Subject Area - Course Number: JOURNLSM 309 Cross-Listing

University of Wisconsin-Whitewater

Curriculum Proposal Form #3

New Course

Effective Term: {Select from drop-down list} 2103 (Summer 2010)2107 (Fall 2010)2110 (Winterim 2011)2111 (Spring 2011)2113 (Summer 2011)2117 (Fall 2011)2121 (Spring 2012)2123 (Summer 2012)2127 (Fall 2012)

Subject Area - Course Number: JOURNLSM 309 Cross-listing:

(See Note #1 below)

Course Title: (Limited to 65 characters) Media Ethics

25-Character Abbreviation: Media Ethics

Sponsor(s): David Wachanga and Kathy Brady

Department(s): Communication

College(s): {Select from drop-down list} Arts and CommunicationBusiness and EconomicsEducationLetters and SciencesInterdisciplinaryGrad Studies & Cont Ed

Consultation took place: NA Yes (list departments and attach consultation sheet)

Departments:

Programs Affected: Broadcast/Print/Web Journalism; Journalism Advertising Emphasis; International Journalism

Is paperwork complete for those programs? (Use "Form 2" for Catalog & Academic Report updates)

NA Yes will be at future meeting

Prerequisites: JOURNLSM 212 or JOURNLSM 220

Grade Basis: Conventional Letter S/NC or Pass/Fail

Course will be offered: Part of Load Above Load

On Campus Off Campus - Location

College: {Select from drop-down list} Arts and CommunicationBusiness and EconomicsEducationLetters and SciencesGrad Studies and Cont EdInterdisciplinary Dept/Area(s): Journalism

Instructor: David Wachanga/Kathy Brady

Note: If the course is dual-listed, instructor must be a member of Grad Faculty.

Check if the Course is to Meet Any of the Following:

Technological Literacy Requirement Writing Requirement

Diversity General Education Option: Select one:NoneGAGEGHGLGIGMGPGS

Note: For the Gen Ed option, the proposal should address how this course relates to specific core courses, meets the goals of General Education in providing breadth, and incorporates scholarship in the appropriate field relating to women and gender.

Credit/Contact Hours: (per semester)

Total lab hours: 0 Total lecture hours: 48

Number of credits: 3 Total contact hours: 48

Can course be taken more than once for credit? (Repeatability)

No Yes If "Yes", answer the following questions:

No of times in major: No of credits in major:

No of times in degree: No of credits in degree:

Revised 10/02 1 of 7

Proposal Information: (Procedures for form #3)

Course justification:

This course will promote development of critical thinking and reasoning skills, critical for navigating complex questions and decisions that advertising and public relations professionals, journalists, and other media practitioners must regularly make. Currently, the department has no specific ethics course.

Relationship to program assessment objectives:

Part of the Communication Department mission is that “we stress an ethical basis for decision-making about communication and its impact on the wider society in which our student practitioners live and practice.” This course is key to helping fulfill this part of our mission, as we currently have no dedicated ethics course in our catalog. The course also supports the component of the University’s Strategic Plan relating to personal and professional integrity. Finally, LEAP objectives are supported with this course’s emphasis on critical thinking skills.

Budgetary impact:

None anticipated. The teaching of this course can be managed with the staff already in place and needs no additional funding to make the course operational.

Course description: (50 word limit)

This course exposes students to ethical theory in the context of rapid technological change and the means to acquire ethical analytical abilities. This two-tiered approach first examines the relationship between professional ethics and social philosophy to establish a framework for understanding the relationship between media practice and a democratic society.

If dual listed, list graduate level requirements for the following:

1. Content (e.g., What are additional presentation/project requirements?)

2. Intensity (e.g., How are the processes and standards of evaluation different for graduates and undergraduates? )

3. Self-Directed (e.g., How are research expectations differ for graduates and undergraduates?)

Tentative Journalism 309 Media Ethics Syllabus

Instructor(s):

Dr. David Wachanga — Office: L2229 — Phone: (262) 472-5457 — Email:

Dr. Kathy Brady — Office: HE458 — Phone: (262)472-1726 — Email:

Text: Bugeja, M. (2007). Living Ethics: Across Media Platforms. New York: University Press.

