Before taking this course, I only thought of ethics as doing the right thing. Little did I know that was just the beginning. This course really opened my eyes to all the specifics involved with media ethics. I am now very familiar with journalists’ four main duties according to the SPJ Code of Ethics: seek truth and report it, minimize harm, act independently, and be accountable and transparent. The real world will have many situations that will make me question my ethics, but if I stick with what I learned in this course, I should always know that I am on the correct path.
Throughout this course by means of the case study presentations, two important things I’ve learned are to always be truthful and make sure your intentions are clear. As journalists it is our job to inform the public of what is happening. In addition to reporting on the facts only, it is important that we do not make up any information or copy that information from another source, whether it be credible or not. Also, we need to make sure that we tell them the facts and keep opinions or bias out of discussion. This is where conflicts of interest may come into question. If our personal life gets mixed with our professional obligations, some readers may have a problem with having us as their source of information. Making sure we are honest with ourselves, our employers, and our readers will only benefit in the end.
One case study that really stuck out in my mind is Stephen Glass and his time with The New Republic. I was not too familiar with his story until I watched the movie “Shattered Glass” during class. He was one of the best reporters with the most creative stories until it was discovered that he was fabricating his stories to impress his editors. Even after he was caught in a lie, he insisted that he did not make it up and continued to go out of his way to lie about it. Making up notes and creating false voicemails were just a few of the things he did to hide the inaccuracy of his stories.
I believe everybody should learn the importance of ethics and how much it relates to our daily life. As a student aspiring to enter the sports media industry, I am now more familiar with ethics and will feel more comfortable making journalistic decisions in my future career path. Knowing the difference between doing the right thing and the wrong thing will be beneficial in my career, and I can possibly educate others in my industry about what I have learned in this course.
Comm 409 may have been a required class and I now see why that is. Although it may not seem like the most exciting class offered at Penn State, it is something that all students can benefit from, even though they may not believe it. I might not have considered taking the class if it was optional because my thinking would have been, how hard can it be to know the difference between right and wrong? After reviewing multiple case studies throughout the semester, it may be harder than you think.