The essay (above) you just read ends with a series of questions. Given what you've learned thus far about ethics this semester, and your own personal experiences, what do you think the best answers to the questions are. Why? (In other words, does ethics have any utility? Is teaching it useful or dysfunctional?)
As always, your response is due on Sunday by 4 p.m.
Teaching Notes
You must become the flame on the candle. - Thich Nhat Hanh
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
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Is Media Ethics Education DOA?
It sounds like a joke Jay Leno would tell during his opening monologue on The Tonight Show. Hear about the graduate students at the prestigious journalism school? They got caught cheating on an ethics exam. Ha ha ha. Except that’s actually what happened at Columbia University
No one admitted cheating despite pressure from the school’s administrators and pleas from classmates, who feared the scandal would damage the market value of their degrees. Meanwhile, the teacher of the course, New York Times columnist Samuel G. Freedman, refused to comment. But if the disgruntled posts on RateMyProfessors.com are any indication, his students hadn’t exactly been soaking up knowledge. “Maybe he could e-mail his ‘speeches’ to the students instead of making everyone suffer through the most wasted class in j-school. . . ,” one read.
There’s an old cowboy saying that goes, “When your horse dies, get off.” Journalism ethics education is a dead horse. Or else those aren’t vultures circling in the sky.
No one admitted cheating despite pressure from the school’s administrators and pleas from classmates, who feared the scandal would damage the market value of their degrees. Meanwhile, the teacher of the course, New York Times columnist Samuel G. Freedman, refused to comment. But if the disgruntled posts on RateMyProfessors.com are any indication, his students hadn’t exactly been soaking up knowledge. “Maybe he could e-mail his ‘speeches’ to the students instead of making everyone suffer through the most wasted class in j-school. . . ,” one read.
There’s an old cowboy saying that goes, “When your horse dies, get off.” Journalism ethics education is a dead horse. Or else those aren’t vultures circling in the sky.
A Question for Socrates
The question of how ethics is learned, or even if it can be, is as old as Western philosophy. In Plato’s dialog Meno the title character asks, “Can you tell me, Socrates, whether virtue is acquired by teaching or by practice; or if neither by teaching nor practice, then whether it comes to man by nature, or in what other way?” Of course, Socrates, being Socrates, resists giving a definite answer. But we can’t. The sad fact is, students had better get an effective ethics education now or they may never.
Last summer I conducted an ethics workshop for some reporters and editors at the Poughkeepsie Journal, a small daily in upstate
But what I remember most is the air of defeat that clung to the staff as we sat on hard plastic chairs in the break room discussing the cases. I could hear in their voices the bitterness and cynicism of employees forced to follow corporate policies they despised. Recently, for example, the paper had started running display ads on the front page and section fronts, a much more grievous ethical lapse, their mumbled asides suggested, than anything the case studies might have to offer.
I don’t want my students to ever wear the gray, defeated expression I saw that day on the faces at the Journal. But given the downward direction in which the media are moving, and fast, how in the world can I prevent it from happening?
Teaching Media Ethics by Telling Stories
A friend of mine who teaches at a big Midwestern university recounts in class the events of her first week as a reporter for the Minneapolis Tribune. She was sent to Duluth to cover Democratic presidential candidate Hubert Humphrey on the campaign trail. When they were introduced, Humphrey vigorously shook her hand. “Oh yes, Susan,” he said, “I read your stuff all the time.” He couldn’t have read her stuff, though; she hadn’t written anything yet. “Just a few words,” she explains to her students, “but words that taught this fledging reporter a great lesson about pols and the little lies they tell.”
I usually find occasion during the semester to quote I. F. Stone’s dictum, “Every government is run by liars and thieves, and nothing they say should be believed,” to make the same point. But Susan’s story makes the point better. That’s because it has existential force. Her story vividly captures in a way a secondhand quote can’t the realities of a reporter’s life.
