During my time in COMM 409, I’ve definitely learned many ethical lessons, though two in particular, always avoiding plagiarism at all costs and always check your sources several times over before publishing something with your name on it, have stuck with me above all else.
The case study that impressed me the most was the Stephen Glass story hands down. The fact that a reporter at a trusted news outlet could produce an entirely fabricated story, let alone the dozens more that were later discovered, is mind boggling. It showed just how careful fact checkers must be when a reporter’s personal motives, just as the desire for attention drove Glass, can get in the way of factual reporting. The Glass case also made me become more succinct with my descriptions, never letting the concrete facts get lost in the details.
This class showed me many things that were not ingrained in my thought process beforehand. If I do make it on-air someday, I will have to be sure everything I say is from trustworthy sources before tying myself in the loop by stating it as a fact. Ethics will absolutely be important at all times, as this class showed me that there is no substitute for doing things the right way. With any action outside the law or outside ethical standards put forth by our society comes repercussions that can end a journalist’s career on the spot. Playing by the rules is always the right thing to do and it also gets the people the information they seek, which is exactly what journalists are supposed to deliver.
However, while a lot of the lessons and messages I learned and will take with me for years after this class, some of them won’t come into play in my life all that often as a sports journalist. For example, releasing the names of victims and dealing with the question of whether or not to release the names of minors will not be part of my day-to-day life in professional and college sports. Certain things, like never getting to close to a source or withholding information, will apply to me frequently and I’m thankful to have those lessons with me now that the class is coming to the final stages.
My time in this course was definitely a lot of fun. It made me think deeply about topics that didn’t cross my mind all that often. It also made me think more about every single word I wrote in any article, whether it was to be published or not, because my name would be listed with the piece.