Introduction:
Like many other people in the class I was skeptical about taking COMM 409 this semester. I assumed that I already knew everything that I could possibly need to know about the ethics of journalism because I assumed everything would just be common sense. After completing the class, I have learned how wrong I was with my incoming judgments and I was able to learn many lessons about the ethics of journalism that I was not aware of before.
Two Ethical Issues:
One of the most important lessons I learned in this class was the common areas of conflict that journalists are restricted by. Before this class I was not aware of all of the boundaries that journalists have when writing a story. I originally thought if a journalist disclosed what could be a possible conflict of interest then they would be ok to report on the topic. I now am aware that even if a conflict is disclosed, it does not solve the issue and reporters should just avoid reporting on the topic.
The second most important ethical lesson was plagiarism. I always knew since I was in elementary school that plagiarism was not accepted and you could get in a lot of trouble for it. Plagiarism is just as unacceptable for journalists as it is for an elementary school student writing their first paper, accept if a journalist plagiarizes they will face much harsher consequences. In the professional world, a journalist will be fired immediately with no second chances if they are caught plagiarizing.=
Impressive Case Study:
The most impressive case study was actually the first case study we studied this semester. I was baffled by the extent that Stephen Glass went to deceive his readers just to create an interesting story. I always thought that it was obvious to tell the truth when creating a story because readers expect to be able to trust that what journalists write is accurate information. Throughout the three years that Glass worked at The New Republic he fabricated twenty-seven of his news stories. What surprised me even more is how long it took for anyone to catch on that he was creating false stories, and I don’t understand how Glass’s editors and other coworkers did not realize what he was doing. What is sad is that Glass was so desperate to have the most creative and interesting stories, so he risked the trust of his readers and deceived them.
Impact of COMM 409 and Reflection of Course:
In the future I won’t be pursuing a career in journalism, but COMM 409 will still benefit me in my future career. The ethics of journalism can be applied to other aspects of my career whether I go into public relations or marketing; no matter what career I pursue it is important to remain ethical. I will be faced with decisions on a daily basis, and after taking this class I am confident that I will be able to make the correct and ethical decisions to avoid any conflicts. Overall, I believe that COMM 409 is an important class to take and I believe ethics should be taught to all students.