Session: Semester 2 2000/2001

Lecturers: Dr. Ang Peng Hwa & Dr. Billy Wolfe

Tutors:Dr. Ang Peng Hwa,CS # 04-05, 790-6109

Dr. Billy Wolfe, CS # 03-46, 790-4572tbnwolfe@ntu.edu.sg

Lecture Times: Tuesdays10.30 a.m. – 12 p.m. CSLT 1

Thursdays9 – 10:30 a.m. CSLT 1

Tutorial Times: T1: Tuesdays9 – 10 a.m.CSTR 4

T2: Tuesdays2 –3 p.m.CSTR 5

T3: Thursdays 11 – 12 p.m.CSTR 4

T4: Thursdays 12 –1 p.m.CSTR 4

Office Hours:Tuesdays 3 p.m. - 5 p.m.

Thursdays 3 p.m. – 5 p.m.

                              Best by appointment

Aims:

The course should help develop higher-order thinking skills in analysis, evaluation and problem-solving.

Assignments:

Late submissions will be penalised. The format for the essays is: 7 to 10 pages double-spaced, A4, 1-inch border, 12-point serif font. Indent all paragraphs. No extra line spacing between paragraphs is required. In the header, insert your name and tutorial group (12-point serif font). Centre the title of the paper with 14-point bold font. Print only on one side. Staple at the top left hand corner. Do not use a cover sheet or any additional binding. No bibliographic references are required. Essays will be rewarded for analysis, original thinking, clarity of thought, and indicators of dialectical effort.

An example of a plausible law essay (commenting on the Toh Chin Chye/New Paper saga http://www.medialaw.com.sg/tohchinchye.htm) may be found at the course website. As another example, I have put up a student's A paper.

Assessment:

The assessment is as follows:

70 percent Final Exam, which will be open-book (that is, any materials may be brought into the examination hall).

30 percent Continual Assessment, with several of the tutorials requiring presentations. Half of the CA is for ethics and half for law & policy.

Additional Note: 

“The very moral person usually has quite good manners because good manners are usually some sort of basic consideration.” (Louis Auchincloss)

Basic Texts:

Ang, Peng Hwa and Yeo Tiong Min (1998). Mass Media Laws and Regulations in Singapore. Singapore: AMIC.

Supplementary Texts: 

Journal of Mass Media Ethics. [p P94.J86 and GPO] – Lib 1

Journal of Business Ethics. [p HF5387.J86] – Lib 1

Ethics

Chu, Yee-ling & Wong Man-yee. 2000. Asia Media Project – Singapore. Master's thesis done at Journalism and Media Studies Centre, University of Hong Kong.

Other Readings:

Website:

A bulletin board has also been created for your postings. It has been run successfully for the last year as virtually all who posted abided by the Netiquette of brief and relevant posts. You may post replies and the instructors will wade in as necessary.

WEEK ONE OF JANUARY 08, 2001

Introduction to the Course, the two papers, tutorial assignments, & final exam.

Introduction to Ethics: Ethical Decision-making using “The Potter Box.”

Tutorial: No tutorials on TU or TH this first week.

WEEK TWO OF JANUARY 15

Highlights of Ethical Issues

Read: One chapter from any media ethics text re: an ethical issue of interest

Highlights of Ethical Principals

Re-read: Handout (Five Ethical Guidelines, pp 11-19)

Read: One chapter about any classical or contemporary ethicist, e.g. Confucius

Tutorial: Use the Potter Box to Analyse Issues & Principals in an Assigned Case

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WEEK THREE OF JANUARY 22 No CS 403 classes Tu-Th, Chinese New Year 

WEEK FOUR OF JANUARY 29

Highlights of Loyalties 

Read: Read any encyclopedia chapter on moral duty to deity, country, or self

Decision-making and Ethical Action/Policy

Tutorial: Using Potter Box to Analyse Loyalties, Decision-making & Action/Policy

WEEK FIVE OF FEBRUARY 05

Identifying Ethical Dilemmas in Situations

Read: Five different media ethics cases of your choosing

Getting All the Facts

Re-read: Handout. Fink, “Assemble All The Facts”, pp. 3-5

Tutorial: Write an Original Case (400-500 words) of an Ethical Issue Encountered during Your Internship (PI) – Keep a 2^nd hard copy for possible use in the Final Exam.