Some might think telling “war stories” is a waste of precious class time. I’ve a colleague who didn’t want to fall into the “trap” of regaling students with stories ad nauseam (“which, let’s face it, is easier than teaching or grading,” he said). So one semester he kept track. When he toted it all up at the end, he was surprised that he’d used less than an hour - out of 45 – talking about his newspaper experiences. And yet, he admitted, it was his stories that students seemed to remember most.
“Stories teach us how to live,” Daniel Taylor said in his essay, “The Ethical Implications of Storytelling.” What he meant was that stories preserve our experience for contemplation and evaluation. Although not all stories carry a heavy message, there’s an entire category of stories, so-called “exemplary tales,” that are told to convey a moral.
Our war stories are potentially just such tales. They can provide evidence, in ethicist John Barton’s words, of “how real human beings live through various crises and trials and remain human.” My colleague who kept tabs on his storytelling has described his stories as cautionary. Most, he said, deal with “screwups I learned from.”
But sometimes the storyteller and the audience can’t agree on what exactly the moral of a story is.
When Susan was a cub reporter on the Tribune, she interviewed the Beatles, who were on their second tour of the States. She got into their hotel room by dressing up as a waitress in an ugly, mustard-colored uniform and accompanying an actual room service waiter upstairs. Ringo took one look at her little plastic name tag – it read “Donna Brown” – and snorted, “What kind of name is that?” The waiter nudged her in the side. “Tell them what you real name is,” he urged. She did, as well as her reason for being there. Rather than throw her out, the Beatles politely answered her questions. They even let her phone for a photographer. The next day her story ran on the front page, with a photo of John sitting at a table and looking up at her and laughing as she poured coffee in his cup. She still has a glossy print of that photo somewhere.
Many of Susan’s students think she’s nuts for not having the photo hanging up in her office. They also think she’s nuts for saying she’d never participate in the same kind of stunt today. To her celebrity-struck students, disguising herself as a hotel waitress to get an interview with the Beatles seems soooo cool. They lose all sight of the fact that it wasn’t a story of vital public interest that demanded undercover methods.
Susan intends one lesson when she talks about her hard day’s night, but her students, living in a paparazzi-saturated culture, draw another. “It may be a lost cause,” she remarked to me.
Or maybe not. Negotiations over what the point of a story is can be part of the point of the story. In the process of negotiating, we test different interpretations, try out different themes. This is helpful. This is educational. Lawrence Kohlberg, the Harvard psychologist famous for his research on the stages of moral development, contended that “the teaching of virtue is the asking of questions. . . not the giving of answers.” Stories don’t necessarily have to yield clear moral rules to be of value. It’s enough sometimes if they just give us something to think about.
22 comments:
I agree that learning from stories and past experiences is effective in the classroom. A perfect example comes from Professor Good's current situation. We as students are experiencing along with Professor Good how a journalist is not showing compassion towards him and how readers are acting unethically towards him. We are witnessing the effects of how our future careers can affect those we feature and seek advice from as well as our future readers and consumers.
One interesting point in the article was when the author wrote about the ratemypofessors.com comments on a particular professor. The student wrote, " “Maybe he could e-mail his ‘speeches’ to the students instead of making everyone suffer through the most wasted class in j-school." I think this comment online was unethical because it defames the professor. As a journalist, the student should realize that whether they are anonymous or not, they should write ethically.
Additionally, I do not think that the professor can do more than present the information the best way he or she can. It's the students responsibility to listen. It helps when the professor adds comedy or stories or interactive elements, but ultimately, the student is responsible for paying attention.
