Ethics Media Law Assignment Analysis Report

Running head: MEDIA LAW AND ETHICS
MEDIA LAW AND ETHICS
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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MEDIA LAW AND ETHICS
Media is one of the most essential modes of communication that helps in transmitting
information to the people. Media is also used to store data as well as deliver information from
one side to another. However, there are certain laws and ethics that should be followed by
media while transmitting information (Bertrand 2018). Media ethics deals with many ethical
questions regarding media and how the latter should use texts as well as pictures to transfer
information (Bertrand 2018). Media law on the other hand talks about rights and interests
within the society such as freedom of speech and information that compete with other rights
such as fair trial, confidentiality, security, privacy and others (Calvert, Kozlowski and Silver
2018). The primary aim of the essay is to discuss the ethical and legal issues faced by media
in the scenarios that were presented to them.
1.
Since Mary Green is the director of a news channel she comes to know that the police
wants to take help from the local citizens to find a missing girl. Due to this reason she sends
camera crew reporter Jane Jones to the house of the victim’s family after locating the address
from the phone directory. The police has provided the media with all the details of the family
along with a headshot photo that was given by the husband. However, the crew as well as the
media channel has to follow certain laws as well as ethics while dealing with the problem.
One of the legal issues that will be faced by the crew is not to deliver the information that
they have received from the investigation team as it might alert the criminals and lead to
adverse consequences (Wilkins and Christians 2020). At the same time the media team
should also be aware that they do not invade the privacy of the family members or other
people with whom they will be conversing to take out information about the girl who is
missing in the locality. This is again one of the legal issues that will be faced by the media
(Patterson, Wilkins and Painter 2018). The law states that no one can force another person to
speak on matter they are not willing to reflect on. Another legal issue faced by the media is

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MEDIA LAW AND ETHICS
that they are working without informing the court that can lead them to trouble as well as
legal suit as none of the media channel or person can work on an investigation without the
consent of the court. They are only allowed to comment and people aware of the situation
(Patterson, Wilkins and Painter 2018). Ethical issues faced by the media team in this situation
are the issues that revolves around the techniques of gathering news such as concealing the
recording, telephone hacking, invading the privacy of the people (Fourie 2017). People too
might not always tell the truth in front of the camera as they are scared that they will be
targeted. It is the responsibility of the media to make people comfortable while investigating
a case so that accurate information can be taken out from the people (Fourie 2017). Another
ethical issue faced by mass media is that they will have to convince people that their names
as well as identity will not be disclosed throughout the investigation (Fourie 2017). The
media team to get the best results and to avoid legal as well as ethical issues should follow
the two-step flow theory where the messages of mass communication do not directly move
from one person to the other (Southwell 2017). Instead the message is forwarded by the
gatekeepers and small group of people where message is reshaped and then transmitted to get
the maximum information possible (Southwell 2017). Since people will trust other people in
their locality therefore, the information collected through this process will be more accurate
as well as credible.
2.
The next scenario in which the media people find themselves in is that they are not
allowed to enter the premises of the house by the husband so they set up their instruments
away from the family and start filming them as well as other people and the locality. Another
news channels also arrive in the area by then and start filming everything next to other media
channels. One of the reporters ends his report with a catchy headline and urges the public to
continue to watch their channels. All the channels then broadcast their footage the very same