Course Objectives:

·  To provide students with tools to understand and apply First Amendment principles, media ethics and the law appropriate to professional practice.

·  To intersect media ethics with the political, economic, technological, legal, multicultural and historical factors that shape the American media

·  To understand the history of media ethics and the role of professionals and institutions in shaping communications.

·  To demonstrate an understanding of the diversity of groups in a global society in relationship to communications.

·  To understand concepts and apply media ethics theories in the use and presentation of images and information.

·  To allow students to work ethically in pursuit of truth, accuracy, fairness and diversity.

·  To enable students to think critically, creatively and independently.

·  To encourage students to explore their own personal beliefs, instincts, and biases regarding ethical conduct in the media.

Attendance is expected at all classes and will be taken regularly. You are allowed 3 absences for the semester for any reason. This means that if you use these days as personal days [homework, social engagements, head cold, etc.], please do not bring me doctor’s notes or other documentation for additional illnesses. (Contact the Dean of Students if you have a family emergency or extended illness.) For each absence over the 3-class limit, I will deduct 10 points for each class missed.

Upon returning from medical or mental treatment, you will have one calendar week to make up all missed work. Any work not handed in during this grace period will not be accepted.

Assignments:

Case study 300 points
Quizzes (4) and midterm 300 points
Blog (5 entries) 200 points
Final exam 200 points

TOTAL 1,000 points

Grading Scale:

A 930 –1000 points
A- 900-929 points
B+ 879-899 points

B 830-878 points

B- 800-829 points

C+ 779-799 points

C 730-778 points

C- 700-729 points

D+ 679-699 points

D 630-678 points

D- 600-629 points

F 599 points or below

Week One:

Introduction
Brief history of media ethics in the U.S.

Week Two:
Why media ethics

Week Three:

Key terms: bias, truth, objectivity, power

Week Four:
Key terms (cont’d)

Week Five:
Theories (deontology, libertarianism)

Week Six:
Theories (utilitarianism, communitarianism)

Week Seven:
Tools: Potter Box, Bok’s model, Pyramid model

Week Eight:
Research
Blogging

Week Nine:

Case studies
Midterm exam

Week Ten:
Case studies

Week Eleven:
Media ethics in a globalized society

Week Twelve:
Challenges of New Media

Week Thirteen:
Strategic communication and ethics

Week Fourteen:
Entertainment and ethics

Week Fifteen:
Semester review
Blogging

Week Sixteen:
Final exam

Bibliography:

Altschull, H. J. (1990). From Milton to McLuhan. New York: Longman

Bok, S. (1989). Lying: New York: Vintage Books.

Bugeja, M. (2008). Living ethics across media platforms. OUP

Christians, CG., et al (1993). Good News: Social Ethics. New York: Oxford U P GN

(2005). Media Ethics: Cases and Moral Reasoning. Boston: Pearson.

Cooper, T. W. et al (1989). Communication Ethics and Global Change. White Plains: Longman.

Ess, C. (2009). Digital Media Ethics. Malden, MA: Polity Press.

Lambeth, E. (1992). Committed Journalism Bloomington: Indiana Press. CJ

Land, M. & Bill, H. (eds). (2006). Contemporary Media Ethics: A Practical Guide for Students, Scholars and Professionals. Marquette Books: January 2006

Phillip, P. & Wilkins, L. (2008). Media ethics issues and cases. McGraw Hill.

Pember, Don. (1990) Mass Media Law. Dubuque, IA : W.C. Brown.

Perebinossoff, P. (2008). Real-world Media Ethics. Boston: Focal Press.

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater is dedicated to a safe, supportive and non-discriminatory learning environment. It is the responsibility of all undergraduate and graduate students to familiarize themselves with University policies regarding Special Accommodations, Academic Misconduct, Religious Beliefs Accommodation, Discrimination and Absence for University Sponsored Events (for details please refer to the Schedule of Classes; the “Rights and Responsibilities” section of the Undergraduate Catalog; the Academic Requirements and Policies and the Facilities and Services sections of the Graduate Catalog; and the “Student Academic Disciplinary Procedures (UWS Chapter 14); and the “Student Nonacademic Disciplinary Procedures" (UWS Chapter 17).

Revised 10/02 1 of 7