Media Ethics Potter Box

“… to gather news it is often necessary to agree either not to identify the source of information published or to publish only part of the facts revealed, or both; that if the reporter is nevertheless forced to reveal these confidences to a grand jury, the source so identified and other confidential sources of other reporters will be measurably deterred from furnishing publishable information, all to the detriment of the free flow of information, protected by the first amendment.” (3)

Today, electronic surveillance remains one of the most effective tools the United States has to protect against foreign powers and groups seeking to inflict harm on the nation, but it does not go without a few possessing a few negative aspects either. Electronic surveillance of foreign intelligence has likely saved the lives of many innocent people through prevention of potential acts of aggression towards the United States. There are many pros to the actions authorized under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) pertaining to electronic surveillance, but there are also cons. Looking at both the pros and cons of electronic surveillance is important in understanding the overall effectiveness of FISA. [1]

Since the passing of FISA came after a widespread finding of warrantless wiretapping by a number of different government entities, Congress along with the Carter administration, needed to carefully craft a bill that not only reconciled national security needs to conduct domestic surveillance, but also continued to protect individual liberties such as that of the first and fourth amendments. The once top-secret Carter administration memos regarding FISA offer a first-hand glimpse at the thinking that went into

King, Geoffrey. "Clear and present danger: the NSA, surveillance and the threat to press freedom." Nieman Reports 68.1 (2014): 38+. Academic OneFile. Web. 8 Apr. 2014.

Over the past few years, government surveillance in the United States has become a widely debated issue with two completely different sides. The National Security Agency, a government agency known for it’s efforts in spying and surveillance, has been at the center of this issue since it’s founding in the 1950’s. The Cold War had just begun and the United States government was doing anything they could to find potential terrorists and communists. In fact, many famous people including Einstein were being spied on by the government to find citizens with potential ties to the Soviet Union. (New York Times - New Details Emerge from the Einstein Files; How the FBI Tracked His Phone Calls and His Trash) As the cold war came to an end in the early 90’s, NSA spying seemed to come to an end as well.

The Patriot Act was introduced as a response to the terrorist attacks in the US on September 11th. It has radically changed the way in which the government operates in the investigations of people in and out of our country. It has broadened the powers of the federal government in the way in which they can obtain information on people. In this paper I will be discussing the ethical and moral issues of the expanded ability of wiretapping, search and seizure, the establishment of the FISA court, and end with the transparency of these practices.

Shane Harris, a senior journalist out of Washington D.C., describes the Bush Administration’s leap towards enhancing National Security after the terrorist attacks of 911, in his book The Watchers. Harris introduces Bill Keller, a writer for The New York Times, writing a story on the NSA’s new program for warrantless surveillance. The program involved the lives of every American to be monitored. This includes monitoring social media, emails, postal mail, text messaging, and phone calls. This was potentially the answer for catching any further terrorist attacks before they occurred. America’s former president “George Bush” was supportive of the program and said, “The NSA surveillance was one of the crown jewels for national security (Harris 282).” Even though he was supportive of limitless

There are many stories of Americans spying for other countries. Some of these spies have loyalty to other countries, some are coerced into spying, and some are just in for the money. David Sheldon Boone fits the character of someone spying just for the money. Every spy have their own story and purpose of this paper is to provide David Boone’s timeline to present time. Through this timeline, I will discuss detail of David Boone’s background, indicators, materials compromised, handler, and investigation.

The author poses a question: “Should the law treat investigations involving national security differently than other criminal inquiries?” (Solove, 2015, p. 155). The text cites both aspects of this question, saying the Fourth Amendment and ECPA apply differently between domestic and foreign cases. One view pertains

The case is a perfect case that presents an ethical dilemma. It is actually a resource used by the Society of Professional Journalism (SPJ) to help foster debate and discussion on such an ethical dilemma. The case involves the American magazine Rolling Stone that focuses on pop culture and also English Indie pop due “The Ting Tings.” The case occurred in 2012 when 10 songs from their album were leaked online, according to the SPJ. Where the dilemma arises is in the fact that Rolling Stone quickly covered the story on their online platform and included a link to the leaked music.

as watchdogs over public affairs and government. Seek to ensure that the public’s business is conducted in the open, and that public records are open to all.” Laurens was only doing her job by printing the article. (2.)If I look at the situation in black and white and forget what I know about ethics, I do agree with the mayor. Technically she did provide fair coverage of both sides, she asked the councilman for a responds regarding the press conference, which he refused only providing a few words. In Laurens’s article she even printed what he briefly said involving the controversy. To avoid this issue Laurens should have relied on the Potter Box, which is an ethical decision-making model broken up into four steps. Before even writing the article

Ever since the American public was made aware of the United States government’s surveillance policies, it has been a hotly debated issue across the nation. In 2013, it was revealed that the NSA had, for some time, been collecting data on American citizens, in terms of everything from their Internet history to their phone records. When the story broke, it was a huge talking point, not only across the country, but also throughout the world. The man who introduced Americans to this idea was Edward Snowden.

Potter box is a four step process: 1.) Understanding the facts 2.) Outlining the values inherent in the decision 3.) Applying relevant philosophical principles 4.) Articulating loyalties. When looking from a public relations professionals stand point and having to come out with a news release. Using potter box would be a way to ethical judge a story to be released or not. First, I would start with the facts getting the full story and ethically thinking what needs to be printed. Second, loyalties because in PR truth to you and your jobs ethical values are your main concerns. Third, value because it’s about being truthful and thinking about keeping my job, telling the full detailed truth, and if needed invading privacy of the person

D) Relevant ethical codes that can be applied to the articles (please be sure which code of ethics you are citing) and how you would apply such code(s).

Everyday citizens often live unaware of their government’s inner workings. The knowing of political espionage is often too heavy of a subject to be inducted in conversation. True, prima facie, modest twists and turns of information may not be considered substantial, but this inconsideration leaves much to be uncontrolled. It is easy for political leaders to become power crazed, to not realize the massive implications that come of their actions. Only after all is said and done do the people actually realize their government is an opaque mask of deception. The Watergate Scandal substantially impacted Americans’ trust in their government.