Throughout this semester, I have learned much more than I thought I would; in and outside of the classroom. With this global pandemic and our classes moving online, we have been challenged as students and journalists. While I do wish I could have learned the rest of the material in person, I definitely learned the importance of adapting to one’s surroundings. This pandemic has taught me patience and trust in the future. It has taught me that whatever is meant to be will be and to have faith.
In this class I have learned two valuable ethical lessons. The first one definitely was from the “Shattered Glass” movie. This lesson wasn’t necessarily “don’t plagiarize” because we all know not to do that. I learned from the movie and from studying Stephen Glass the vortex that a writer can get sucked into when they do fabricate their writing. When you fabricate or plagiarize on a story (especially when it’s successful) it can seem so easy to do it again and again. I have never heard stories about “serial plagiarists” before this class and it made me even more cautious about the act. It taught me to never do it even if I am on a deadline or the story is weak. Also, it taught me to lookout for the signs of plagiarism and to keep in mind that if a writer does it, they are exponentially inclined to do it again.
Another ethical lesson I learned from this class was the power of photojournalism. You can tell a lot from a simple photo. Many photos or videos can not be used in journalism because they expose someone or it is not morally wise to show the public. A lot of thought and judgement must go into including a photo in a story. I especially found this evident in the case study story about the patient from the AIDS epidemic. It took a lot for the family to allow the photojournalist to take those pictures of their loved one and release them to the world. But the ultimate impact those pictures had was astronomical. People started to see how scary it was and how the disease at the time was an ultimate death wish and acted with caution and care.
I found this class to be enlightening and I am excited to take another class with this professor. I think a strong ethical mentality is the most important tool a journalist can use and I’m glad I have gained these skills and can rely on them in my future career. I would and already have recommended this class to my underclassmen friends in this major because I feel it is important and powerful.