MCOM 4003 - Michael Forte

  The freedom of information act protects citizens rights to request federal information that does not meet the allowed exemptions by law. The freedom of information act, forms an incredibly important protective element of information and fact that citizens of the U.S. should always have access to. Journalists have often utilized the act as well and generally requesting information to hold federal agencies accountable is a good practice. This act is supposedly the bane of state agencies in Arkansas according to Rep. David Ray. He recently posited a measure that would potentially limit the public's access to information in Arkansas in order to ease the burden of work upon state agencies in Arkansas who process the information requests. Ray states that it is not "fiscally conservative" to spend millions upon millions of dollars each year on the Freedom of information act compliance officers who would require yearly salaries in the range of 60,000 dollars to 100,000 dollars....

  Freedom of speech as well as access to uncensored information are rights that American citizens have access to that can occasionally be taken for granted. In many countries, citizens are not permitted nearly as many rights, freedoms, or even privileges' that many Americans enjoy every day. One country that functions almost as America's polar opposite regarding the freedom of speech as well as protections against media censorship would be China. China is one country that is well know for actively stifling civilian access to information as well as enacting strict censorship on media and foreign information. The country has become so strict with censorship as to reach the bottom five of one hundred and seventy nine ranked countries in press freedoms according to the ranking on  RSF Reporters Without Borders   . Recently, one of China's most forthright daily newspapers was disbanded following the conclusion of its work with an enormous tech company named Tencent says t...

One of the many pitfalls of journalism that journalists must be wary of his misinformation. Although misinformation can at times be attributed to honest mistakes, the term is occasionally used interchangeably with disinformation which seems to denote a much more malevolent form of misleading people. One form of altered information that humans have been using for decades upon decades in the modern era is propaganda. Propaganda can often twist the truth or manipulate public perception in the pursuit of making individuals believe a certain way. Russia, relatively recently, initiated a war with Ukraine in which Russia invaded Ukraine‘s land to occupy it with no justifiable reason. Although the invasion began in Russia’s favor their advantage has began to stagnate as much of the territory they originally took from Ukraine has been won back. After a year of invasion with their progress diminishing Russia is utilizing tactics that are aimed at passing false information off as fact. Russian is...

 Often times greedy or narcistic individuals will jump at the opportunity to claim some measure of self benefit through the exploitation of any means these individuals or groups have access to. News stories are no different, and if the circumstances behind the news story align favorably with particular groups ability to take advantage of the story, then that organization will likely seek to use the new story in twisted ways to advance their own agendas. Recently, a devastating event has taken place in China where a young woman named Zheng Linghua was relentlessly cyberbullied online to such an extent that it prompted her to take her own life. Zheng Linghua was 24 when she passed away after the brutally harsh words from strangers on the internet took their toll on Zheng Linghua after dying her hair pink and claiming she desired to become a piano teacher as she grew up. She went on to post a picture of her tending to her elderly grandfather when he was in the hospital while in the pi...

Copyright is an important legal protection afforded to individuals who create unique works of artistic or similar expression that involve a degree of human authorship as well as a vital aspect of creative expression, that has not been copied by in its entirety from a pre-existing copyrighted work. Fair use goes hand in hand with copyright as fair use outlines the specific elements of a copyrighted work that can be utilized by others without permission from the copyright holder.    Copyright provides a good deal of protection from other individuals stealing and profiting from your work, although the laws around copyright do not catch everything. In recent times, one issue with copyright laws in America has to do with the fashion industry and the lack of ability to copyright certain outfits within the given parameters of copyright law today.   While there are certainly some elements of an outfit or clothing item that can be claimed under copyright, many key details of out...

  Reporter's Privilege refers to the protections that defend journalists from being compelled in order to reveal confidential sources of information utilized for their reporting. Most states have legislation referred to as shield laws that ensure these protections for journalists, while Wyoming alone lacks legislative and judicial precedent that would protect journalists in these instances. Although Wyoming does indeed lack legislative precedent regarding this matter, that may soon change as "Wyoming Lawmakers advanced a bill on Wed. Jan. 25 aimed at protecting journalists who protect their sources." At present, journalists who defend their private sources, are at risk of going to prison for contempt of court in order for the court to attempt to compel these individuals to reveal the desired information. The potential bill is "House Bill 91," and would allow for journalists to genuinely protect their sources without the risk of jail time, as long as there is no ...