Media Law Case Study: The Journal News Published Pistol Ownership Map

          

A few weeks after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown Connecticut in December 2012, the Journal News, a paper serving Westchester, Putnam and Rockland counties in New York, decided to publish an interactive map of the names and addresses of all gun owners in the area. The article was title"The gun owner next door: What you don't know about the weapons in your neighborhood," and published in January 2013. It received outcry from around the country because of the harm it put gun owners in the neighborhood in.

While the article is unfavorable by the public, The Journal News’ decision to publish a map of the gun owners in Westchester and Rockland counties as a result of the Sandy Hook shooting is both lawful and ethical. The Freedom of Information Law and freedom of the press portion of the first amendment allows The Journal News to publish this information. Information of gun-holders and people who have gun permits is open to the public, and therefore the reporters who published the article had the right to obtain and put together and publish a map of the locations.

The Published of the Journal News, Janet Hasson, defended the publication of the article. She said, "One of our roles is to report publicly available information on timely issues, even when unpopular. We knew publication of the database would be controversial, but we felt sharing information about gun permits in our area was important in the aftermath of the Newtown shootings." 

I agree with Janet Hasson’s argument that the information about gun permits is important and was newsworthy during the time it was printed.  The journalists involved with the story made the correct ethical and lawful decision to gather and put together the information, and The Journal News was right to publish it. 

Ethically, I believe that this is an important issue and the journalists involved made the correct choices to publish the information. They should not have been harassed releasing public information that could potentially protect citizens in the communities they reported on. The news would not harm anyone, but instead create awareness of the number of gun-owners in residential communities in the area. 

Annotated Items for Research Paper

1. Conan, N. (2010). Women Sports Reporters Still Fighting for Respect [Radio series episode]. In Talk of the Nation. Washington D.C.: NPR.

This NPR news broadcast hosts Arizona Republic reporter, Paola Boivin, and journalism professor Sherry Ricchiardi. The female reporters discuss their experiences in the sports journalism field. The discussion includes their experiences with sexual harrassment, low-profile event assignments, and overall inequality in the industry. I will use this in my paper to depict an example of how female sports journalists women are not taken as seriously to men in the industry. 

2. Mahler, J. (2014, September 14). In Coverage of N.F.L. Scandals, Female Voices Puncture the Din. The New York Times. Retrieved November 16, 2014.

This New York Times articles highlights how female sports reporters covered the topic of domestic abuse in recent light of N.F.L. news. It compares how coverage of these issues is done by men and female reporters. I will use this source in my paper to highlight why we need women in sports media. It is important to have diverse representation in all media, including sports.


3. Herman, R. (2013, July 16). How Far Have You We Really Come? Retrieved November 17, 2014.

Robin Herman, the first sports female sports writer of The New York Times, reports on the growing number of women in the sports industry. She uses her experiences to highlight a time when the number of female sports writers was so scarce that she was discriminated against when entering locker rooms. I am using this source to contrast my thesis that there is not enough female voice in the sports industry. I will highlight how it has grown, and use this as background for where women started in sports broadcasting

Propaganda in Advertising

SCAPEGOATING AND DICTAT PROPAGANDA
This advertisement for the United States Navy uses Scapegoating, a method used to assign guilt to a certain group of individuals (men in this case), and the Dictat method, hoping to simplify the decision of joining the Navy by eliminating other choices. It uses an example of a woman who is not allowed to join the navy and uses her as an instigator to enforce the role of patriarchy. The slogans, "Be and Man and Do It" and "Gee! I wish I were a man!," aim to show men the privilege they have in their ability to join the Navy. It assigns a certain amount of guilt to their conscience. The Dictact method is enforced with the ad's expression that woman are attracted to and admire men who join the navy. 

GLITTERING GENERALITY PROPAGANDA

This Macy's advertisement claims that you can "find your magic" in their stores, whether it be through their products or a new holiday dress. The slogan is emotionally and aesthetically appealing, but does not say what the "magic" is or show any representation of what they are aiming to sell. It is also using an attractive woman to sell their brand rather than any of their products. It is a subtle form of propaganda often used in consumer advertising. 

Media Research Paper Topics

1. Women in Journalism Work Force

• Representation of women in media jobs (Journalism, Public Relations, Media Advertising)  ex. lack of women in sports, business, finance journalism
• How this affects the focus of stories on women in the news
• Statistics of how this has evolved over the last century (as media outlets have evolved)

2.  Social Media's Impact on Dating 

• How dating/matchmaking apps (Tinder, OKCupid, Hitch, etc.) effect how millennials interact and find dates
• Social aspect and uses of these applications
• Statistics on how useful and accurate they are to matching up people on dates and how this compares to previous generations of matchmaking
• Dating Apps in relation to television and media

3. Objectivity in Journalism: Greenwald v. Keller Debate

• Cover historical context of journalism and the rise of objectivity
• Discuss both sides of debate (Journalism should be solely objective v. It should be slightly subjective in order to make an impact on news consumers)
• How objectivity and subjectivity in journalism today affect viewers/readers
• Various opinions on the debate from working journalists and everyday news consumers