ABSTRACT
If continued ethical misbehavior occurs, the public begins to mistrust the media, and this leads to many serious concerns about the role of the media in society.
Ethical codes encourage fairness in news and contests, avoidance of excessive sex and violence in programming, and making certain not to broadcast derisive words or misleading information, to mention just a few items. These codes have no legal force and, generally, no penalty for failure to comply. On the other hand, legal behavior is based on standards as developed by governmental agencies, such as the courts or the FCC. While FCC regulations are applied throughout the United States, other laws vary from state to state and nation to nation. Federal guidelines were developed to apply to over-the-air broadcasting not cable or online. Today, with cable television and radio pervasive media sources, application of legal and ethical guidelines can be even more ambiguous. Laws and regulations affect various aspects of the media business. For example, the broadcast journalist needs to have a basic understanding of the laws that are associated with the gathering and reporting of news. Also, radio announcers need to be aware of the legal necessity of properly announcing station identifi - cation and EAS notifi cation. Violation of legal statutes can result in sanctions for a station that range from a simple inquiry to a fi ne to a loss of station license and, for an individual performer, to possible loss of employment. This chapter surveys some of the most common ethical and legal areas that may cause the beginning broadcast performer diffi culties.
