ZUR540 Media ethics

Faculty of Social Studies
Autumn 2016
Extent and Intensity
2/0. 6 credit(s). Type of Completion: z (credit).
Teacher(s)
doc. MgA. Jan Motal, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
prof. PhDr. Jiří Pavelka, CSc.
Department of Media Studies and Journalism – Faculty of Social Studies
Contact Person: Ing. Bc. Pavlína Brabcová
Supplier department: Department of Media Studies and Journalism – Faculty of Social Studies
Timetable
Thu 13:30–15:00 AVC
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
The capacity limit for the course is 20 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/20, only registered: 0/20, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/20
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
    required literature
  • MILL, John Stuart: Utilitarismus. Praha: Vyšehrad 2011.
  • ARISTOTELÉS. Etika Níkomachova. Translated by Antonín Kříž. 2. rozš. vyd. Praha: Rezek, 1996, 493 s. ISBN 80-901796-7-3. info
  • KANT, Immanuel. Základy metafyziky mravů. Translated by Ladislav Menzel. Praha: Svoboda, 1990. ISBN 8020501525. info
  • HUME, David. Enquiries : concerning the human understanding and concerning the principles of morals. Edited by L. A. Selby-Bigge. 2nd ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1902, xl, 371 s. info
    recommended literature
  • Christian Schicha - Carsten Brosda, Handbuch Medienethik. Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften 2010.
  • BRÁZDA, Radim. Srovnávací etika (The Comparative Ethics). první. Praha: KLP, 2002, 244 pp. Kassandra. ISBN 80-85917-86-6. info
  • KIERAN, Matthew. Media ethics :a philosophical approach. 1st pub. Westport: Praeger, 1997, ix, 168 s. ISBN 0-275-96694-1. info
  • Úvod do etiky. Edited by Arno Anzenbacher, Translated by Karel Šprunk. 1. vyd. Praha: Zvon, 1994, 292 s. ISBN 80-7113-111-3. info
    not specified
  • MACINTYRE, Alasdair C. Ztráta ctnosti : k morální krizi současnosti. Translated by Pavla Sadílková - David Hoffman. Vyd. 1. Praha: Oikoymenh, 2004, 332 s. ISBN 8072980823. info
Teaching methods
The course takes place in the form of lectures and discussions.
Assessment methods
Activity, attendance, homework (position papers), one presentation of actual case, test (terminology) and oral examination.
Language of instruction
Czech
Further Comments
Study Materials
The course is taught each semester.
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2012, Autumn 2013, Autumn 2014, Autumn 2015, Autumn 2017, Autumn 2018, Autumn 2019.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Autumn 2016, recent)
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