On a personal level I'm happy that media ethics is a required course for journalism students. I think it serves a great purpose in that it exposes us to issues that I'm sure some of us have never even thought about. It helps illustrate a real truth about journalism, which puts the profession in perspective. Like Courtney, I also agree that learning from the past is an effective tool in the classroom. It goes along with the whole "show, don't tell" mentality, and I find it incredibly useful. I think that as writers we always need to remember that we have an obligation to telling the truth in a way that informs the reader without seeming spiteful or malicious
I think it is important to teach ethics to aspiring media professionals. Despite the fact that there are people in the world that judge their ethical behavior on varying scales, it is important to instruct young minds with the proper tools to make their own ethical decisions. Professor Good's situation is extremely unfortunate, but it only inspires me to act with the same regard and ethical mindset. Not everyone in the world grasp onto the same content or knowledge, but that does not make such content dysfunctional. That is the beauty of our world, ugly or not. Classes such as media ethics provide students with the proper historical content and protocols to decide how they want to make their future ethical or nonethical decisions. Without these tools, it seems sort of hopeless to think that we want professionals to enter the world with some chance to act in an ethical manner. For the people who seem to think they already act ethical, these classes may seem mundane but it still can be interesting to learn about other's way of reaching a decision. For those we have no real sense of how to make decisions, these classes could evidently change their future.
Throughout our life times and during our careers, we will make mistakes, mistakes that might impact others negatively but we learn from them. How could we learn from them though if we can't acknowledge they are mistakes? Those with an ethical foundation can make that distinction. So what I am trying to say is that it is still useful to teach ethics in classrooms. This does not mean that we as journalists and professionals will not slip up at least a little one time, but in order to prevent those slip-ups from becoming routine, ethics is needed. Journalists have an obligation to tell the truth to the public, but also have an obligation to respect sources and preserve the meaning and context of what they tell you. I mean after all, those who talk to journalists trust them to get their point across effectively. In Professor Good's case, the reporter took a snip of his quote and seemed to have placed it carelessly into the article and out of context. On the other end, readers have not been ethical in regards to Good's comments. It is ok that people will not agree with you, but an ethical and mature way to handle that is have a discussion, an intelligent exchange of ideas. In this case, the opposition used violence and scare tactics to get their point across- whatever that actually was. So in a world where people behave unethically and savagely, reporters might find themselves in a predicament, why should I behave as such if people respond unprofessionally? Well, ethics still has utility. Journalists must maintain ethical decisions and professionalism because if no one does, who will and who can you trust?
“Without systematic instruction in ethic, students would have no reference point to guide their practice of journalism except money and status.” I believe this quote perfectly sums up why ethics is important, particularly for students in our modern society.
Yes, the world is driven by “money and status”—newspapers and news-stations will more often (always) pick making money over being responsible journalists. In a world that is growing more and more shallow, I believe that people view ethics in the same way they view chivalry—nice and sweet at times, but antiquated. The trouble is, there are no shallow ethical dilemmas, and pretending that there are—or that ethical dilemmas are a thing of the past—is only going to help society crumble further. The world needs people, needs journalists, who are not afraid to give up a dollar in order to ensure that people know the truth, that the world’s ethical problems get solved fairly.
“A man without enemies is a man without character” sums up my point nicely. People are not used to hearing the hard truth, or making the hard decision—especially in today’s world, where ethics is slowly disappearing. In my opinion, that makes it a desperately needed commodity.
So to finally answer your question: give me the matches. Or better yet, get me some dynamite.
I personally love learning from discussion of stories and examples. I enjoyed the one P.R. class I took because we analyzed case studies often and learned from the mistakes of others, similar to what we do currently in media ethics. I agree with Vic that teaching through the examination of examples is more “show” versus “tell,” and is an effective way to make the information resonate, at least for me. And on that note, I think ethics is very useful to teach students. Yes, we all have some ethical guidelines instilled in us from a young age (the Judeo-Christina ‘Golden Rules’ come to mind) but when it comes to dealing with the media, what we learn from an ethics class is sometimes the one thing that keeps us from either A) grappling for an answer and hoping we piss off the least amount of people as possible, or B) Doing whatever makes our wallets happy or puts us in good standing for a promotion.
Dr. Good’s recent situation taught me how important it is to, as a journalist, have respect for your source. Though the reporter’s allegiance must obviously be to the readers, they must act ethical when choosing how they will depict their source. The source is oftentimes the lifeline or backbone of the story. The journalist who interviewed Dr. Good took his quote out of context, and he probably didn’t think twice about how to carve up the quote because he assumed simply quoting Dr. Good word for word was being ethical. But as we have all seen, that was not the case. This unfortunate incident has helped instill in me respect for the source. You can’t compromise a story for the source, but you shouldn’t have to compromise a source for the story either. Not if you’re acting ethically.
