An extremely important ethical lesson is Kant’s Categorical Imperative states that one should only act in a way that that action could become a universal law that everyone who comes after them could follow. This is a very interesting way to think about how to act ethically and can be applied to journalism as well as many other careers. If a journalist reports something with Kant’s Categorical Imperative in mind, then the article would be ethical. Obviously, this is not something that can be followed every time a story is reported on because journalists may run into very specific circumstances, in which they have to make a choice of what is ethical and what isn’t.
Ends-based thinking is another very important moral rule to follow. It encourages people to choose the course of action that brings the most good to the most people. Following this allows all of someone’s actions to be for the greater good. I think it’s very important to make all choices and complete all actions with the notion to do the most good for the most people. Eliminating negativity should be the main goal.
The case study that we learned during the accuracy and truth telling lecture about the anonymous op-ed published in the New York Times really struck me as intriguing. I thought it was really interesting that this was the first time the Times published an anonymous op-ed. It quickly gained world attention and the Times released a reason for posting it because it was not something they typically did. They said that publishing it was for the good of their readers, giving them a different perspective. This piece may influence other news outlets to publish anonymous pieces in their papers.
Many lessons in this course will be beneficial to my future career in corporate communications and in my life. Making ethical choices does not just apply to ethical reporting. Everyone should strive to make ethical choices in all aspects of their lives including in their familial relationships, romantic relationships, careers and other major parts of their lives. This course also helped me with the current work I’ve been doing for VALLEY magazine and in my journalism classes.
This course was something that I was excited for every Tuesday and Thursday because I felt like what we were learning was meaningful. Each lesson can be applied to life, whether or not our career goal is to go into reporting. Using ethics as a basis for all decisions we make ensures that all decisions will be for the good of most people.