Topic 1
It is often said that business interests and the pressures of the marketplace stand in the way of the media disseminating information which is in the public interest. Drawing from the papers by Jackson and Lichtenberg, critically evaluate their proposals for dealing with this problem. (You can also draw from Chomsky here.)
Topic 2
Why are the communicative obligations of the media often defined and developed using the language of rights, especially the right to non-interference, and do you see any limitations in doing so? Discuss with reference to the papers by Lichtenberg and O’Neill (Mill can also be brought into this discussion).
Topic 3
The public’s “right to know” is often used to defend freedom of press and to justify journalists causing harm to others. Drawing from the papers by Ward and Meyers, discuss and critically examine the limitations of such a right and the connections between freedom of press and the harm principle. Specifically, what limitations, if any, do you think the harm principle should place on the liberty of the press?
The papers by Jackson and Lichtenberg offer two different proposals for dealing with the problem of business interests and the pressures of the marketplace standing in the way of the media disseminating information which is in the public interest. Jackson's proposal is to create an independent board that would have the authority to make decisions about what information is released to the public, while Lichtenberg's proposal is to require that all media outlets be registered with the government and that they only receive licenses if they can prove that they are not controlled by business interests.
Both proposals have their pros and cons. Jackson's proposal has the advantage of being relatively simple and straightforward, while Lichtenberg's proposal has the advantage of potentially being more effective in ensuring that information in the public interest is released. However, Jackson's proposal also has the disadvantage of potentially infringing on freedom of speech rights, while Lichtenberg's proposal has the disadvantage of being more complicated and bureaucratic.
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