I think, that as with the nature of ethics, that these questions are themselves a part of the subject. Is it ethical to teach media ethics to young students of the media? I believe the answer is yes and my reason is that in dealing with the media, there will inevitably be a lot of strong reactions and many opinions on the matters involved as well as the very act of the publications themselves, and an upcoming media professional should be exposed to these sorts of things as a part of the training. Though Professor Good's situation is obviously incredibly unfortunate, it makes for a great lesson for media students as it is a real situation that we have the opportunity to experience with the person it is happening to. We are being taught on the side of the individual who believes in free speech and non-violence, but there are people out there who use violence and other sorts of intimidating action as a means to seeing what they want done to be accomplished. This is a key example of a great struggle of media ethics and how it will in it's nature continue to be a struggle. It is theoretical that if we all agreed on non-violence and free speech, that we may take a "higher path of intellectualism" but the temptation to take drastic measures of violence will always be there, and that is because it works. I believe that practicing ethics will aim to teach us how to walk that line as successfully possible, and without professors and programs to demonstrate the importance of this, young media professionals will not properly conduct themselves in accomplishing their goals.
I think, that as with the nature of ethics, that these questions are themselves a part of the subject. Is it ethical to teach media ethics to young students of the media? I believe the answer is yes and my reason is that in dealing with the media, there will inevitably be a lot of strong reactions and many opinions on the matters involved as well as the very act of the publications themselves, and an upcoming media professional should be exposed to these sorts of things as a part of the training. Though Professor Good's situation is obviously incredibly unfortunate, it makes for a great lesson for media students as it is a real situation that we have the opportunity to experience with the person it is happening to. We are being taught on the side of the individual who believes in free speech and non-violence, but there are people out there who use violence and other sorts of intimidating action as a means to seeing what they want done to be accomplished. This is a key example of a great struggle of media ethics and how it will in it's nature continue to be a struggle. It is theoretical that if we all agreed on non-violence and free speech, that we may take a "higher path of intellectualism" but the temptation to take drastic measures of violence will always be there, and that is because it works. I believe that practicing ethics will aim to teach us how to walk that line as successfully possible, and without professors and programs to demonstrate the importance of this, young media professionals will not properly conduct themselves in accomplishing their goals.
When I first entered media ethics, I was not sure what to expect. Based on my friend's experiences with ethics classes, I always assumed media ethics would be a course dedicated to law. However, now that I've been an ethics student for the last month, I realize exactly how important it is for young journalists to be ethically trained. We live in a world of technology. Movies and television shows desensitize us to graphic images and crude language; the internet exposes us to just about everything else. Our cameras and phones allow us to capture every detail of a situation as it folds and the information highway allows us to send these images and stories to any corner of the world in a matter of minutes. At the 2010s continue, we possess more possibilities than ever before. However, just because we're able to post a graphic video on the homepage of a newspaper's website doesn't mean we should. Media ethics reels us in. It allows us to take a step back and look at the whole picture without loosing our human touch to the cold, hard detachment of technology. We should have a reference point before we're thrown into the chaotic world and ethics keep us grounded. Though many people will not abide to these standards, we will be able to rest peacefully at night without having to answer to a guilty conscience. Likewise, we will be prepared for some of the unethical shenanigans our peers may engage in.
I also agree with some of the other responses to this post. Learning from past stories in the classroom is always extremely effective in my opinion. Students can grasp the material better when given an example that is interesting. Given the unfortunate situation with Professor Good, it is teaching me that ethics and the right to freedom of speech is important. While some may not agree, and don’t like hearing the truth on certain matters, maybe that’s because they were not given the opportunity to learn about ethics and the historical backgrounds of ethics. Everyone in this world makes mistakes, we are human, and that is how we learn new things every day. Ethics is very important, because we use ethics almost every day. Ethics is a broad term, but in the journalist world it is a quality that they try to obtain the best to their ability. Being able to take a class on ethics is important because we too might want to be a journalist one day and we need to have this quality. We also need to be aware of the media, and just how strong media sometimes can be. From graphic pictures and videos, to a story, it is still a great opportunity to have a class about this so we can learn firsthand what to expect in the journalistic real world later.
