Reflections
The News Media Ethics course has provided me with a greater understanding on how ethics plays a part in the field of journalism. A journalist has a great influence on their audience. It is often said that journalist are gatekeepers, meaning they control the content of news that the public consumes. We learned in this course that this position of power that journalist are put in can sometimes lead them to make unethical decisions. The two most important lessons that I’ve learned in this class are to never lie to your audience and to trust your own ethical intuitions.
From the time we stepped foot into our first College of Communications journalism class we are told, “never lie to your audience.” We are taught that our loyalties lie with our audience and that our purpose is to seek the truth. I would think that would be considered common knowledge to all those pursuing a career in journalism. During Comm409 we learned about several different case studies in which journalist intentionally deceived their audience, their peers, and their superiors. Writers such as Jayson Blair and Stephan Glass wrote several articles that were completely fabricated. Their articles were then published in their respective papers/magazines misleading their readers to believe that these fake people, events, and places really existed. This was an important lesson because it showed the class that no matter how good of a writer you are… if you lie you will get caught. Once you lie, you lose the trust of your audience. They will never be able to fully believe that you’re reporting facts. Your reputation will forever be tarnished and your career in journalism will be over.
During the Oweida Lecture the guest speaker, Bill Marimow, shared with the audience situations he faced in his career that made him question his ethical decisions. One thing from his speech that stuck with me was his advice to trust your own ethical intuitions. He said that if you have to ask ‘is this right?’ then it’s probably wrong. He advised the young journalist to seek advice from an editor but if their advice still makes you question, then trust your gut feeling. This was an important lesson I learned because I know somewhere in my career I’m going to be faced with a decision where I will question my ethical values.
The case studies gave me an accurate outlook on situations that I may or may not face. This course has reiterated concepts that are bad such as: lying to the audience and accepting bribes. This course has also helped clear the blurry lines of controversial subjects such as: when it’s appropriate to publish graphic photos and if undercover reporting is acceptable. As for improvements to this course, I would have liked to have more discussions in class. There was a time Dr. Z asked “Who would run this picture?” Some students raised their hands and some did not. It would have be interesting to have an in depth discussion between the two sides and weigh the pros and cons to get insight from my fellow classmates. Overall, this class has provided me with guidelines on how to conduct myself ethically. I have enjoyed my time in Comm 409.