Two of the most important ethical lessons I have learned this year from C409 are reporting violence and naming victims. These were my two favorite topics because while attending these lectures it seemed that they brought the most conflict and differences of opinion than any other case studies we discussed. Because of these differences of opinions it leads me to believe these are the two topics I will have the most trouble with when I become a journalist. When you showed us pictures that were disturbing and graphic on the front of magazines some people argued that it was too much and not necessary. While others believed it was the only way to show how tragic the event is and that the public needs to see those imagines to prevent other tragedies from happening. Specifically, a case study that was given a lot of attention from the class was when we talked about a man who died in a car accident from texting and driving. The article was accompanied by a very graphic picture of the dead man falling out of his car. The class was torn between whether or not the photo was proving a point to end texting and driving or if it was hurting the feelings of the man’s loved ones and is too depictive for the public.
My favorite case study from the presentations this year was when Joe Hosey obtained personal police records about a murder case from an anonymous source and then published them in an article he wrote. The lawyer of the prosecutor argued that this violated the rights of their client because the information that he published the public would not have known unless it was for the anonymous source. This questions the ethical lesson of reporters and their sources. Hosey refused to give up his source and this lead to his source and other sources being able to truly trust him as a writer. I enjoyed this case study because it showed how far a journalist will go to keep the trust of their readers and sources.
This course has been nothing but a positive and informative experience. I truly believe I will take the lessons that we learned through the lectures and case studies and apply them to my everyday life even after I graduate. The most helpful part of this class for me was the case study presentations. The real examples of journalist ruining their entire careers really opened my eyes of the importance of being an honest reporter. Overall, I’m very happy with this course and would highly recommend it to anyone i know.