LEGAL, ETHICAL AND

SOCIETAL ISSUES IN MEDIA

AND INFORMATION
CHAPTER 7
The ff. could represents a major legal problem in the media
industry:
 A TV news report quoting a police officer about a drunk driver
who caused a fatal accident
 A mistake that associated the wrong name or home address
with criminal wrongdoing
 A record bought at a local store that’s used as background
music for a commercial
 Publishing controversial excerpts on a web site from a new
novel
 A photo from a web page used in a student newspaper
 Legal Issues in Media Industry

1. Health and Safety

Health and Safety Advisors in the TV and film industry give advice on health
and safety management systems within each film or production.
2. Copyright and Trademarks
Copyright applies to work that is recorded in some way. It gives the author
specific rights in relation to the works, prohibits unauthorized actions, and allows
the author to take legal action against instances of infringement or plagiarism.
Trademarks are registered at a national or territory level with an appointed
government body. Registered trademarks may be identified by the abbreviation
TM or the R symbol.
3. Equal Opportunities
The Equal Opportunities act took effect in August 2011 replaced the 1995
equal opportunity act with some changes to discrimination laws and changed key
definitions.
4. Exclusivity and Confidentiality
A non-disclosure agreement is a legal contact between at least two parties.
 ETHICAL ISSUES IN THE MEDIA
Morality issues such as right and wrong have to be taken
account. Exploitation and sensationalism also have to be
considered and taken into account.
Offensive material such as privacy and copyright are not
usually enforced by law. Regulatory bodies and codes of
practice exist often within the industry. Representational issues
have to do with the re-presentation of people, facts, opinions,
and events.

A. Representation and Ethics

B. Accuracy
C. Harm and Offense
 OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES IN MEDIA AND
INFORMATION
Social media is about community and relationships.

Media Issues in 2016

A. Drama without Drama – The Late Rise of Scripted TV Formats –
Jean K. Chalaby.
B. Rearticulating Audience Engagement Social Media and
Television – Thomas Poell, University of Amsterdam
C. Twitter Time. A Temporal Analysis of Tweet Streams During
Televised Political Debate – Philip Pond, department of Media &
Communication, RMIT University
D. The Turn to “Bad Koreans” Transforming Televisual Ethnicity –
Timothy K. August, Department of Cultural Analysis and Theory
Power of Media and Information
1. The media inform people in general, gives information,
creates political ideas, organize social action groups, and
helps to shape the public policy agendas and priorities.
2. The media play a role of political accountability, watching
public officials and institutions and challenge them via
reports, interviews, databases, etc.
3. The media sometimes play the role of a direct political actor;
the press reveals the government’s plans that impact on the
political scene.
4. The media also play an accountability role concerning the
private sector and the non-government organizations,
reporting their every actions in the news and making sure that
they do not harm the public.
Media and Information in:
1. Economy
2. Education
3. Social
4. Politics
Threats of Media and Information
1. Costumer Scams
2. Watering Hole Phishing & Malware
3. Information Leakage
4. Hashtag/Traffic Hijacking
5. Account Takeover
Risks of Media and Information
1. Anything you can do can be seen by other people
2. Keep the negativity to yourself
3. Don’t post sexual, religious, political and graphical materials
4. Never fight with anyone on social networking sites.
 Opportunities, Challenges,
and Power of Media and
Information
Chapter 8
Opportunities of Media and Information

Print publication
Journals
Broadcasts
Online media
Newspapers
Freelancers
 Challenges of Media and Information
Some of these challenges were:
Audience Measurement
Tracking Return on investment & Attribution across media
channels.
Recruitment & Retention
Keeping Up to Done
Business cost
Managing an increasingly diverse & siloed agency roster.
Fragmenting Market & Increased Competition.
Disconnect & Miscommunication
Limited Scope