Media Laws & Ethics
Overview
• Course Objectives
Knowledge of media laws is crucial for development communication practitioners and journalists, especially in terms of avoiding libel and lawsuits, and adopting high ethical and legal standards. This course will provide a glance at the current legal situation of the “Freedom of Press” in Pakistan. This course is also designed to give a review of brief history of media laws. This course defines the legal boundaries within which professional communication must operate.
• Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion, students will be able to understand:
1. the basic essential features of media laws of Pakistan and its development over the time.
2. practice reporting with an understanding of dos and don’t's as per the law and ethics.
3. Students will be able to use their understanding of various types of media laws like Defamation.
• Course Contents
1. Media Ethics
1.1 Why society needs system of ethics, requirements of system of ethics
1.2 Significance of study of ethics and its applicability; Objectives of ethics in Media
1.3 Social Responsibility Theory: Evolution of code of ethics and factors which contributed to its development
1.4 First code of ethics drawn up by American Society of Newspapers Editors
1.5 Hutchinson Commission Report; Moral reasoning process for Ethical Decisions; Factors affecting moral decision making
1.6 Freedom of Expression as guaranteed in UN Human Rights Charter; International Watch-dogs of Media Freedom
1.7 UNESCO principles of freedom of media; European Council; Human Rights Watch; Amnesty International
1.8 International Federation of Journalists, its role in safeguarding media freedom and code of ethics adopted by it. Code of Ethics adopted by Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors
1.9 APNS Code of Ethics
1.10 CPNE Code of Ethics
2. Media Laws
2.1 Media laws and need for media regulation; media-government relations
2.2 Modes of media regulation (Constitution, International obligations, laws and administrative policies)
2.2 Self-Regulation and its Tools (professional ethics, institutional ethics, Ombudsman and News/Press Councils)
2.3 Pakistan Press Council Ordinance 2002
2.4 Media in Pakistan, its development since partition, Press Commission Report.
2.5 Media Regulation in Pakistan; Press and Publications Ordinance 1960: West Pakistan Press and Publications Ordinance 1963 Why it was called black law?
2.6 Promulgation of Press and Publication Ordinance 1989 and role of media bodies such as APNS, CPNE and PFUJ in its enactment
2.7 Press, Newspaper, News Agencies and Books Regulation Ordinance 2002
2.8 Freedom of Information Ordinance 2002
2.9 Administrative policies for regulation of Media, press advice, centralization of government advertisement; Audit Bureau of Circulation; News Print Quota
2.10 Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority Ordinance 2002; its impact and future of electronic media in Pakistan.
2.11 Laws of Contempt, Defamation, Libel and Slander etc. in Pakistan
2.12 Censorship and related Legal issues
2.13 Intellectual Property Rights
2.14 Internet, Social Media and Censorship
Credit hours/ Marks:- 3
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