why? Do the photos, for example, make you feel more or less sympathetic toward this family?

Citizen journalism: A good thing?

These days, anyone can post anything on the Internet. This amazing information revolution has enabled us to have incredible opportunities and resources at our fingertips, but it has also spawned problematic trends. How, for example, do we sift through it all? How will young people, in particular, know the difference between legitimate news sources and biased or unsupported propaganda? There's a lot of garbage out there.

Does the world still need professionally trained journalists? You betcha. While it's wonderful that anyone can snap pictures of breaking news, for example, and post them on the web, it would be foolish or even dangerous to abandon journalism's watchdog role to the bloggers and citizen journalists of the world. Read these two articles from Time magazine to consider two different viewpoints.


Click here to read "It's all about us". Then click here to read "Enough about you".

 

Photos courtesy of Time magazine.

Can newspapers survive?

Are newspapers a dying breed? It would seem so. As we've discussed in class and as chapter 4 in your textbook points out, traditional newspapers are fighting to survive and scrambling to adjust to new technology and a new generation of readers who are more likely to get their news from an iPod or cell phone.

On the other hand, journalism itself isn't dying. Only its mode of delivery is changing and adapting. Click here to read a recent Time magazine article about the closing of The Ann Arbor News. It's not just the story of another newspaper closing its doors. What makes The Ann Arbor News story unique is that, unlike many other newspapers, The A2 News was not forced to stop its presses. Instead, it deliberately shut down so that it could launch a new online model. What do you think of its decision?