"Legal and Ethical Considerations for Writers"

            The final chapter of “Feature Writing: the Pursuit of Excellence” is titled “Legal and Ethical Considerations for Writers.”  It details some of the challenges and protections for writers and readers, such as libel, invasion of privacy, and copyright law.  In the case of libeling, malice must be proven for it to be considered libel.  The book goes into possible defenses against the charge, including “neutral reportage” and “opinion.”  Also, libel laws differ from state to state, so, according to the book, the best defense “preventive medicine,” making sure to provide evidence on which an opinion is based, and to not be sloppy in not only your writing but your research.  The chapter then goes into copyright protection, listing the various rights associated with the subject.  There are many different ways that you can allow a publication to use your work, and it was interesting to see how many different options are open to writers.  However, unless you are an established writer with credentials and authority, I would image the publication holding the cards, so to speak, and the being able to dictate terms.

            The cha-pter ends with a section on ethical guidelines.  The chapter correctly points out that ethics are “a very personal thing.”  However, despite this fact, journalists have attempted to create “group ethics,” creating the Canons of Journalism and the Code of Ethics of the Society of Professional Journalists.  There are many different aspects to acting ethical, but to me, the most important is truth and accuracy.  That would be the ground floor of any discussion on ethics.  Writing with a sense of truth and accuracy will take care of some of the other problems that may arise, such as doctoring quotes, and using made-up names and places.  As long as you know you are writing in a truthful and accurate manner, there is no need to worry about any of those problems.  Where a journalist may run into problems comes with the subjects of fairness, on and off the record conversations, and conflicts of interest.  These can venture into ambiguous territory, which is why going back to the first rule in this chapter, being honest and accurate, goes a long way.  As far as conflicts of interest, it is important for the writer to disclose any, which could also take away any pretense of bias.

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