Conor Smith
Dr. Zhong
COMM 409
Blog 5
As the Section 3 class is gradually coming to an end for Comm 409, it is not hard to call to mind numerous ethical dillemas and lessons learned from each one. First and foremost, one of the more popular headlines this year that produced a useful ethical lesson was the Brian Williams situation. Williams, a decorated news anchor and respected source for breaking news, was embellishing an old war story in what seemed to be an attempt to gain more viewers and overall popularity. Veterans and citizens alike took offense to this as this action was seen as disrespectful to the soldiers Williams was covering at the time overseas. In conclusion, it seems the lesson to be learned here is that nothing should ever supercede the truth, as it is a right of the public to not be intentionally lied to which happened here, also possibly mitigating the credibility of NBC news as a whole.
Meanwhile, while on the topic of war-related reporting, a reporter in Angola was aiding a wounded soldier by administering first aid when he was tragically shot by sniper fire. One of the main ethical questions raised from this incident was, “do you agree that the reporter helped the soldier?” In my opinion, as thrilling and enticing it can be to discover a national groundbreaking news story, I feel that one’s job as a reporter should never stop them from doing the right thing in pretty much any situation. I think this reporter should be applauded for his bravery and remembered for his compassion he showed to this soldier who was previously unknown to him.
Additionally, considering this semester as a whole, I can easily say I was most taken back by the story surrounding the falling man from the North Tower of the World Trade Center. Without any gorry or graphic components, it manages to be one of the most powerful photos ever taken in my eyes. Another interesting fact was that it experienced widespread publication in the days after this national tragedy. I think in any other instance it would be inappropriate to publish, but given the absolutely tragic and gut-wrenching nature of this terrorist attack, I feel that its publishing was warranted.
All in all, I found this course to be very helpful in learning more about real-world news, especially because I am aiming to major in Broadcast Journalism in the Communications department. I feel that it provided great experience for my future career and the case studies learned are crucial and can always be reflected back on. This course opened my eyes to the process of witnessing a story to publishing it in national news outlets, as well as the ethics involved throughout. As a whole, I felt the course had a good sequence, and found the blogs to be an effective method of summarizing the material absorbed in the previous weeks. As I am sad to see the Section 3 class come to an end, I will always be happy that this course was included on my recommended academic plan because I feel that it substantially confirmed my decision to major in broadcast journalism.