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WEEK SIX OF FEBRUARY 12 

Video: Tuesday, “Absence of Malice” (108 mins)

Video:Thursday, “The Cutting Edge: Fear or Favour” (50 mins)

Tutorial: Due: Group Analyses of Ethical Issues in Absence of Malice video. Five, one-page, single-spaced papers – one for each of the five components of the Potter Box. Sixth paper, typed transcript of the assigned video segments. (large type for OHP transparencies of transcription to show tutorial classmates). Only 10-minute presentation.

WEEK SEVEN OF FEBRUARY 19

Guest Lecture: “Consumer Issues (Regulations) Across Cultures”,by Assoc. Prof. Kathy Frith

Read: Five different Codes of Ethics of your choice, preferably in your media area

Two half-hour videos on Maria Hertog

Tutorial: optional attendance, come to class with questions on your individual essay

Ethics Essay dueFriday, 23 February, 2001, before 5:00 PM in Gen Office # 03-45.

WEEK NINE OF MARCH 5 – Prof. Ang Peng Hwa, Lectures/Tutors

Introduction to Singapore legal system; Freedom of Expression

http://www.lawnet.com.sg/freeaccess/Constitution-Details.htm#887943642-000341

1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Article 19) http://www.hrweb.org/legal/udhr.html

1950 European Convention on Human Rights (Article 10): http://www.hri.org/docs/ECHR50.html

1966 UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights http://www.hrweb.org/legal/cpr.html#Article 19.2

Milton’s Aeropagitica (This is difficult to digest. You will do best to read it in a group—divide the article up, read carefully, summarise, and put it back together.)

Yeap Soon Beng, 1996. “The Press in Singapore: Freedom and Accountability in the Asian Dialectic”. Journal of Communication Inquiry, 20:1. 67-82.

Supplementary Readings:

Datta-Ray, Sunanda. (1998). “Press Freedom and Professional Standards in Asia,” in

Asad Latif (Ed.) Walking the Tightrope: Press Freedom and Professional Standards in Asia, pp. 25-30. Singapore: AMIC.

McQuail, Denis. (1992). “Concepts and Models of Media Freedom,” in Media

Performance: Mass Communication and the Public Interest, pp 99-111. London: Sage.

McQuail, Denis. (1992). “Media Freedom: From Structure to Performance,” in Media

Performance: Mass Communication and the Public Interest, pp 112-125. London: Sage.

McQuail, Denis. (1992). “Media Freedom: The Organizational Environment,” in Media

Performance: Mass Communication and the Public Interest, pp 126-140. London: Sage.

Ingram, Derek. (1998). “Press Freedom in Commonwealth Countries,” in Asad Latif

(Ed.) Walking the Tightrope: Press Freedom and Professional Standards in Asia, pp. 50-57. Singapore: AMIC.

Latif, Asad. (1998). “The Press in Asia: Taking A Stand,” in Asad Latif (Ed.) Walking the Tightrope: Press Freedom and Professional Standards in Asia, pp. 3-15. Singapore: AMIC.

Other Resources:

Human Rights Watch http://www.hrw.org

Lecture on Press Freedom March 13

Lecture on Press Freedom: Historical, Global and Local March 15

Tutorial on Advertising Regulations:

2.If you were the advertiser of the offending advertisement, what would you do to amend it?

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WEEK TEN OF MARCH 12

Press Laws in Singapore

Lim, Ivan (1985). “The Singapore Press and the Fourth Estate”. In Abdul Razak, Press Laws and Systems in ASEAN States. Indonesia: Confederation of ASEAN Journalists Publications. 101-118.

Lim, Ivan. 1996. “Media Monitors in Singapore”. In Media Monitors in Asia, compiled by K.S. Venkateswaran. AMIC. Pp.73-80

Heuvel & Dennis, 1993, Singapore in The Unfolding Lotus: East Asia’s Changing Media, Freedom Forum, 131-145.

Supplementary Readings

A Sintercom post of a Feb. 1999 Parliamentary motion to have less stringent newspaper licensing in Singapore. http://202.42.191.66/vbb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=212  

Lectures on Press Laws in Singapore March 20 and 22

Tutorial on Freedom of Expression:

2.What are the arguments against freedom of expression?

3.Is freedom of expression contextual? SM Lee in an interview in Hong Kong Business that applying liberal values to present-day Asian - where so many people are illiterate - would result “only in a mess (…) This free-for-all, this notion that all ideas should contend and there will be the blinding light out of which you will see the truth - ha!”

4.Is freedom of speech a basic human right? Should it be?

5.Have the purposes of freedom been achieved in the countries where there is the most of such freedom?

6.Where do you stand? Why?

