Ghostwriting

So the topic of ghostwriting comes up in our class. Where do people and publishers come in when it involves the ethics of writers and authors. Can authorship be bought? Who is in the wrong here?
As we all know the presidential speeches are written by ghostwriters. Even many of the autobiographies are written by ghostwriters. Are the candidates or officials wrong to hire someone to write their speeches?
I don't think so. So many are busy trying to run their own campaigns and schedule to makes it hard to actually sit down and write a speech. So many people are hired to help the candidates or elected officials. If writing a speech is part of the job description then its up to you to decide if you want this job or not.
Most of the things I've notice is that ghostwriters are hired to write for someone else. It is your duty to write a good book, article, etc. when you decided to take the job. I'm sure that the contract would state that you may not be able to publish your name onto the book. They may not even give you credit but its all part of the job. Don't like that concept then get out of the job. No one is making you choose to write a book for someone else, the decision to write it was yours (the ghostwriter).
We can talk about it in an economic sense. The piece can be earning a lot of money once it hits the stands but who's to know how well it might do? It may rise to be a best seller or tank and the publisher and author would loose money. If the ghostwriter really wanted to get in on the money then in the contract they should ask for a percent of the revenues made from the piece when it goes out to the public. Or they can ask for a bonus if the piece does well just make sure its in the contract.
Ghostwriting is a contractual job. Do I think its wrong not to give someone credit for the hard work they've done? Of course but you can also look at this like a company. Many of the CEOs and Presidents of the companies make the most money, but do they do a lot of the manufacturing or hand work that goes into the company? No, most of them are probably too busy putting out new market ideas or investing in other companies as well. How many of those company give their workers earn a raise if the product does well? Probably not a lot of them. How many workers get credit for making a product? Its all in the company name and not every individual is given the credit. Ghostwriting is similar because the real writer may not be credited but they are paid and its a job.

Author Depiction

Writing about an author and how they are portrayed in today's media: well that's most likely going to be in a romantic sense. Most movies want the audience to see where the author gets his or her inspiration from. My paper was on Finding Neverland. This movie is about J.M. Barrie who wrote Peter Pan. It shows who was his muses to write such a story. Barrie found quite an attachment to Sylvia Llewelyn Davie and her sons.
Barthes argument would have said that Barrie attached a lot of his life into the story. Peter one of the sons was the main character. The need to believe again was the main story (and the magic in the imagination). Many readers and viewers can see how Barrie uses his real life to write his stories. Barthes would of never agree to the idea of putting one's (the author's) life into the story. It would make the reader believe that this is the author's meaning and message. Barthes wants the reader to find his own meaning and for the story to have multiple meaning without having the author present to explain what it is.