One of the ethical lessons that I learned the most from was undercover reporting. Specifically looking at my group case study of Elizabeth Cochrane Seaman, I learned about when undercover reporting can be used for good, but even then, it has some negatives. It showed me that even though the work may be done for good, it can hurt people (i.e. the patients having care taken away from them) in ways the reporter may not have intended. Learning that a reporter needs to think about minimizing harm, and making undercover reporting a last resort was something I never knew. Undercover reporting can sometimes be glorified to those who don’t know the risks and effects of it. Having that ‘gotcha’ moment can seem appealing to a journalist who doesn’t know any better.
Another lesson that I learned from the course came from one of our first lectures. When we learned about photo editing that can be seen as unethical. I did not know that editing something out as little as other people’s feet can be seen as unethical because someone can ask, “what else are you willing to edit?’’ Now that I know that, I will be able to keep my eyes out for sneaky edits like that one and also be sure to be careful with any of my own photos that I feel could use a small edit.
Other than my own personal case study of Elizabeth Cochrane Seaman, watching the film about Steven Glass had a large effect on me as well. Students often hear about how plagiarism can really hurt you, but I never really gave it thought to what extent it could hurt someone professionally. Plagiarism can be seen to be so easy, and not often do I personally see anyone get caught. Seeing a specific example of someone who did it, became successful, and their fall from grace taught me a lot on the effects that come with plagiarism.
Overall, the course was a great course to have! Some things that may be viewed as common sense to people, aren’t as clear cut and simple as they may think. Being able to dive deeply into these ethical subjects helped a lot with give me insight for what I need to look for in the future. I am happy that the university requires this for journalism majors. This course gave me a better oversight of what employers will be looking for in my work when I join the journalism field.