NB. There is a tendency to discuss the Singapore case. Resist that tendency. Try to argue in the abstract.

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WEEK ELEVEN OF MARCH 19

Censorship 

Gunther, Albert C. and Penghwa Ang. 1996. Public Perceptions of Television Influence and Opinions About Censorship in Singapore. International Journal of Public Opinion Research. Vol. 18 No. 3. 248-265.

Yeo, Stephen and Arun Mahizhnan. 1998. “Chapter 15: Developing an Intelligent Island: Dilemmas of Censorship”. In Arun Mahizhnan and Lee Tsao Yuan. Singapore: Re-Engineering Success. Singapore: Institute of Policy Studies and Oxford University Press. 138-149.

Coetzee, J.M. 1996. “Taking Offense” In Giving Offense: Essays in Censorship. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1-33.

Levander, Michelle. 1999. Cyberspace Challenge: Facing Reality, Singapore Rethinks Thought Control. Wall Street Journal. Sept 1. 1 and 9.

Staksrud, Elisabeth. (1999). “How To Censor The Internet.” Department Of Media And Communication, University Of Oslo, Norway. (Study of Internet censorship in Singapore) http://www.media.uio.no/internettiendring/publikasjoner/tekst/staksrud/contents.html

Wired News on a US survey that says “many Americans eagerly support government restrictions on the Internet and TV, according to a new Freedom Forum survey”. The Wired story is at: http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,31972,00.html.

Details on the First Amendment Center national survey are available at: http://www.freedomforum.org/first/sofa/1999/welcome.asp.

Lectures on Censorship in Singapore March 27

Lecture on Internet Censorship March 29

Tutorial on Press Laws:

2.Given the sensitivities of both Singapore media and neighbouring governments to critical reports, can the Singapore media be credible when they report on the region?

3.What are the implications for Singapore’s attempt to be a media hub?

NB. Resist the tendency to talk about censorship. Hold that for the following tutorial.

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WEEK TWELVE OF MARCH 26

Defamation

Tutorial on Censorship:

2.Are the principles used in censorship in Singapore valid?

3.Has censorship hurt Singapore?

4.What are the implications of lifting or not lifting censorship for Singapore?

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WEEK THIRTEEN OF APRIL 2

Intellectual Property Law 

Tutorial on Defamation:

a.when is something libellous

b.what defence do you have

c.what should you do in the event that a libellous statement has indeed been made.

2.There have been a few cases of Net libel. In particular, there was one about the NKF in which a woman who sent out 48 emails had to pay NKF $50,000. On the other hand, the department store Metro felt powerless against emailers who alleged that there were hidden cameras in the changing room. How should the law address this?

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WEEK FOURTEEN OF APRIL 9

Legal Issues of the Internet I

Verlhurst, Stefaan. 1999. “Coping with the New Communications Environment: Are Regulations Still Relevant?” In Media Regulations for the New Times. (Ed.) Venkat Iyer. Singapore: AMIC. 1-21

Go to http://www.pc-radio.com/otr/code.html for the debate between Lawrence Lessig (Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace) and Wired journalist Declan McCullagh.

Content Regulation of the Internet

Ang, Peng Hwa. 1997. How Countries Are Regulating Internet Content. Paper presented at the Internet Society Annual Conference. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. June. Available at:http://www.isoc.org/isoc/whatis/conferences/inet/97/proceedings/B1/B1_3.HTM

Ang, Peng Hwa. 2000. The Myth of Internet (Non-)Regulation. Powerpoint presentation available at: http://www.ksg.harvard.edu/iip/hiip_seminarang.html

Go to http://www.noie.gov.au/downloads/TDaleICCP.ppt for a PowerPoint presentation on the Australian content regulation position.

Rodan, Garry. 1998. The Internet and political control in Singapore. Political Science Quarterly . April 1. 113(1):63. An earlier version is available at http://www.jpri.org/wp26.html .

Guernsay, Lisa. 2001. Welcome to the World Wide Web. Passport, Please? New York Times . March 15. http://www.nytimes.com/2001/03/15/technology/15BORD.html or http://www.iht.com/articles/13640.html. (You will need to free-register on the NYT site.)

Tutorial on IPR:

2.What does it mean to extend copyright to cyberspace?

2.1.Should copyright enjoy the same protection on the Internet as in the media?

3.How can piracy exist in Sim Lim Square?

Legal Issues of the Internet II

Report Of The National Internet Advisory Committee. 1997/1998. At www.sba.gov.sg. Click Internet and click National Internet Advisory Committee.