Communication Law and Professional Ethics
Code: 104980 ECTS Credits: 6| Degree | Type | Year | Semester |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2501933 Journalism | OB | 2 | 2 |
Contact
- Name:
- Isabel Fernández Alonso
- Email:
- MariaIsabel.Fernandez@uab.cat
Use of Languages
- Principal working language:
- spanish (spa)
- Some groups entirely in English:
- No
- Some groups entirely in Catalan:
- No
- Some groups entirely in Spanish:
- Yes
Teachers
- José Joaquín Blasco Gil
Prerequisites
-
Objectives and Contextualisation
This course is intended to provide students with knowledge of the legal norms and the basic ethical principles for the practice of journalism.
Competences
- Demonstrate a critical and self-critical capacity.
- Demonstrate a self-learning and self-demanding capacity to ensure an efficient job.
- Demonstrate adequate knowledge of the modern world and its recent historic development in terms of social, economic, political and cultural aspects.
- Demonstrate ethical awareness as well as empathy with the entourage.
- Develop autonomous learning strategies.
- Develop critical thinking and reasoning and be able to relay them effectively in Catalan, Spanish and a third language.
- Research, select and arrange in hierarchical order any kind of source and useful document to develop communication products.
- Respect the diversity and plurality of ideas, people and situations.
Learning Outcomes
- Apply ethical and regulatory principles to the production of journalistic texts.
- Demonstrate a critical and self-critical capacity.
- Demonstrate a self-learning and self-demanding capacity to ensure an efficient job.
- Demonstrate ethical awareness and empathy with the entourage.
- Develop autonomous learning strategies.
- Develop critical thinking and reasoning and be able to relay them effectively in Catalan, Spanish and a third language.
- Recognise and describe the codes of self-regulation and codes of ethics governing the profession, both in Spain and at EU level.
- Research, select and arrange in hierarchical order any kind of source and useful document to develop communication products.
- Respect the diversity and plurality of ideas, people and situations.
Content
1.- Conceptual framework, rationale and focus
2.- Source system and jurisprudence in the Spanish legal system
3.- Communication rights in the Spanish Constitution: freedom of expression, right to information, conscience clause, professional secrecy and right of retraction
4.- Limits to communication rights: individual rights to honor, privacy, self-image and protection of personal data
5.- Limits to communication rights: public interests (national security and official secrets, public order, public health, morals, and protection of youth and children)
6.- Publicity of public authorities’ activity
7.- Pluralism in the media system: internal (public media) and external (regulation on concentration)
8.- Self-regulation. Internal mechanisms: stylebooks, editorial statutes and ombudsman
9.- Self-regulation. External mechanisms: deontological codes and press councils. Independent regulators
10.- Balance and future challenges
Methodology
The course will consist of one theoretical lecture and two seminars that will be held weekly. Seminars will deal with case studies as closely related to the present as possible, and they will provide students the opportunity to apply the theoretical concepts learned in class to a real case scenario.
The proposed teaching methodology and evaluation may undergo some modification depending on the evolution of the pandemic.
Activities
| Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type: Directed | |||
| Master class | 16 | 0.64 | 4, 2, 6, 7, 9 |
| Seminar | 32 | 1.28 | 1, 8, 3, 4, 5, 2, 6, 7, 9 |
| Type: Supervised | |||
| Exams | 6 | 0.24 | 1, 8, 3, 4, 5, 2, 6, 7, 9 |
| Tutoring | 5 | 0.2 | 1, 8, 3, 4, 5, 2, 6, 7, 9 |
| Type: Autonomous | |||
| Personal study | 85 | 3.4 | 1, 8, 3, 4, 5, 2, 6, 7, 9 |
Assessment
Activity A: Seminar practical exam, 25% of final grade
Activity B: Seminar practical exam, 25% of final grade
Activity C: Final exam on theoretical lectures, 50% of final grade
Students are required to pass at least one of the seminar exams and the final exam in order to pass the course.
There will be a re-sit opportunity only for students who have taken the final exam and failed having received a grade not lower than 3/10.
Assessment Activities
| Title | Weighting | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Final exam on theoretical lectures | 50% | 2 | 0.08 | 1, 8, 3, 4, 5, 2, 6, 7, 9 |
| Seminar practical exam | 25% | 2 | 0.08 | 1, 8, 3, 5, 2, 6, 7, 9 |
| Seminar practical exam | 25% | 2 | 0.08 | 1, 8, 3, 4, 5, 2, 6, 7, 9 |
Bibliography
Class manual:
Martínez Otero, Juan: Lessons in Communication Law. Valencia: Tirant lo Blanch, 2018.
For both lectures and seminar sessions compulsory readings and recommended complementary texts for each topic will be provided.