Discussion

15. Revise all the articles of the Unit and get ready to discuss the following points.

1. How important are mass media for forming public opinion?

2. What means can a journalist use to present a certain event in a negative or positive light? Do you think all such means are permissible?

3. Do you think a journalist can be absolutely truthful and objective?

4. Do you think a journalist has a right to invent certain minor scenes to make his reports more vivid or should he write only about something he has actually seen?

5. Some journalists can be intimidated and even murdered. Do you think journalism is a dangerous profession? Why do journalists fight crime and corruption even if they are aware of danger?

6. Do you think journalists must have a right to look into the private life of prominent public figures? If so, should there be a limit to their inquisitiveness?

7. Why is freedom of information so important?

8. Should mass media be censored? If so, how does censorship go with freedom of information?

9. Can mass media be absolutely independent?

10. How can those in power influence independent newspapers, radio stations and TV channels?

Writing

16. Revise the articles of this Unit and write an essay (about 250 words): “Should there be a limit to freedom of information in mass media?”

Follow the procedure suggested in the previous Units. While writing the essay try to use as many modal verbs as possible.

Confidential, Inside Information

17. When and if you get employed by a foreign company you will have to sign a Contract of Employment which may include a clause on confidential information. Read an example of such a clause very carefully.

(6) CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION AND DATA

1. During an Employee’s term of office as stipulated in the present agreement and hereinafter, he or she must not: (1) divulge or consciously permit an outside party access to the Company’s Commercial secret and any other information relevant to the Company’s activities and financial circumstances (bargains, operations or deeds of the Company, the Company’s know-how or the Company’s secret technologies) which pertain to all items, products and services provided by the Company (the “Confidential Information”); (2) to utilize or attempt to utilize, in any manner, the said Commercial Information in his or her own interests, which may or may not be detrimental to the Company or its activities, directly or indirectly lead to damages (except in the instances which are connected with the performance of his or her usual routine duties, or when it is done as required by law).

2. In the event of the Employee’s dismissal for any reason, the Employee must immediately hand over to the Company all memoranda, tape-recordings, diskettes, films, photographs, layouts, brochures and notes in any form of record referring to any aspect of the Company’s activities. The Employee must not retain copies of these documents since all such materials are considered exclusively as the Company’s property.

3. In accordance with paragraph 139.2 of the Civil Code, the Employee must compensate the Company for all damages (including loss of profit) resulting from the non-fulfillment of his or her obligations which are stipulated in paragraph 6.

18. Answer the questions given in the following situation.

You work for Midland Bank, which has branches around the world. The department you are with deals with the stock exchange. Not long ago the bank bought $10 million worth of shares of ‘Standard Software’, a company producing computers. You visited the ‘Standard Software’s head office several times and made friends with Lucy Stark, a secretary of the company’s chief executive officer R. Greenwood, who is considered to be the basic brainpower of the company.

This afternoon you phoned Lucy to invite her to go out tonight and she told you she could leave early because Mr Greenwood had fallen ill.