Ethics, in any subject, is one of the most important things a person can consider in making decisions. It is truly heartbreaking to see over and over in class how these guidelines are stretched to their limits and even blatantly disregarded. I guess that's what happens when you don't have structured rules and laws. However, I think removing ethics classes from any University curriculum would be a terrible mistake. I really like your analogy at the end : Is my first obligation to my students to keep them supplied with matches? Or is it to prepare them to live and work in the dark?" I think your obligation is to do both. You must equip your students with all the information, or "matches", that they need to get by, but you also need to show them what it's like in the dark. You must show them that they are going to face ethical decisions every single day and if their editors are pushing them to do something that isn't right, they should be equipped with the confidence to back away from whatever that news organization is, even if its like the New York Times. As a student in your ethics class, I have realized how desensitized I was. Last year, in J1, you showed us a picture of the ambassador which was on the homepage of the Times, I believe. It didn't even hit me how unethical that photo could have been until we looked again a few weeks ago. Now, I know what to look for. I realize that these types of photos or videos really could be an invasion of someone's privacy. In another situation, we see how the giving of an opinion on a strong subject can backlash our perfect little bubble of a society into hell and back. Your current situation is more than appalling to me. I cannot understand how people are wasting so much time trying to intimidate YOU, the opinion giver, not the writing, not the power holder, but YOU the ethics professor at SUNY New Paltz. Don't these people have jobs??? Don't they have families or lives to attend to?? God, humanity can be absolutely nauseating. (sorry for the rant, but bringing it back) To tie everything together, if classes like your ethics class didn't exist, if students weren't given the tools to at least try to make ethical decisions, our whole generation would collapse into morbid images and harassment. Thank you so much for being the professor of such a taxing, yet absolutely necessary, class. Especially in your hard times.
As journalism/communication and media students, I think it's extremely important that we learn about ethics. Without ethics, we would not know the guidelines to which we are allowed to write about information. Although we live in a county of 'free speech,' it seems that guidelines are extremely important so that we do not run into situations as Professor Good did. In this world of instant-access information, anyone can find where we live and can threaten our lives over what we have published. Following ethical guidelines can prevent us from writing things that may be offensive to certain people. Ethical models make us think more about what is appropriate to send out to the public. They make us pay more attention to the mindset of others.
I think that media ethics allows students to be more analytical and flexible in their thinking. Any subject that can do so is a utility worth investing in. I do, however, believe that the approach can make all the difference. Professionals have to consider how they can gain student commitment rather than compliance to making ethical decisions. Story telling is a tool that helps me learn and connect with my studies better because it encourages me to think more thoroughly about situations and events rather than being stuck in what I think is true. The other day in class while Dr. Good was talking about advice he was giving a former student, he turned to us and said "I really don't know anything." I thought about that comment during class and realized we actually don't know anything. I think that accepting this way of thinking allows us to better analyze decisions in this field because what we think we know is always subject to change. If that message can get across to more students and more professionals we would probably have more credible people in the field. The challenge I see with teaching media ethics is trying to use it as a way to change the media world. Chapter two of our book quotes the different approaches that media scholars and activists propose for changing the current media world-outside of teaching media ethics. This includes, for example, a team-oriented newsroom that doesn't encourage competitiveness or a fight for exposure. I think that these kind of proposals along side a strong, successful media ethics education, would better foster more ethical decision-making. Overall, whether the goal is to empower students to think more analytically, or to encourage them to change the media world, Media Ethics is a strong utility.
