Before I took this course, I never knew that ethics in journalism is this deep. To me I thought journalism ethics is simply about not putting false information into your stories. After finishing this entire semester, now I got a better understanding about certain standards and rules all journalists should follow. And most importantly, I learnt about the reasons behind these principles and consequences of violating them.
One of the topics we covered through the semester was about invasion of privacy. Invasion of privacy was a really interesting and also controversial topic. As a journalist, it is our job to keep a balance between public interest and people’s privacy, which is sometimes really hard to maintain. That’s why we learn about the concept “minimize harm” at the beginning of the semester, because this is something we can’t avoid in the professional world.
There was this video we watched in class about using hidden camera to film how airport security was not fulfilling their responsibility. Was it public interest? Yes, people had the right to know they were safe under police protection. But did it violate the privacy of the security guards? Also yes, because the journalists went into their lounge and got the footage. And that lounge was their private space and was not suppose to be filmed. As we talk about in class, undercover journalism is only allowed when there is no other way to get the information. And also, journalists have to decide whether the value of the information is worth risking a lawsuit.
The other really interesting topic we covered was plagiarism and fabrication. Fabrication is about publishing something that was false, and plagiarism is about taking someone else’s work and pass them off as one’s own. These two are treated very seriously in journalism world. In the case of Stephen Glass, he was one great example of fabrication. In the interviews we watched in class, it was clear that the consequences of unethical reporting was destructive to a man’s career. Stephen Glass’s career as a journalist was over and there’s no way of turning back. No publication will ever hide someone who has a history of plagiarism and fabrication. What Glass did was not only betrayal of his own profession, but also betrayal of his coworkers, audience and everyone in the world that trusted him. Therefore, being honest is the number one rule of journalism.
One case study presentation we learnt in class that really stood out to me was “Florida Star vs B.J.F”. In this case, a lot of the victim’s information was published. And the victim filed a lawsuit for invasion of privacy. This was a typical example of balancing public interest and victim’s privacy. In cases like this, there is no law protecting victims from getting their information out to the public. It is usually an ethical issue. It was up to the publications to decide whether they should publish the information or not. It really got me into a lot of thinking. What would I do if I am put into that kind of situation? Public interest or people’s privacy? Because in some cases like we talked about in class, there is also a possibility that the accuser is the one lying. And that would result in reputation damage of the accusee.
Overall, I really learned a lot from this class. It made me realize that the real journalism world is so much more complicated than I imagined. There will be times that I am put into really difficult situations. It’s easier to make mistakes than to stick to your principles. But by the end of the day, being ethical makes you happy. And being happy and honest is the most important thing in all professions, not just journalism.