COM 380: Communication Ethics: Term Paper
Topic Choice
- Pick a medium of communication. A medium of communication, broadly defined,
is a system/process that enables people to communicate with one another. This
includes mass media like television, radio, newspapers, and magazines. It
also includes art media like oil paintings and films, correspondence media
like letters and memos, telephonic media like cell phones, family radio, and
intercoms, and propinquitous media like face-to-face interaction, intimacy,
classes, and live speeches. Here are several lists of media:
- A list of over 200 media
that I'm working with for the book I'm writing: Characteristics of Media.
- A list of nearly 100
media, organized within nine broad categories, largely compiled from
the following sources:
- a descriptive list of 52
media from my Ph.D.
dissertation. The names of some electronic media are dated.
- a newer but smaller set of 38 media generated by Hoffman
and Novak (1995).
- An older taxomony of 28 telecommunications and recording media by
Bretz (1971). Several media
in this taxonomy no longer exist.
- A quirky collection of at least 46 media by Ciampa
(1989)
- Having selected a medium, do one of the following:
- Identify the roles associated with that medium of communication. What
ethical responsibilities, options, and choices, exist for each role. Note
that this option can only be selected where you can identify four or more
distinct roles associated with the medium.
- Identify a key role associated with that medium of communication. Identify
the moral and ethical rules and responsibilities associated with that
role within the medium. Talk about why those rules and responsibilities
exist. What are their origins in history and practice.
I have not found that the research literature is terribly helpful in identifying
the roles that are normally associated with specific media, but that there is
usually copious information about specific roles within specific media. I have,
however, collected a variety of resources that identify various roles associated
with different media:
- A draft paper that overviews a wide variety of roles associated with media:
Roles
In Media (an earlier version of the same paper, Roles
And Media is also available).
- A
list of lists that collects together resources on roles in a variety of
different media. Media summarized include: Radio, television, newspapers,
public relations (not really a medium, but the roles in it support media),
small groups, organizational networks.
- An earlier paper, Rights,
Responsibilities, Metaphors, and Electronic Media, associates a smaller
number of generic roles with a slightly smaller number of media types.
You will have to decide what roles are associated with the media you select.
I will be happy to help, of course.
The interesting part of the paper is associating the roles with specific ethical
responsibilities. This is the part you have to think about, and which I expect
your references will be most strongly oriented to. The only paper I have been
able to find in the literature that attempts to associating a variety of generic
roles in a variety of generic types of media with a specific set of legal and
ethical responsibilities is my National Science Foundation conference submission:
Rights,
Responsibilities, Metaphors, and Electronic Media (1992). It may be a useful
starting point and/or reference in your papers. It is probably important to
note that the most relevant information is found near the bottom of the paper.
I also got some things wrong, most notably in my assignments of responsibility
for harms in Interpersonal media. If I had to do it over again (and I probably
will), I would scale the level of responsibility in some way: most likely by
assessing the number of people affected by a harm and the length of time a harm
persists as it is committed in different media. I hope to extract the key content
in that paper into something more accessible.
If you want to get a more accessible introduction to the theory of media this
assignment is loosely rooted in, you might check out Bridging
Media: Computers and Human Communication.
Note that I will consider alternative paper proposals on a case by case basis.
I am open to having you do something different if you have a strong interest
in a particular communications ethics related topic.
Expectations
The term paper is due on December 5.
I operate on the 10/10/12 rule:
- 10 pages
- 10 references
- 12 point type
- Double spaced
If you have any questions, send me e-mail,
drop by during office hours, or catch me in class. Class
discussion about the term paper can be conducted here.