JRN 4425 Troy University First Amendment Rights Case Analysis
Question Description
Troy University Hall School of Journalism & Communication JRN 4425: Multimedia Law
I will expect you to think critically about First Amendment rights as you develop these essays. Three cases will be presented after these instructions.
In the first paragraph, describe the dilemma you have, the situation you are in. In your essays, address the questions posed following the scenario, but make it all flow as though those questions are thoughts you have and know that they must be considered in arriving at a solution to your journalistic dilemma. Do not list the questions within your essay and then answer them individually. You must fully justify the path you choose. In other words, whether you choose a solution that is provided to you within the case scenario or another one you have come up with on your own, you must explain completely why you have made this choice.
Refer to at least two previously decided cases (precedents) as partial support for your decision (each case at least two sources). Remember: The First Amendment is NOT a precedent. Do not start off writing the scenario as it appears in this assignment simply to add words to your essay. You may begin by briefly explaining the dilemma you are facing.
Do your own work. I have caught many students plagiarizing the work of previous students, and it did not end well. Turn-It- In has all papers submitted for this assignment for the past six years in its repository. Please do not plagiarizing.
Specifications: Use this list as your checklist before you submit through Turn-It-In!
____ 900 words (This is a firm minimum and maximum number of wordsnot one word fewer nor one word more.)
____ 12-pt. Times New Roman, double spaced
____ 1-inch margins on all four sides of page
____ Contact info and name in header on every page
____ Indent paragraphs 12 inch with NO extra spacing between paragraphs ____ Include page numbers
____ Do not submit PDFs. I cannot correct them.
_____ Include a reference/bibliography section.
Case 1
Detachment or involvement?
THE SCENARIO:
You are a reporter for a large urban daily. The paper plans a major series on poverty. Your editor assigns you to do an in-depth piece on the effects of poverty on children, with special emphasis on what happens when drug addiction becomes part of the story.
You have identified several families willing to be subjects for the story. Three families agree to be photographed and identified and you spend four months with them, visiting their homes every day and observing what goes on. You tell them your job is to be an observer a “fly on the wall” so you can gather information for this important series.
In one home, you watch as a mother allows her three-year-old daughter to go hungry for 24 hours. You see this same child living in a filthy room, stepping on broken glass and sleeping on a urine-soaked mattress. You know the mother is HIV-positive and you watch as she brushes her daughter’s teeth withthe same toothbrush she uses. You see the mother hit the child with full force. You see the little girl about to bite on an electrical cord. Her plight haunts you.
What do you do to satisfy both your conscience and your responsibilities as a reporter?
Report the mother to the authorities so the girl will be removed from this environment and placed in a foster home. Then write the story.
Write the story first, detailing your observations. After the story has been published,notify the authorities, giving the mother’s address.
Write the story, but don’t identify the mother or child to police or social service authorities. Remember, you are a reporter. You’ve put the information in the newspaper. It’s not your job to act as a police officer.
Your own solution to the dilemma. Be specific.
Case 2
To what lengths should you go to get a story?
THE SCENARIO:
You are a correspondent for a major television network. Your producers have done a great deal of research about a national grocery chain; they allege that some of its grocery stores are asking employees to participate in unsanitary food-handling practices.
This is an important story. Consumers may get sick if they eat tainted food, you argue, and they have a right to know that a food store is not handling its food in a safe manner. You want to make sure this story airs on national television. You believe that to get good footage you have togo into the store with cameras and film the store’s workers actually engaging in unsafe practices.You need proof.
As the television correspondent, how will you get your story?
Call the store manager and request an on-site interview, with cameras. Explain that you have some information that consumers will want to know about and give the store a chance to show its side of the story.
Just appear at the store one day, without advance notice to the manager. That way youwon’t tip off the staff that you’re onto a story.
