Throughout the semester, I have gained so much knowledge in the ethics behind journalism. This class has showed me the importance of looking at events in different perspectives, which is very important in the field of journalism. In addition to that, I did not know that journalist had the option to publish or not to publish an article based on the content. Before taking this class, I simply thought if the article did not break any laws, it was going to be published. Overall, I thought this class did a great job at opening me up to new perspectives and allowed me to realize that there is sometimes not a single correct answer.
Like I mentioned earlier, before taking the class, I did not know that there was sometimes no correct answer on whether a journalist should publish an article or not. I was shocked to see that The Daily Mirror, an English publication company, published an article revealing a sexual assault victim’s name. When I first read this article, I did not think anything of it, for the article was well written and I thought names were supposed to be released to the public. However, after analyzing the article, I realized that by publishing it, the victim was placed into significant stress and actually put her in more danger than before. I thought this was very interesting because the company had every right to publish the names of everyone in their paper, except the ethical decision would of been not to publish this victim’s name. Journalist need to analyze each unique situation and decide for themselves if it is necessary to publish all the names, just a few, or none at all. Journalist have to make much more decisions than I originally believed.
By taking this class, I believe I have grown as an individual. For example, I now know the importance of looking at situations in different perspectives. I now ask myself many more questions when I’m about to make a decision. Some of these questions may be, will this effect the person in a negative way, who will be effected, or is it necessary to do this? Of course, I always thought about some of these things before I act, but this class showed me the importance of these simple questions and decisions. I will be forever grateful that I learned so much in this class, for I can apply it in my daily life.
Overall, Comm 409 has taught me many important life lessons. Before I began the class, I did not know I would take so much out of it. I thought this because many of my other classes do not have strong life lessons that I walk out with. Comm 409, however, changed my thought process, and I will be forever grateful. Thank you for everything, Dr. Z.