The first ethical lesson I learned from this class was how to understand when to run and not run certain photos that depict graphic things. This is something that doesn’t happen every day, but when it happens, it is important to know how to handle it when the situation does arise.
The second ethical question that I learned a lot more about was from doing my case study. It was about how undercover reporting should be operated and done. I think this is something important because if a reporter uses uncover reporting and does it properly, the story can turn out well. But again, there are only certain circumstances that it should be done in. The ABC special was not one of them.
The one case study that impressed me the most was the one about the photo from 9/11 and should it have been ran. I think as I mentioned before this is an issue that doesn’t always arise on a daily basis. I think that one raised a thought provoking question about what exactly happens in that situation. It made me think that if I was ever an editor at a publication, I would think about it.
Going off of that a bit, this class has taught me a lot more about how to be critical in the newsroom. While working at the Collegian, I have learned a lot about it, but I think this class does a good job of reaffirming those issues. As editors often times, we think our decision is the only right one. But it’s interesting and equally as important to hear the other side of that. It’s important to hear what happens when something runs that impacts a family member of a loved one photographed. It’s important to also just think about how your content is presented. I think that certain photos of graphic nature can be presented, but they must be done so tastefully. I also think members in our class raised good points about how things are different as it relates to the internet and those types of photos. Now people aren’t directly exposed to them. Instead, they can choose to see them.
Overall, this class was helpful in my growth as an editor. It was also important for me because it is nice to hear what others have to say about the media industry. I wish the class would have focused more on social media and content curation though. That’s something that is evolving online, and changing and is something that needs to be talked about.