I agree that journalism students should be required to take an ethics course as a part of their curriculum to give them a blueprint of ethical and non-ethical behaviors within their work and professional interactions. Honestly, I believe that every student under every major should be enrolled in an ethics course. Maybe as early as middle/high school. Clearly, judging from the reactions Professor Good has been recieving, a standard of ethics has never been instilled in some people, and they would rather dwell in negativity and bully around their opinion as truth, lashing out at any opposition. It is extremely frustrating to know that people are still so intolerant to others beliefs or opinions, that they must react in such immature, hurtful ways. Maybe if more people were given those matches, and weren't molded and dumbed down by the mind-numbing content on television, music, movies, etc, we would exist in a much more positive, respectful culture. This real-life example that Prof. Good is currently experiencing is allowing me to witness the seperations of both ethical, and non-ethical behaviors. Personally, I find it more helpful to see an example of something to fully grasp a concept. The whole situation really paints a picture of desireable behavior compared to mud-slinging, unethical behavior. Obviously, certain stances on certain subjects may make different impacts depending on one's beliefs/character. But to know how to react is something that our culture needs to start working on. Everyone is different. An advocate for ethical behavior should be tolerant to those different than him/herself, even when taking a solid stance on such a polarizing subject. I believe it is important to continue teaching these behaviors, because if more people were well-versed in ethics and tolerance, we could begin to use intellect to dissolve our differences, rather than justifying beliefs through bravado, and fear-mongering.
In my mind these questions echo with the old adage that "Ignorance is bliss." To be ignorant to issues of ethics in the media, or to be ignorant of any such issue, is to be a part of the problem itself. While you are unaware that you're doing wrong, wrong is still being done. I believe it is always better to be aware of these issues, and to be a part of a concerted effort to solve or correct the issues at hand.
It's tragic that many times being aware and opposed to these issues can make you an outcast. In that way, yes, it might serve against you to be privy to these questions. However, I think history has shown us that those who can do something to help a problem are responsible for taking action.
With each mind that is given the tools to address ethical issues within their professional environment, the residing regimes of disreputable reporting will be chiseled away. Even if this initially is a hindrance on their careers, with luck, this will inspire a generation of entrepreneurial journalists who will stick to their convictions, start their own companies, and change the entire field for the better.
Considering our DNA make-up, and bringing up the nature vs. nurture, I have to believe that majority of what we make decisions based upon is decided and ingrained in us during one’s childhood. Of course there have been various studies done to label theories as to why one would make an ethical decision, but again those are theories. Taking the class, I find it interesting to learn the psychology behind decisions, but overall I believe no one can be swayed after a certain point in life. For instance, if we were able to teach and control ethics, would we still have to take this class for we would already know the decision that needed to be made. While your taking the class and it is fresh and forward in your mind, this may cause you to stop and think and analyze, but wont the reminder of “ethics” is out of your forefront, most decisions will be made on a whim. As for the teachers, as they preach about journalists being biased or nonbiased, professors must remain unbiased as well, which is a difficult task when most ethical decisions are made upon ones own opinions, therefore finding the balance id imagine would be tricky.
I definitely see utility in teaching ethics—not only for aspiring journalists and media professionals, but for everyone still interested in doing the quote-on-quote right thing, consistently. To me, ethics seem to be one of those things that should just be important; without ethical standards of behavior, I don’t think humans could have accomplished as much as they have. I also don’t think that teaching ethics takes anything away from a subject that might ideally be ingrained in us. If we stop teaching ethics—whether or not the people really care about learning or have to, based on some other convention—we instead allow an ungenerous world to be the inevitable destination for students and teachers alike. There will always be people who don’t want the matches, but it’s important to not stop handing them out.
Students studying any subject related to the media should take an ethics class. Many, especially young, people tend to believe that whatever they perceive to be correct is, in fact, correct. It is important to hear about professionals’ experiences in their area of expertise because they have managed to overcome whatever hardships they have been faced with, so far. I believe learning by discussing stories and examples is effective because they do not only explain what happened, but also how or why things happened. It gives support to a statement, or facts to an opinion. People are more likely to understand the lesson given and apply it in a situational environment rather than be told something and be expected to believe it for what it is at face value. No two people encounter exactly the same events, so the more well-rounded a person is by hearing many stories, the more prepared they will be to face, on their own, events similar to those they heard about. A real-life example, such as the unfortunate related to Professor Good, gravely impacts his students because it is happening in the present and to someone familiar to them. By explaining the story to his students, they become aware of the dangers of improper ethical behavior in the media and how these ethical misbehaviors can directly affect a person’s entire life.
