My time in COMM 409 has been an a very educating experience. I have learned a lot of important ethical lessons that I plan to take with as I pursue a career in the communications field. As a journalist it is my duty to follow ethical rules, or I will not be successful. The first key rule that I have learned, is to always be truthful. Many journalists have lost their jobs and tarnished their reputation by not being truthful. There are many ways you could not be truthful: making up quotes or sources, exaggerating the truth, misinforming an audience by using sources that are not credible, etc. By misleading an audience, a journalist loses credibility and trust.
Another important ethical lesson that I have learned is to protect your audience from seeing graphic or horrific images, videos, or stories if it is not necessary to report. A quote that I remember hearing in class was by an employee of some paper that said he “would not report a story for the sole purpose of having shock value.” When an image, video, or story is insensitive, journalists must ask themselves whether the content is of most importance to report. People can become very emotionally damaged when personal information about themselves, relatives, or acquaintances is shared in the media.
I really enjoyed the case study presented on the last day of class (12/4) that talked about the guy that used artificial intelligence to make fake Obama speeches. He was able to manipulate videos of Obama to make it appear as if he was saying the words from an audio track that an impersonator made. It was frightening to know that people are able to do that.
I feel that this course has significantly impacted my future and I will constantly reflect back on it while in my career path. Whenever I am tempted to take a shortcut, I will think of all the case studies where taking a shortcut has negatively affected somebody’s career. I plan to work in entertainment news, so I will have to be a very ethical journalist while working. I believe that whoever I work for will see that I will always have good intentions and will be sure that I am always making the most ethical decisions possible.
Overall, this class has been a very educating experience and I am grateful for all the things that Bu Zhong has taught me. Coming to class was always an enjoyable experience and I am sad that my time in COMM 409 has come to an end. I look forward to using my knowledge that I acquired in COMM 409 throughout the rest of my life.