Law And Ethics Flashcards
Law
A binding custom or practice of a community
The first amendment
Provides the constitutional basis for media law
Fourteenth amendment
Says that state and local governments can’t do anything that tramples on the rights given to us by the federal government
Abridge
To reduce in scope or diminish
The standards to abridge freedom of press
No political bias
It must be applicable to everyone
There must be substantial or significant government interest
There must be ample alternatives for communication to take place
Allowable abridgments
Obscenity Copyright Commercial speech National security Military ops Clear and present danger to public safety
Ethics
The study of how people do behave and how people should behave
Golden rule
Love your neighbor as yourself
Hedonism
Doing whatever will give you pleasure without worrying about the future
Golden mean
Ethics lies in the middle of two extremes
Categorical imperative
Right is always right, wrong is always wrong
Utilitarianism
What will do the greatest good for the greatest number of people
Veil of ignorance
All are equal
Media ethics
Philosophical study of morality in the context of media institutions and professional practice
U.S Supreme Court
Final interpreter of the law
Prior restraint
Government restrictions of speech before the speech is made
Prior review
Government requirement that speech be approved prior to being made
Obscenity
Material that deals with sex in a manner appealing to the prurient interest
Pornography
The presentation of sexually explicit behavior, as in photograph, intended to arouse sexual excitement
Miller test
The average person, applying current standards of the community, would have to find that the work in its entirety reflects an obsessive interest in sex.
Copyright
The legal protection of an authors right to work
Fair use
Any copying of copyrighted material done for a limited and “transformative” purpose, such as to comment upon, criticize, or parody a copyrighted work.
Commercial speech
Messages that are designed to sell you products or services
Espionage and sedition acts
Allowed censorship of print and then broadcasting
Clear and present danger
Expression can be limited only when words will create a clear and present danger that will bring about substantive evils. Must be imminent.
National security
Prior restraint allowable when national security of US is at stake. Narrowly defined because of the Pentagon Papers
