The first ethical lesson from this course that I learned was Aristotles Golden Mean. This ethical premise is as follows, “Moral behavior is the mean between two extremes – at one end is excess, at the other is deficiency. Find a moderate position between these two extremes, and you will be acting morally.” I believe that in almost any situation a person goes through in their life and in almost any decision they make, this ethical principle can apply. When in a certain situation, the most logical outcome can often be the decision between doing something so much or doing something so little. As long as there are decisions to be made, there is always going to be times in the most extreme cases where you can find a place in the middle and make a decision.
The second important ethical lesson I learned from this course was John Stuart Mill’s principle of utility. This ethical principle is described as seeking the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people. I like this principle because by thinking in this certain way, it is very hard to be selfish. By making a decision to help out the most amount of people, the person making the decision is making an attempt to help out a much broader expansion of people.
A case study that I learned about in this class which I enjoyed was the case study on former New Republic reporter, Stephen Glass. He was a reporter who wrote for the newspaper, gaining a lot of accolades and appreciation from his coworkers for his stories that he wrote. However, Glass was caught fabricating and making up his stories and was immediately fired. I enjoyed this case study the most because I could relate to it. I have never fabricated a news article but I have dealt with intense pressure and almost impossible deadline demands. As a college student, there are times when I have had multiple assignments due on the same day, at the same time. It’s very stressful and in my case, I am doing it to get a good grade. Glass is doing it for his job which is even more stressful. There is a lot of work and assignments that a journalist much juggle and I can understand why Glass decided to break the rules.
This course will definitely have an impact on my academic career, and my professional career as well. Obviously, we learned about what is right and wrong ethical within the media industry, but that is not what will help me the most. What will help me the most is why ethical decisions are right and wrong. In this class, we learned about what makes certain actions dishonest and incorrect as opposed to just learning about what is right and what is wrong. By knowing what makes a decision unethical, I can apply my knowledge to projects and assignments both in college and in the workplace.
I really enjoyed this course. I enjoy writing these class blogs. I have never done anything like this and it really engages me outside of the class. To know that people are reading blogs from a college communications course in middle Pennsylvania is inspiring. I hope that one day, I can come back and read students’ posts years after I have left campus.