For the last four weeks, I've been enrolled in a Legal Aspects of Media course. In the duration of this course I feel like I’ve learned so much valuable information about the rules and regulation of the media. Professor Maras has a great way of structuring the assignments and breaking down the material for students to understand.
If I had to chose one, I’d say my favorite assignment was the intrusion case analysis from week one. Learning about the Deteresa vs. ABCcase was very eye-opening. With my career choice being journalism, it’s extremely important that I know the do’s and don’ts when interviewing a source. I’d say advising the interviewee of your recording device is the first thing you should do once they’ve agreed to the interview. Following that, we must also have their consent to publish the interview. This simple acknowledgment can save any reporter from a potential lawsuit.
I strongly believe in each topic covered in this course, and that they all will be helpful in my field. However, the two I’ve found the most insightful were the intrusion and copyright topics. I feel those will be the most helpful because they are the easiest to violate. Sometimes as young journalists, we become so consumed with getting the story we can easily forget to give credit for the cover photo to our story or ask permission to air an interview. To instill these habits in us now will increase our professionalism and rapport.
The information I’ve learned this month will definitely help me handle any unforeseen legal issues in the communications industry. Knowing my limitations when it comes to intrusion and copyright laws can help me avoid lawsuits and suspension or termination from an employer (if the company had to toss out the entire story). In regard to defamation and commercial speech its quite simple--don’t speak on what you don’t know. Defaming someone, especially a public figure, will almost always result in a lawsuit if it caused harm to their reputation. And deceptive advertising can have harsh consequences, not just for you but your business as well. All of which goes against ethical guidelines and I hope to never get put in that position with a future employer.
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