Blog 5 By: Gabrielle Moore
Two Important ethical issues:
Throughout this whole semester we have been learning about all these different ethical issues and the best ways to avoid using them, however the two that have really resonated with me are objectivity and not fabricating stories. As journalist we are taught that when we are assigned a story we must go in with an open mind and leave all pre-assisting notions at the door. When you are writing a story about something you don’t agree with and don’t leave your opinion out you can sway readers into thinking the same way you do instead of letting them make their own decisions about that topic. Another ethical issues that we learned about was not fabrication a story. This seems like a very obvious thing but it actually happens more that journalist care to tell. A journalist job is to report a story that readers will be interested to learn about and sometime the stories might not be the most glamoure and journalist feel like they need to do something to jazz it up. This can lead to them over embelousing fact so they will checkout but will make it more interesting for the readers. Thought this may see harm less it can actually caught a lot of problems not only for the person or topic that the story is about but also for the journalist and its publication. If people find out that the fact is fake it called in to account the credibility of the journalist and the publication, which can result in the journalist losing their job or the publication losing the trust of it’s readers.
Case Study:
Before this class I never really look at case studies about journalist and ethical issues but doing so I learned a lot of useful information. A case study about Stephen Glass was a very surprising and great case to learn about. This case showed that some journalist will do everything in their power to make a quick buck and sell their story. Learning about Stephen Glass made me want to always be a truthful and honest journalist that will never undermine their integrity to just get ahead in their career.
Impact on future career:
I think that this course will stay with me through the rest of my schooling and when i enter the workforce and start my career as a journalist. When I am reporting on a news story I will always remember not only is it importance to fact checking information but it is also just as important to check the credibility of all your sources.
Reflection of course:
I feel like this class really prepared me for everything thing the future holds for me by showing how everything relates to real life experiences. I also liked that we got to write a class blog with really helped us connect to all the material in a cool and unique way.