Streaming Media
Location
Witters Conference Room 4440, Booth Library
Start Date
10-3-2017 7:00 PM
Photos and More
Description
The news media play an important role in the Harry Potter books almost from page one. In the first three books, the news media are taken at their word and what they report is to be believed. Beginning with “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire,” however, author J.K. Rowling’s portrayal of the Wizarding news media takes a dark turn with the introduction of the unscrupulous Rita Skeeter, correspondent for the Daily Prophet. This program will weigh Skeeter’s reporting methods against the ethical principles espoused in the U.K.’s (admittedly Muggle) Independent Press Standards Organisation’s Editors’ Code of Practice. The IPSO replaced the Press Complaints Commission, which was repeatedly criticized as being toothless during the Leveson Inquiry into the British press’s reporting practices. It will also discuss Rowling’s testimony before the Leveson Inquiry and will recount her attempts to use the PCC to protect her children from being photographed by paparazzi.
Poison Pen: Rita Skeeter, her Quick-Quotes Quill & Journalism Ethics in the Wizarding World
Witters Conference Room 4440, Booth Library
The news media play an important role in the Harry Potter books almost from page one. In the first three books, the news media are taken at their word and what they report is to be believed. Beginning with “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire,” however, author J.K. Rowling’s portrayal of the Wizarding news media takes a dark turn with the introduction of the unscrupulous Rita Skeeter, correspondent for the Daily Prophet. This program will weigh Skeeter’s reporting methods against the ethical principles espoused in the U.K.’s (admittedly Muggle) Independent Press Standards Organisation’s Editors’ Code of Practice. The IPSO replaced the Press Complaints Commission, which was repeatedly criticized as being toothless during the Leveson Inquiry into the British press’s reporting practices. It will also discuss Rowling’s testimony before the Leveson Inquiry and will recount her attempts to use the PCC to protect her children from being photographed by paparazzi.
Presented By
Lola Burnham is a professor in Eastern’s Journalism Department, interim director of Student Publications, and editorial adviser to The Daily Eastern News. One of her research areas is media ethics, and she enjoys using the Harry Potter books to connect to her research topics. She has many fond memories of taking her children to Harry Potter book release parties. She is also still wondering why her letter from Hogwarts never arrived and suspects that nargles are to blame.