Ethical, Moral and Political Questions

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1. What rights should individual citizens have in the face of media interest or intrusion?
   
2. Can the censorship of the mass media in a democracy be justified? Support your answer with evidence.
   
3. The artist Andy Warhol once suggested that: “in the future everyone will be famous for fifteen minutes”. What does a fascination with fame and celebrity communicate about contemporary culture?
   
4. How do opinion leaders shape the public’s view of conflict? In your answer you may consider conflict between individuals, groups or nations.
   
5. Examine, with evidence from any medium, the current state of “News” as a mode of communication. You may wish to consider one or more of the
   following:
   • content;
   • style;
   • format;
   • accessibility;
   • status.
   
6. Over the years many languages have gone into decline and some have disappeared completely. Discuss the forces that can threaten the existence of languages and the reasons why many native speakers want to protect and
   preserve their language.
   
7. Which communication skills do you think are most important to young people in the early years of the twenty-first century?
   
8. The German poet Heinrich Heine warned that they who first burn books, later burn people. Is censorship necessarily as dangerous as he suggests?
   
9. What are the implications of the cult of celebrity which pervades the media?
   You may wish to consider this from the point of view of producers, consumers, fans and/or the celebrities themselves.
   
10. To what extent is our identity determined or influenced by our friends?
    
11. Celebrities often complain that they have been subjected to ‘trial by media’.
    What do you understand by ‘trial by media’ and can it ever be justified? (30 marks)
12. To what degree can possessions communicate information about group membership?
    
13. It has been argued that we are being swamped by communication messages in modern
    life. To what extent does this undermine the concept of ‘identity’? (30 marks)
    
14. Is most communication honest? Answer with reference to both personal and cultural
    communication.