The main ethical lesson I learned during this course was that regardless of what his happening, a journalist must maintain their journalistic persona. A recent example of this would be during the Boston Marathon, instead of fleeing from the site of the bombings, journalists and cameramen rushed towards the mayhem to report the events unfolding. The other ethical lesson I learned is that above all else, a journalist primary responsibility is to truthfully report the news to their audience. This should be done responsibly, but also as accurately as possible. The journalist must describe the surroundings as well as the events that are unfolding because the audience is not there and only knows what the reporter tells them. Because of this, the journalist must also maintain integrity when telling the truth and facts to the best of their ability, because the audience may perceive something as truth, even though it may be false.
I learned many valuable techniques in terms of reporting and how to properly report the news to the audience from this class. I will be saving my notes from this class and likely will keep the textbook for referral in case I face confusion or a conflict during my career. One important and simple answer when facing conflict is to consult one’s editor. They are very experienced and often have great insight to provide when facing questions during the journalism profession. This class has taught me that most audiences will always perceive a professional in their professional persona. For instance, students will likely always see their teachers as their teachers, even though they have a life outside of the classroom. This must be kept in everyone’s minds, regardless of what career they choose to pursue so that they do not do something that may offend their audience or be detrimental to their profession.
Overall I thought this class was very helpful and informative to the ethical issue journalists may face during their profession. The only problem I had with the course is that some of the test questions I found confusing. However, seeing that the quizzes are open book, I think that difficulty may have been caused by me overthinking the questions. This being said, I would not change any aspects of the course. I enjoyed the lectures and liked taking the quizzes online during class time. It is a nice break from the classroom. Overall, I enjoyed the course and liked the way Dr. Z taught the class.