Writers are much more likely to encounter ethical guidelines and restraints. Here, again, knowing the general basis of ethical behavior is an important part of the writer’s work.

Legal protections and restraints

Can we say anything we want to say, write anything we want to write, broadcast anything and put anything on the web?

The answer, of course, is no..

The major points of this week's lecture are:

• Writers for the mass media should understand that while we have a great deal of freedom of expression, that freedom is not absolute.
• Libel, copyright and trademark are three of the restrictions that we run into every day.
• The First Amendment has embedded the concept of an open society into our laws.

More lecture notes, etc.

Reading

Read Chapter 10 of Writing for the Mass Media. Make sure you understand all of the concepts and practices discussed there.


Reading room

Final exam. The final exam will be given during week 15 of the course. It will consist of a multiple choice quiz and a writing assignment. A special page on this web site has been put together to help you prepare for the exam.