I had never taken a journalism class before this one and can say that this course taught me a lot. I feel that the most valuable lessons I will take from this course are not to fabricate stories and to always make good ethical and moral decisions as a Journalist.
I have learned in this course that fabrication is one of the biggest issues in journalism and that it is up to the journalist whether or not they will make that bad decision. Seeing the movie about Stephen Glass was a big eye opener for me because I didn’t know that a journalist would want to be so sneaky. But it has taught me that not all people are god, and it is easy to get caught up when you are lying to the company you work for, you are also lying to yourself by producing work that isn’t true to your writing ability.
I really liked our discussions on ethical and moral decisions as a journalist and the importance of staying true to your beliefs even if someone is telling you to do something you don’t want to do. I liked that this course gave us the knowledge to know that is acceptable in journalism and when to say no, even to your editor.
I don’t aspire to be a journalist, but I will be working with television. This course had a lot of good insight into the media world and what’s happening which could definitely help in my career. I also liked all of the case studies we went over in class and the open discussions we had where everyone could give their opinion on issues. I liked that Dr. Z was always willing to be available to everyone to help whether in office hours, email, or even by phone. I can say most teachers aren’t as dedicated. This was a very insightful class with a good teacher who had much knowledge on the subject.