ZUR404 Media and ethics

Faculty of Social Studies
Autumn 2010
Extent and Intensity
2/0. 8 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Svatava Navrátilová, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Mgr. Pavel Sedláček (assistant)
Guaranteed by
prof. PhDr. Jiří Pavelka, CSc.
Department of Media Studies and Journalism – Faculty of Social Studies
Contact Person: Ing. Bc. Pavlína Brabcová
Timetable
Thu 23. 9. 12:00–13:30 AVC, 16:00–17:40 P51 Posluchárna V. Čermáka, Thu 7. 10. 12:00–13:30 AVC, 16:00–17:40 P51 Posluchárna V. Čermáka, Thu 21. 10. 12:00–13:30 AVC, 16:00–17:40 P51 Posluchárna V. Čermáka, Thu 18. 11. 12:00–13:30 AVC, 16:00–17:40 P51 Posluchárna V. Čermáka, Thu 2. 12. 12:00–13:30 AVC, 16:00–17:40 P51 Posluchárna V. Čermáka, Thu 16. 12. 12:00–13:30 AVC, 16:00–17:40 P51 Posluchárna V. Čermáka
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.

The capacity limit for the course is 60 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/60, only registered: 0/60
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The course familiarises students both with the theory of ethics as an element of philosophy and with practical professional ethics of journalism. On successful completion of the course, students will be able to understand basic terms of ethics; to analyze the issue of media manipulation and its types; to characterize war news reporting; and to evaluate selected controversial terms of media discourse. Last but not least, students will be able to compare the approach to the ethics of journalism in Czech and foreign media.
Syllabus
  • 1. Introduction to the course.
  • 2. Basic terms of ethics.
  • 3. Journalists' legitimacy and the concept of the freedom of speech.
  • 4. Truth and lies in media.
  • 5. Media manipulation and its types.
  • 6. Objectivity as a ideological tool, bias and stereotypes in journalistic practice.
  • 7. Screening of the film Good night and good luck (directed by George Clooney; the films tells the story of CBS TV reporters whose head was Edward R. Murrow. In their weekly thirty-minute programme “See it now”, commenting the most important events of the after-war USA, they spoke out against suppressing basic human rights by senator Joseph McCarthy).
  • 8. Tyranny of the moment and politics of speed: current concepts of the phenomenon of online journalism.
  • 9. War news reporting. Media and terrorism.
  • 10. Private information about celebrities and “common” people.
  • 11. Controversial terms of media discourse: the concept of public service, public interest, public journalism, objectivity, balance, etc.
  • 12. Comparison of codes of ethics issued by individual Czech and foreign media.
  • 13. Screening of the film “A Mighty Heart” (directed by Michael Winterbottom and starring Angelina Jolie and Dan Futterman. The film reconstructs the events centred around the British journalist Daniel Perl, a Wall Street Journal reporter, working in Pakistan after 11 September 2001).
Literature
  • Allport, Gordon, W. : O povaze předsudků, Prostor, Praha, 2004, str. 202–229.
  • Jamieson, Kathleen Hall, Walkman Paul: The Press Effect, Oxford University Press, New York, 2003, str. 130–164.
  • Lasch, Christopher: The culture of narcissism, W. W. Norton & Company, New York, 1978, str. 3–51, 187–217.
  • Ramonet, Ignacio: Tyranie médií, Mladá Fronta, Praha, 2003, str. 55–72.
  • Campbell, Vincent: Information Age Journalism, Oxford University Press, New York, 2004, str. 153–177.
  • Etický kodex České televize
  • Day, Louis Alvin: Ethics in media communications, Wadsworth: Thompson learning, Belmont, 2003, str. 76–102.
  • Bugeja, Michael: Living Ethics: Developing values in mass communication, Allyn & Bacon, 1996, str. 191–218.
  • Etický kodex BBC
  • Ramonet, Ignacio: Tyranie médií, Mladá Fronta, Praha, 2003, str. 55–72.
  • Day, Louis Alvin: Ethics in media communications, Wadsworth: Thompson learning, Belmont, 2003, str. 76–102.
  • Watzlawick, Paul: Jak skutečná je skutečnost?, Konfrontace, Hradec Králové, 1998, str. 53–137.
  • Montaigne, Michel de: Eseje, Praha, 1995, str. 134–190.
  • Gray, John: Slamění psi, Dokořán, Praha, 2004, str. 36–40.
  • Thompson John: Média a modernita, Karolinum, Praha, 2004, str. 15–41.
  • Aristoteles: Etika Níkomachova, Nakladatelství Petr Rezek, Praha, 1996, str. 25–66.
  • Allan, Stuart and Zelizer, Barbie: Reporting War, Routledge, London, 2004, str. 77–95.
Teaching methods
The course takes place in the form of lectures. It also involves screening of two movies to practically illustrate the issues covered by the course. The emphasis is among others put on reading.
Assessment methods
Mid-course tests based on the assigned literature. Exam: The course may be successfully completed by those students who obtain a sufficient number of points for mid-course tests and the written exam. For tests marked on the scale of 0, 10 or 20 points, the students can obtain up to 60 points. For the final written exam, the students may obtain up to 100 points. The answers to the final test, based on the lectures and the assigned literature, are marked on the scale of 0, 5 or 10 points. The maximum number of points which the students may obtain in the course: 160 points.
Language of instruction
Czech
Further Comments
The course is taught annually.
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2001, Spring 2002, Spring 2003, Spring 2004, Autumn 2004, Spring 2005, Spring 2006, Autumn 2006, Autumn 2007, Autumn 2008, Autumn 2009, Autumn 2011, Spring 2012, Autumn 2012, Autumn 2013.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Autumn 2010, recent)
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