Introduction:
When I began this course I thought I knew all about ethics in journalism. I thought it was pretty straightforward and just “common” sense. As the course went on, I realized that there was a lot I did not know and fully understand. Through this course I learned that there is a lot more to ethics than just right and wrong. I learned there learned there a person sometimes has to ask themselves difficult questions regarding ethics. Also that people have different opinions on what is ethical and what is not.
Ethical Lessons:
Throughout the course we learned about various ethical issues that journalists face. Two ethical lessons that really stuck out to me were fabrication and conflict of interest.
A journalist is taught not to fabricate or plagiarism from day one. Before this course, I did not realize all the case studies that involve fabrication. Making up/changing a story or quote is fabrication and seems harmless but is unethical. In class we learned that detecting fabrication could be difficult. It is important for news outlets to double-check their journalist’s sources and facts to make sure they are creditable. Fabrication can be problematic because it discredits the news outlet and causes the loss of the audiences trust. The Stephen Glass case study was an example of how fabrication ruins a journalist’s career. Glass struggled to keep up with his facts and lies, which ended up causing him to get caught and fired. This case study was shocking to me because I had never heard of a journalist fabricating to that extent. This course taught me that even making up a quote was considered fabrication. Fabricating is an important issue to be talked about in journalism. News outlets/editors should watch out for fabrication and hold journalist accountable if they fabricate.
Conflict of interest is an important issue to talk about within journalism. Obviously, everyone has his or her own opinions and biases. However, it is the job of a journalist to put those biases aside when writing stories. Journalists need to be aware that they are watched by the public 24/7. They should not share their opinions publically to avoid conflict and disagreement. In class we talked about how journalists cannot be involved with politics except voting. Meaning that journalists should not have a blog discussing their opinion on abortion or gun control. This is interesting to me because its like journalists exercise their right to free speech/press but then are limited themselves. Nonetheless, I do see the importance of unbiased reporting. Even if that means a journalist has to sacrifice some privileges and rights.
Case Study:
The case study about the “Falling Man” stuck out to me the most. This case study dealt with the issue of posting graphic images, which was an interesting topic to me. The Falling Man was such a controversial photo and it was not even that graphic in terms of gore. The photo was graphic in the sense that viewers were seeing someone fall to their death. This now iconic photo caused outrage when it was first published in newspapers the day following the attack. The photographer of this photo and the journalist’s decision to publish it are what stuck out to me about this case study. They asked themselves these difficult questions but in the end determined that the public needed to see this photo. This photo emphasized the horror and pain of that day. The Falling Man case study was appropriate to discuss when learning about reporting violence.
Course Impact:
I will use the topics and issues I learned in this course wherever my career takes me. Though I am not pursuing a career in journalism, having this knowledge on ethics will still benefit me. The issue of ethics is important no matter what field you go into. I hope to pursue a career within the government. Staying ethic and honest is necessary. I can take some of the topics learned throughout our class and apply them in my future career. With this knowledge of ethics, I will also be able to hold journalists and news outlets to a higher standard. When reading the news I will notice concepts that I did not know before.
Reflection:
This course has greatly expanded my knowledge on ethics. The readings were not too difficult and had interesting case studies to go with each topic. This helped put the concepts we were learning into real life situations. This course exceeded my expectations and taught me more than I expected to learn. Examining our own case studies in depth was a good learning experience. I appreciated that everything was current and up to date. The examples/ case studies were relevant. Overall, I really enjoyed this course. I look forward to using the ethics learned throughout this course in my future.