Blog 5 – Amanda Grant

At first, I thought of COMM 409 as just another required academic course that was added to my schedule. I figured it would be a boring, snooze worthy class that I would have to force myself to go to, especially since it was at 8am. Fortunately, I was proven wrong. News Media Ethics has by far been one of the most educational, interesting, and applicable to the real world classes I have taken. From learning about different case studies to ethical values, this course has opened my eyes to the importance of upholding ethical and moral principles. Two significant ethical lessons I discovered was the power a journalist has to minimize harm and the clash of moral duties. Minimizing harm, specifically of minors, was a lesson that really resonated with me, and one that I felt connected to. This principle opened my eyes to how influential the media is and how their writing has such a large impact on society.
A journalist is still a human being and even though they are supposed to be professionals and report on what is going on, sometimes those worlds can conflict. This lesson taught me that if the journalist on the scene is the only one that is most qualified to prevent harm from occurring, then it is their moral obligation to do so. One case study in particular sparked my interest and impressed me immensely. A war reporter in Angola was on the battle ground when she had seen a soldier shot by guerrilla forces. The reporter believed it was safe to check on the soldier for injuries and approached him. When he realized the soldier was still alive he began to help him and in the process was tragically shot dead. This was just one of the many case studies we discussed that toggled with my brain. On one hand the reporter was not qualified to handle a war wound situation, but on the other, how can he morally sit idly by as the soldier lays there in pain. This was one of the case studies that transformed my perspective on journalists and the challenges they face everyday.
Throughout this semester, I have gained a myriad of insights into journalism that I never would have noticed if I did not take this course. It is so crucial that all media writers understand that there is much more to the job than just knowing the structure of the how to write a story, but the values, lessons, and emotion that both go into and are produced from them. It is important to note that you are not only writing for yourself, but a public with varying degrees of ideas opinions and emotions. In the future, I hope to look back on this course and apply all that I have learned to advance my career and become a well respected journalist.