Media Law TOA, Essay Example

Ethical news Values

Journalists in Singapore ought to abide by values regarding ethical news. These values include confirmation, dignity, tenacity, accuracy, sufficiency, reciprocity, diversity, equity, and community. Singapore is facing local epidemics like Influenza. Local news agencies must abide by ethical values when covering stories on Influenza. This essay explains five moral news values, with appropriate examples, how local news agencies should cover Singapore’s epidemic.

Accuracy

Accuracy is a significant core value that aims at maintaining credibility, specifically in media broadcasts. The listeners always share their drops regarding any outlet that is channeling new information first. Various media organizations may equilibrate accuracy and speed in multiple ways (Comm322,). For example, in Singapore, the Katong news agency ensures that the information posted in the media regarding the influenza vaccine is accurate and reliable to Singapore’s people.

Diversity

Most journalists perceive diversity as an overlap issue with ethical news. Failure to focus on community diversity raises concerns about news accuracy. Diversity is beyond ethnicity, sexual orientation, and race (Comm322). Singapore’s local news agency should focus on rural and urban residents’ perspectives, atheists, and religious believers. For example, in Singapore, Sin Hing Newspaper agency ensures that the newspaper’s written information regarding Influenza epidemics is directed towards all rural and urban residents, atheists, and religious believers.

Equity

Equity is the quality of the remaining parts and being fair. It also refers to giving equal opportunity to everyone. Equity is used by journalism in ethics to show that every individual deserves equal opportunity (Comm322). For example, local news agency like Sin Hing bring people to the bottommost level when publishing news on Influenza so those who engage much effort will narrow down to those who are not capable of making a field level.

Reciprocity

Society is attached to lots of bad happenings to both good and bad people. People always hate to see bad people experiencing good things considering that not everything in the news stories is about good people. Reciprocity is about giving back (Comm322). For example, in Singapore, the Katong Newsagency offers one-on-one conversations about the Influenza epidemic between the audience and journalists who show reciprocity in ethical news.

Confirmation

The use of confirmation by journalists in ethical news affects how reporters peruse stories, how the audience interprets and uses the news, and how the sources are used to present information to the journalists (Comm322). For example, A local agency like Katong news in Singapore uses confirmation in ethics to ensure that journalists don’t provide biased information from the audience about the influenza epidemic.

Assuming that I am the chief editor of Sun Weekly Magazine, I will use the following four guidelines to lead my newsroom in a self- regulated media industry and manage the workforce across multiple platforms;

1. I would lead my team to embrace the importance of multi- racialism. In order to maintain a positive online presence, the articles published should maintain racial sensitivity and be tolerant to different cultures. This is in accordance with the Sedition Act, which states that it is illegal to publish, print, distribute, reproduce, sell or offer to sell seditious content (Comm322). Seditious content may incite hatred and hostility among the masses. Content published by my newsroom should therefore adhere to this rule, and be sensitive to all regardless of race or culture.
2. I would educate my team on the legal issues that may have an implication on how information is conveyed by media houses. This includes the types of information that are censored. For instance, content directed towards children should be free of violence and obscene material. Generally, any content published and distributed by this newsroom should lack harmful content that might threaten national security and public order (TOA). This will help the newsroom to avoid unnecessary backlash and legal implications that might hinder our growth.
3. The newsroom should also be aware of intellectual property and copyrights. In most of the articles published, works and research by professionals outside the newsroom is used. The team should understand that content containing research from an outside source should be cited, and the contribution of the outside source acknowledged (Comm322).
4. I will lead my team to adhere to a very strict code of ethics. All information distributed by the newsroom should be for the good of society (TOA). This means that my team has to be morally upright, and stick to ethics in media law so as to publish content that has a positive effect on the society. This is in awareness of utilitarianism, communitarianism and feminist ethics. There should be a line between the media’s freedom of expression and an individual’s right to privacy (Comm322). The media holds a lot of influence over the public, therefore, it is important that a newsroom holds a positive image that reflects well on the society.

The first element of a defamatory claim states that a person’s statements about another must be defamatory and false, therefore giving the wrong information about the person. In the case between Wong, Don, and the newspaper, inaccurate information about Wong spread out about him being drunk after a mistaken identity between him and his twin brother Joe. Don used the twin’s picture as a way of destroying Wong’s aspirations to win the by-elections. The newspaper also printed false information without reason to believe that it was true. Don sent Joe’s picture, thinking that it was Stan and the newspaper published that Wong was high before the elections claiming that he was a drunkard and a cheater. The print made him lose the by-election, and a few of the clients needed his services as an attorney.

Another element to a defamation claim is that the plaintiff should have a clear identification in the statement made. In the information printed by the newspaper, Wong’s name appeared clearly; therefore, the readers of the newspaper could quickly identify the person being referred to (P.35). The third element to a defamation claim is that another person must view the statement published. In this case, the people read the newspaper, which made him lose the elections and a few clients. In the defamation suit, Don and the newspaper can defend that the statement was an honest opinion after the confusion brought about by Wong’s twin brother. The newspaper can present the defense of innocent dissemination as it had no intention of destroying Wong’s name but received eye-catching information. The newspaper did not act responsibly as they printed the story without considering the truth of the matter.

The protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA) does not align with Singapore’s media regulatory framework. The regulatory framework on media in Singapore outlines regulations concerning the content displayed on the internet. However, the restrictions apply a light-touch approach to allow people to express their content on the internet more freedom as long as they do not violate other people’s rights. The Media Development Authority in Singapore, however, has a strong stand against online content that might destabilize the public interest, interracial relationships, and content that may be causing harm to the younger people in society.  The authority, therefore, requires websites that may contain harmful content to regulate their accessibility.

The Media Development Authority, however, does not regulate the use of the internet other than the publication of harmful content (Comm322, P.37). The authority also does not control websites run by individuals or the contents of personal communications such as emails. The Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act requires the presenter of false information through posts on online platforms to amend the posts and state that they contained misleading information. The only similarity between POFMA and Singapore’s regulations on online media is that both regulate the presenting of falsehood information that might be harmful to a part of the population. However, the Protection from Falsehood and Manipulation Act does not specify the public interest it wishes to protect. Singapore’s regulations on media have the main aim to encourage people to be socially responsible for the information they choose to present on online platforms and also to educate the public on the ethics of the use of the internet.

References

Com322. Media Law & Ethics: Revision Seminar.

Com322. Media Law and Ethics: Study Guide (5CU).