Ethical lessons learned
The two important lessons I learned from comm 409 are: 1. the relationship between reporters and subjects and 2. the importance of a blog for journalists.
I used to think that in order to get stories from people, journalists should try to make friends with them so that we can dig into a deeper level of the story. However, I have never thought that audience may doubt the authenticity of the story if you are taking the position as a friend of the subject, and it is completely understandable, so do not even mention the extreme situation when the subject did something illegal like what happened in the case of Nancy Philips. Interestingly I have just done a project based on the life of a Muslim girl here at Penn State. In order to get closer to this girl I texted and emailed her a lot. She is the typical kind of Muslim who is shy and conservative in front of strangers and thus I decided to take a further step to know her life. Finally the project turned out to be good and we two became friends. I did not feel anything wrong at that time but after I knew the fact that the relationship between reporter and the subject make cause problem and doubt, I began to reconsider the relationship between us again. Anyway the project has been done and I have already moved on to the next project, the friendship between us is no longer a barrier for reporting. This case just gave me a alert that what I considered harmless may be ethically problematic in some other cases.
I recall in one class when Dr. Z asked if a reporter should express his/her personal opinion on a current affair on his/her own blog. it raised an interesting point. I used to think that the work and the daily life of a journalist are irrelevant for that we do not do any reporting out of work place and that journalists should have privacy as anybody else. However, journalists, according to our textbook, must remember that they are participating in public act all the time. As a result, all kinds of activities that may damage the organization’s credibility should be avoided. I’d say it is a little bit tough for journalists, but it helps building trust between audience and journalists, so maybe it worth it.
The case that impressed me the most was the famous picture that Richard Drew took during 911. It is a graphic image with a man falling down the building. Technically it should be considered a excellent work for that from both the artistic perspective and the journalistic perspective he did a fairly good job. However, we should also note that the image shows the last moment of a person’s life, which could be problematic. Also considering where the event happened, it is cruel for people to see the tragedy again, especially for those people who lost their beloved during 911. There should be no doubt about whether the picture should be taken or not, but a question on whether it should be published or not still remains. On the other hand, showing pictures provides the public the truth of 911, that they can see the event and make their own judgment. From this perspective, the image should be published. Above all this case remind me of how photojournalism could also cause problem and thus should pay more attention to it.
I would say this course draws my attention to the issues that I may face in the future, and also indicates how important critical thinking is as a journalist. There are just so many aspects that I need to pay attention to and even so there may still be problems. It is stressful to realize how unique the profession in journalism is, but from the other side I am looking forward to the rights and obligation the profession may bring. It is just a double-edged sword which is both good and bad. It just depends on the person who holds the sword.
After all it is a profitable experience to take this course, especially on the aspect of critical thinking. It provides me some new angle of judging and thinking on journalism-related issues. In addition, I am able to compare the journalism in the U.S. and China and see the similarities and the differences, which helps me thinking beyond one country’s perspective, and adds a comprehensive understanding to journalism issues.
Foreman, Gene. The Ethical Journalist: Making Responsible Decisions in the Pursuit of News. Chichester, U.K.: Wiley-Blackwell, 2010.