John Stuart Mill: Freedom of expression and harm in the 'post-truth' era

This paper contends that John Stuart Mill’s arguments for freedom of expression – despite being first published in 1859 – remain a powerful framework through which contemporary issues of free speech can be explored and taught. As part of an analysis of Mill’s On liberty, the notion of intolerance being the default condition of mankind and restrictions on free speech being a trans-generational wrong are delineated. The issue of on-campus censorship is discussed, as are the prominence and causes of self-censorship in both the media and wider society. The usefulness of Mill’s On liberty as a means of exploring these contemporary problems of free speech is expounded, particularly the enduring usefulness of his Harm Principle, and a phenomenon that is called the Paradox of Liberal Inheritance is identified. The concept of alethic disruption is developed to investigate the emergence of ‘post-truth’ news, and a Mill-inspired response to this is outlined. It is argued that Mill articulates principles that modern media students can use as an accessible means of approaching questions of media ethics, and that On liberty also makes powerful points about the etiquette of intellectual debate

Why 2015 is gearing up to be the year of censorship

India’s government has displeased many internet users by blocking access to some major websites at the start of the new year

John Stuart Mill: Freedom of expression and harm in the 'post-truth' era

This paper contends that John Stuart Mill’s arguments for freedom of expression – despite being first published in 1859 – remain a powerful framework through which contemporary issues of free speech can be explored and taught. As part of an analysis of Mill’s On liberty, the notion of intolerance being the default condition of mankind and restrictions on free speech being a trans-generational wrong are delineated. The issue of on-campus censorship is discussed, as are the prominence and causes of self-censorship in both the media and wider society. The usefulness of Mill’s On liberty as a means of exploring these contemporary problems of free speech is expounded, particularly the enduring usefulness of his Harm Principle, and a phenomenon that is called the Paradox of Liberal Inheritance is identified. The concept of alethic disruption is developed to investigate the emergence of ‘post-truth’ news, and a Mill-inspired response to this is outlined. It is argued that Mill articulates principles that modern media students can use as an accessible means of approaching questions of media ethics, and that On liberty also makes powerful points about the etiquette of intellectual debate

Why 2015 is gearing up to be the year of censorship

India’s government has displeased many internet users by blocking access to some major websites at the start of the new year

Sports journalism should toy with some different ideas

The pandemic is reshaping sports journalism’s future by demanding that the skills of the past are sharpened and re-applied, believes sports journalist and academic Tom Bradshaw, who argues that coronavirus offers sports desks the chance to shed their ‘toy department’ ta

‘Not just a boys' game’: programme evaluation of a multi-agency cricket intervention designed to reduce gender inequity in a city in the east of England

Previous feminist research demonstrates that women’s participation in sport is subject to patriarchal values, which produce and reproduce gender inequity in elite sport (Rowe, D. (2004). Critical Reading: Sport, Culture and Media. Berkshire. McGraw Hill.). Cricket is one sport in which patriarchy remains prevalent. Despite the recent success of the England Women’s cricket team, female participation in elite cricket remains low. The latest Active People Survey suggests the number of women participating in cricket has decreased between 2008 and 2010, further widening the gender gap (Sport England, 2011). This key aim of this study was to evaluate an intervention with the stated aim of reducing gender inequity in cricket in a city in the East of England. The intervention was conducted in conjunction with a multi-agency partnership developed by the authors, including an ECB premier league club, county board and University. A needs assessment highlighted the lack of opportunities for women’s cricket. The intervention therefore targeted women of all cricket abilities, with a view to creating a sustainable women’s team. Project actions included sourcing facilities, staff and equipment, producing advertising material and facilitating partnership work. This study employed a theory-driven programme evaluation to assess the effectiveness of this cricket intervention. Programme evaluation uses programme theory to assess the efficacy of sports development interventions (Rossi et al., 2004, Evaluation: A systematic approach. Sage, London.). In this case, the programme’s theory is founded upon a feminist rationale. Critical success factors have been incorporated. These included assessing sustainable participation rates. Semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders and participants will be completed to evaluate programme effectiveness

Self-censorship and the Pursuit of Truth in Sports Journalism – A Case Study of David Walsh

Issues of self-censorship and potential barriers to truth-telling among sports journalists are explored through a case study of David Walsh, the award-winning Sunday Times chief sports writer, who is best known for his investigative work covering cycling. The paper uses a Kantian theoretical perspective to explore how sports journalists, including Walsh, implicitly use deontological and consequentialist modes of moral reasoning when making decisions about newsgathering and publication. Kant’s categorical imperative is adapted as the journalistic hypothetical imperative and journalistic categorical imperative are developed as concepts to explore the practical reasoning of sports journalists. Walsh’s autobiographical writings about his sports reporting are analysed, together with the body of articles that he has written while a staff reporter at The Sunday Times. The case study is intended to function as a means of identifying and highlighting a range of ethical issues facing contemporary sports journalists, particularly self-censorship

A Case Study Examining How the Use of a Module-Specific Hashtag Can Enhance Student Engagement Among Journalism Undergraduates

The incorporation of smartphones and social media into teaching is entering the mainstream in Higher Education institutions as interactive e-learning becomes a key strand of universities’ pedagogical strategies. The use of such technologies is particularly relevant for journalism students, given the social media-driven context in which much contemporary journalism is produced. The purpose of the study was to explore whether social media could be used to encourage both in-class and out-of-class module engagement among first-year Journalism undergraduates at the University of Gloucestershire. The study focused on the use of a module-specific hashtag on Twitter throughout a single-semester journalism studies module, and the extent to which students used the hashtag in their own tweets. At the beginning of the study, a questionnaire was used to collect data about students’ news consumption habits and their preferred social media platforms for news. The findings show that the majority of participants use their mobile phone as the primary means of accessing news, with Twitter the most frequently used social media platform. Quantitative research on students’ use of the hashtag was then gathered by monitoring Twitter, with tweets subjected to content analysis. The study showed that the use of the module hashtag produced significant levels of both in-class and out-of-class student engagement, with engagement continuing after teaching on the module had ended. The findings are supplemented by autoethnographic reflections by the module tutor. The findings of the study provide insight into how social media-based teaching techniques could be used to enhance engagement among media students. In the course of the study, the pedagogical positions of augmented reality teaching and pedagogy-industry alignment are delineated and explored