MCOM 4003 - Colby Clinton

The Freedom to Know. The Freedom of Information Act " has provided the public the right to request access to records from any federal agency. It is often described as the law that keeps citizens in the know about their government. Federal agencies are required to disclose any information requested under the FOIA unless it falls under one of nine  exemptions  which protect interests such as personal privacy, national security, and law enforcement." In Layman's terms, it's the peoples right to ask the Government for information about disclosed events or documents. Most documents that the public would want information to fall under one of the nine exemptions, but there are a few exceptions such as the JFK files . A recent FOIA news story I've found discusses Google and their work with the military and drones. The Pentagon recently determined that Google's work with drones and the military is exempt from the Freedom of Information Act. It's bee...

When is enough actually enough? The importance of media laws and media ethics doesn't go unnoticed. Overarching laws that protect, or limit, certain activity online are in effect in almost every country. Of course, the extent of these laws vary by country,  Australia recently enacted new legislation to punish social media companies for failing to police their platform for violent content. The Sharing of Abhorrent Violent Material bill was enacted after the Christchurch shootings in mid-March. The bill comes after the shootings was mass broadcasted on Facebook Live . The bill allows for the Australian government to enact fines on companies such as YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram. The bill and Australian government are currently under some scrutiny due to the seemingly rushed process of enacting the bill before consulting major media companies. There is also the worry that with the implementation of such measures, actual speech could be accidentally censored. YouTube is alr...

Overburdened with Embarrassment: The Importance of Fact-Checking. No doubt that journalism and reporting is one of the most important aspects of our lives. It's how we get our news from across the globe. How we are informed is the basis for forming our own opinions on political and social issues. What if we were informed of wrong information? It happens all of the time ! In part thanks to the growing popularity and use of social media as a news platform, misinformed news is only becoming more constant. One of the most popular brands of misinformation is election and political misinformation . There are multiple sides to this issue that reverberates the base issue of being misinformed, such as believing everything you read on the internet and rumors spreading rapidly. Some people still believe that Barack Obama wasn't born in the United States . This rumor began circulating as an email chain and internet meme that gained ground onto the political spectrum, appearing on ...

Movies and taking advantage of news and popular culture. Movies are one of my favorite things. They allow for unique stories to be told in interesting ways. Major franchises and public domain titles can be told differently with new direction behind the camera, allowing for major changes in the exact same concept of film. I consider myself a big film critic; my standards for movies are very high thanks to the contributions of brilliant directors such as Quentin Tarantino, Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, Stanley Kubrick, and countless others. As someone who watches a lot of movies, you begin to notice a certain trend with how movies are produced and how the popularity of certain news stories and popular cultures can affect the film industry . There are a lot of criteria in which I deem a movie not worth my time or just plain bad, one of which being if it's a pointless movie or a senseless cash-grab. The thing about movies though is that they take years to create and prod...

A frightening world. 'Copyright'. It's a pretty scary word. It's not to be confused with 'copywrite', it's far more serious. The difference between the two words isn't just a couple of letters, it's a lawsuit. Copyright is the legal right, in many countries, that grants the creator of an original work exclusive rights to determine whether, and under what conditions, the work may be used by others. Copyright is especially tricky. You can take all of the necessary precautions but can still bite the bullet when it comes to copyright strikes. A recent source of copyright issues has been from YouTube . YouTube is a video media platform that allows users to upload videos of almost every variety, from vlogs to gaming videos. On such a popular platform, there are bound to copyright infractions. Full movies have been uploaded to YouTube, as well as the monetization of music unowned by the uploader. Certain companies are more proactive in protect...

A Right to Silence. via  rcfp.org Reporter's privilege (in the United States) is a reporter's right and protection, under constitutional or statutory law, from being compelled to testify about confidential information or sources. In layman's terms, reporters can choose not to reveal their sources or information relating to the case. Reporter's privilege is exactly that, a privilege. Not every country in the world offers reporters the privilege to maintain certain secrecies. According to Reporters Without Borders'  Press Freedom Index  , The United States ranks 45th is reporter's freedom. As a nation founded on freedom of choice and the right to speak, it's surprising that 44 other countries rank ahead of the U.S. Norway ranks 1st while North Korea ranks last at 180th.  Julian Assange Arkansas has had the statute in effect since 1937 specifically shielding reporters and others involved in news gathering from being required to reveal the id...