Ethics are the rules that we accept in our lives to make decisions. These rules are the values we hold important in our minds, and therefore we make decisions based on what we find valuable in our lives. Because of this, I feel that it is extremely important for not just media professionals, but everyone, to learn about ethics, because we all used ethics in our daily lives to weigh out our decisions. I do feel that media professionals most definitely need to learn about ethics more than others in different professions though, because their decisions do not only effect them. When a media professional decides to post a picture, or a video, like we have discussed in class, the picture can harm the public, instead of help them like it was intended to do. I feel that media professionals walk a very fine line between what is acceptable to post, and what isn’t. And it is extremely hard for media professionals in particular, because as humans, we all have different values and ethical ways of thinking, so one person could find something ethical, while others won’t. Because of this, being knowledgeable of ethics is crucial for this profession, but doesn’t make the issue of ethics any less difficult. I feel that even if you know all there is to know about ethics, which obviously is impossible, you still can be wary about what is appropriate and ethical to post because there are billions of people in this world, many who do not share the same ethics as you.
I think that all individuals who choose a career in media, whether it be journalism, media management, film production or any other field, should be required to take a course in media ethics like this one where they are given the necessary tools to learn how to handle situations that may tempt them to forgo their integrity. Just because some publications, readers or reporters disregard ethics as it pertains to quoting sources, retaining information that conflicts with their personal beliefs, or publishing seemingly personal information, doesn't mean that we should all follow in those unscrupulous footsteps. This class, and what it teaches, is controversial, but that's exactly why it's necessary. It forces us as future workers in the media field to think and consider what ethical decisions we would make if we were in the same situation as you or other journalists. The road will not be easy for us, especially as our political beliefs differ, and as this country seeks to improve its citizens' quality of life by passing or repealing laws on nationally controversial issues. Just because these issues exist for our nation, and subsequently for us, doesn't mean that we should forgo all integrity and think before speaking, or worse off, not speak at all. We just need to be better educated on a case by case basis about what our choices, and more importantly, our consequences, are. Long story short, yes, this field is chock full of dishonesty. It is littered with reporters who take what sources say out-of-context, publish personal content and have little to no regard for respecting themselves or the publication they represent. But for every dishonest journalist, there is a classroom full of students breaking into the field who want to make an honest living, uncovering the truth in a way that comforts the afflicted and afflicts the comforted. We are the journalists of the future, and we need this class and this knowledge to ensure that we live up to our potential.
I do believe that ethics education is still useful in our society. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines utilitarianism as “a doctrine that the useful is the good and that the determining consideration of right conduct should be the usefulness of its consequences.” If what is useful is good, it should follow that what is right and good has utility. This definition also implies that ethical decisions should be made based on the idea that the best option is the one that is useful (beneficial) to the most people.
The noticeable trend towards narcissistic attitudes and self-justifying behaviors in our society means that it is more important now than ever to teach ethics to undergraduates poised to enter the professional world. Whatever instinctual inclination toward compassion for others and selflessness is quickly becoming obsolete as our Facebooks, Twitters, and personal blogs reinforce our sense of self-absorption. Without ethics education, individuals whose main priorities are furthering their professional reputations, and their financial priorities, will dominate the press.
It is impossible for the general public to make informed, socially conscious decisions unless people are receiving the most ethically sound information regarding important issues. This is why ethics is central to a complete education in any professional discipline, particularly for students of journalism. Even those of us in the public relations concentration (which is often denigrated as a lighter, ”fluffier” profession where lying is acceptable – it’s not) are mandated to take Media Ethics as a required course. Obviously, a topic that has so much power to either make or break the quality of public discourse should not be an elective or an “add-on.”
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