Deontology of journalism and communication

Recommended Prerequisites

Not applicable.

Teaching Methods

Teaching methods will be settled in accordance with the regulations of the Faculty and the number of students at the beginning of the school year. Generally speaking, lectures of theoretical components will be articulated with presentation of student work and teacher-driven discussion about national and international ethics cases. We seek to complement the individual work, focused on the reading texts, with a reflection, questioning and critical discussion made by the students together during classes. This work will define in practice the concepts of ethics, morality and law.

Learning Outcomes

1. Highlight the importance and methods of self-regulation in a demanding context of responsibility of journalists in democratic societies;

2. Establish the basic tools for building reasoning based on the ethics of professional journalism;

3. Provide an understanding of the values and means of accountability of journalists and the media.

4. Establish a thorough knowledge of the Code of Ethics of the Portuguese Journalists and reference international codes of conduct.

5. Develop critical capabilities, based on case analysis and studies.

Work Placement(s)

No

Syllabus

1. Brief conceptual distinction between Ethics, Law, Morals and Deontology.

2. Core values of journalism ethics.

3. MARS and different forms of regulation.

4. Case analysis based on ten points of the Code of Ethics of the Portuguese Journalists

Head Lecturer(s)

José Carlos Costa dos Santos Camponez

Assessment Methods

Assessment
Synthesis work: 25.0%
Frequency: 75.0%

Bibliography

AZNAR, Hugo, Ética y Periodismo – Códigos, estatutos y otros documentos de autorregulación, Barcelona, Paidos, col. «Papeeles de comunicación 23», 1999.

AZNAR, Hugo, Comunicação Responsável – A auto-regulação dos media, Porto, Porto Editora, 2005.

BERNIER, Marc-François, Éthique et Déontologie du Journalisme, Sainte-Foy, Presses Universitaires de Laval, 1994.