The past 16 weeks of news media ethics has definitely taught me a lot, but there are two lessons in particular that stood out to me. After being introduced to Stephen Glass through this class, I truly understood the importance of always being honest whilst reporting as a few tweaks here and there to the truth would jeopardise one’s reputation, credibility and ability to be taken seriously as a journalist. This was a powerful movie that showed me the consequences one has to face after choosing to make a series of unethical decisions.
Another lesson that stuck with me through this class was the role of ethical reporting within society. A journalism’s purpose, according to The Elements of Journalism, is to first and foremost provide citizens with the information they need to be free and self-governing, Building upon the case of Stephen Glass, journalists are expected and obligated to filter out what is unimportant and relay the truth. COMM409 exposed me to various news ethics codes that help provide journalists a guideline of the dos and don’ts of reporting. From avoiding divisive public issues on your blog or rejecting offers to fly for free, it was indeed interesting to uncover the intricacies of what goes on behind the scenes of a newsroom’s decision to ban certain actions.
Whilst learning the various theories and concepts was stimulating, getting introduced to a whole plethora of case studies really allowed me to picture these concepts in action. I thought the lecture on “Reporting Anti-Social Behaviour” was particularly pertinent. In this day and age, it becomes more important than ever to understand a journalist’s role in the media scene. The case study of the media coverage of the happenings in Charlottesville was a very real example of ethics in action. Research has found that there is a causal relationship between televised violence and subsequent antisocial behaviour, and hence when reporting such hate crimes, a journalists has to be extra careful about how to portray the issue in order to ensure that the reality of the issue isn’t warped.
This course has showed me that there is more to ethics than good or evil – that there are frameworks and techniques that can guide one through the process of decision-making. Personally, I think that every journalist or media writer should go through a course similar to this to truly understand the extent of the consequences of their actions and know that there are tools or codes out there to help aid them. These techniques are not only relevant in media writing fields, but also extend to the daily lives of everyday people. It simply allows to look beyond the daunting task of decision making and explore the things involved whilst doing so.