“Who is my obligation too?” “It is to the readers not the subject you’re writing about” –David Finkel
On Tuesday at the Foster Foreman Conference of Distinguished Writers for David Finkel, an editor of the Washington Post since 1990 spoke about his book “The Good Soldiers” and his experiences as a journalist. I was surprised at the stories Finkel told the audience of his journey in dangerous areas in Baghdad with American soldiers.
Two main issues during the lecture that may bring some intense ethical messages are Finkel’s reports on what he experienced in Baghdad and what he wrote in his book.
I salute Finkel as a journalist for taking on the risk of going to Baghdad with these soldiers and earning their respect. I think that Finkel is very courageous for taking a different approach for getting hands on and experiencing this journey himself. To receive correct facts and information that was necessary for this project. I feel that not a lot of journalist would have been able to experience some of the situations Finkel faced. In “A hazardous profession: War journalists and psychopathology” by Feinstein, Owen, and Blair (2002) discusses about the effect that war can have on journal. Just as the soldiers who have PTSD and measures of depression research show that, the same things happen to journalist.
The unethical issue that can happen is a journalist who can create scenarios with real experiences that soldiers face could have easily fabricated this. The Internet and documentaries are available for anyone to create things like what Finkel experienced. Take a look at the fabrications Stephen Glass created they were all believable until he was caught.
Finkel also shared that in “The Good Soldier” he wrote about a soldier who died by the cause of a gas station bombing. He shared a quote describing the soldier’s toe that was accidentally kicked by him as he was a by stander at the scene. “That’s a toe, he said”. Finkel was hesitant to include this in his book at first, but the results assured him he did the right thing. The father of the soldier had sent an email to Finkel thanking him for what he wrote in his book because it gave the dying soldier family closer. Based the book and the email this could have gone a different route in a negative way causing an unethical issues. I feel that it is always harder for journalists to write about something that did not end in a positive way for example the life of the soldier. The family of the soldier and the public could have found what Finkel wrote to be unethical. However, they did not it gave them a sense of peace instead.
Overall, I think Finkel shared excellent information on what life of a journalist who is willing to take risks to get the job done was great. He gave a different approach of getting close and personal to really see what it is like to be in other people shoes. Many journalists do have to cover stories such as war, rapes, and robberies that can cause trauma, but David Finkel is a perfect example of creating some positive out of a negative situation.
Feinstein, A., Owen, J., & Blair, N. (2002). A hazardous profession: War, journalists, and psychopathology. American Journal of Psychiatry, 159(9), 1570-1575.
Newman, E., Simpson, R., & Handschuh, D. (2003). Trauma exposure and post-traumatic stress disorder among photojournalists. Visual Communication Quarterly, 58(1), 4-13.