Part 1. Situation Definition:
MSNBC’s national security and intelligence journalist, Ken Dilanian spoke at the Foster-Foreman Conference of Distinguished Writers event on October 24th, 2019 at 10:35 a.m. Dilanian touched upon his experiences as a foreign correspondent in Rome and many other journalist jobs he had and specifically one whistleblower case. He talked about his successful career to help and give hope to eager potential communication majors in the audience.
Throughout his speech, he brought up many important topics but he mentioned two major ethical issues that stood out the most to me. The first ethical issue that came to mind is that journalists must remain objective in the world we live in today. The second ethical issue Dilanian spoke about was covering sensitive topics. Both these issues stood out to me as Dilanian gave out good input to each topic.
Part 2. Analysis:
As a political journalist covering news in the world today is most definitely not the easiest job, you need to remain unbiased when talking about subjects so the audience gets the correct perception of the topic. That’s why I think one of Dilianian’s ethical issues of being objective was important, you must tell both sides of the story. Presenting a topic and speaking unbiasedly about it is a hard task to accomplish but Dilanian gave us helpful tools. The use of media and journalism as a news outlet is a way for the public to hear the truth of what’s happening and to form their own opinion on the topic. “One of the fundamental concerns regarding communication media is accuracy or truth,” (David J. Gunkel, 2019). Nowadays it’s hard to tell what’s fake news versus real, so telling the truth and remaining objective is a key to journalism.
The other ethical topic Dilanian spoke about was how to cover sensitive topics. When talking about this he meant events like school shootings, war and leaked information. This is hard because as a journalist you are the one who informs the public on these situations, so like I said before, you shape their idea of this topic. “Respondents agreed that reporting of mass shootings is “sensational.” They more strongly agreed that coverage has become routine. Respondents largely agreed that the manner in which the news media cover mass shootings is an ethical issue and that coverage should be more comprehensive,” (Nicole Smith, 2019). The coverage of a mass shooting or another controversial event may shape the viewer’s perspective, it is important to only state facts and respect those involved and those who may be affected.
Part 3. Conclusion:
Overall I thought Dilianian’s speech for the distinguished writers was great. He gave the audience of Penn State students helpful insight about ethical situations for us to know. It was interesting to hear actual situations and learn more about the types of stories Dilianian writes with specific examples. I have gained valuable insight and learned many ethical lessons.
Part 4. References:
Dahmen, Nicole Smith, et al. “Journalists’ Perceptions of Mass Shooting Coverage and Factors Influencing Those Perceptions.” Journalism Practice, vol. 13, no. 8, Oct. 2019, pp. 895–900. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1080/17512786.2019.1642131.
Gunkel, David J. “The Medium of Truth: Media Studies in the Post-Truth Era.” Review of Communication, vol. 19, no. 4, Oct. 2019, pp. 309–323. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1080/15358593.2019.1667015.