Ethical Lessons:
Over the course of taking COMM 409, I’ve gained significant knowledge regarding ethics in journalism, and how to act as a journalist in a professional setting. Two of the bigger ethical lessons that I’ve learned stem from being careful not to wrongfully invade the privacy of others, and to be truthful in your reporting by not falsely reporting facts and inventing/manufacturing quotes.
When we discussed being tolerant about invading the privacy of others, I was intrigued by the way we learned about the topic as it related to topics one wouldn’t think about, such as pictures of a car accident for example. I also gained knowledge from learning about some of the ethical delimmas that can result from making difficult decisions on controversial content, and obtained insight into some strategies behind dealing with those decisions.
With regard to being truthful in your reporting, we studied in depth about reporters who have lost their place in the industry based on poor decisions made to enhance or tell an untruthful story just to attract attention from readers. The Stephen Glass movie sticks out as one example, and Brian Williams’ fabricated story about the Iraq War served as important cautionary tales when a journalist lies about their work, and how far that can set them back.
Case Study
The case study I was most impressed by was the Boston Marathon bombing, which was used by various groups to detail the misplaced facts that were reported in the wake of that tragedy. As someone who had a personal angle to the bombings, I remembered seeing first-hand some of the misreporting that took place as Boston police seeked out the bombers themselves, putting the city on effective lockdown.
I took interest in the way different groups reported the wrongdoings, many of which were committed by reporters that I’ve grown up reading about, including the Boston Globe’s Kevin Cullen and other national journalists with Boston ties, similar to me.
Course Impact on Career/Life
As someone who wants to work in local, or hopefully the national sports journalism landscape, this course definitely had an impact on affecting ethical decisions that I’ll make as a journalist in the future. Seeing the impacts that critical mistakes can have on journalists who don’t behave ethically, and make controversial decisions will definitely lead me to be smarter about stories I report on and the manner with which I report on them.
Reflection on the Course
Overall, I enjoyed attending COMM 409, as I felt that each class was going to bring about a new lesson or interesting case study that we discuss. I liked viewing the different case studies that people brought about earlier in the semester, and I thought the content was both engaging and interesting, even if outdated at times. I enjoyed taking this class and the lessons learned from it as a journalist.