Introduction:
When I first signed up to take this course, I thought that I wouldn’t learn anything because ethics seems pretty straightforward to me. When I think of ethics I think of common sense and the way you were raised on what is right and wrong. After taking the course I’ve realized that there are a lot of moments when you don’t right from wrong.
Two Ethical Issues:
One of the most important lessons I learned was about plagiarism. As a student, you feel like you know what to do and what not to do when it comes to plagiarizing work. Plagiarizing as a journalist has much worse implications than getting a bad grade, it can ruin your reputation and end your career. I also learned about the fine lines between quoting vs summarizing what people say, and how doing it wrong or implying something someone says can be just as bad as copying what they say.
A second important lesson that I learned was the importance of telling the truth and not deceiving your audience. Similar to plagiarism, lying in an article can just as poorly ruin your reputation or end your career. Intentionally lying, leads your audience, that previously trusted you, in the wrong direction and misleads them. I feel like nowadays journalists get away with a lot more than they used to, but overall intentionally lying to your audience will always be one of those things that will never be accepted in the world of journalism.
Impressive Case Study:
I think to this day one of the most impressive case studies we did was the one on Stephen Glass. Stephen Glass not only altered individual facts in his stories but created them out of nothing. He fabricated facts, sources, and entire stories. I was shocked to see how long he go away with it for as long as he did. Throughout the three years that Glass worked for The Republic he fabricated 27 news stories. I have no idea how that is even possible. I think he got away with it for so long because of his personality, he had a way of charming everyone around him and worked them to his advantage. In the end, when he got caught he was fired immediately. Before he was fired, however, he led tons of people to believe the falsities he was writing.
Impact of COMM 409 and Reflection of Course:
Overall I thought this class was very well planned out. It made me want to pursue journalism, even though I wasn’t planning on doing so when I signed up for this course. It also made me a more critical reader of the news. I found myself fact-checking everything I was reading in the news, something I had never done before. I think this class not only improves your ethics as a journalist but also as a person. This was a great class and I really learned a lot, so thank you Dr. Z.