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This assignment is due Monday February 05, 2018 by 11pm PST. You must simple supply a response to each file. There are six files attached in all.
ChristinaPeacock
ThursdayFeb 1 at 4:32pm
Manage Discussion Entry
As a reporter for the Town Times I have an obligation to my audience to report all factual information. After speaking with the suspect’s sister I have another side of the story to report, as far as allowing the audience to find out more about the suspect. If this was a non-violent crime, I would not reveal my sources. However, considering the guard was shot during this bank robbery, withholding information about his whereabouts could be a danger to the general public. According to Jacquette, “ If not all journalists are virtuous friends in Aristotle’s sense, then we, together with the worldwide community of journalists, have no choice but to bring offenders before the law and to impose other kinds of restrictions on and corrections to their actions”. Although, the sister has trusted me with this information as a journalist, I am a citizen first. Which means that this information must be given to the authorities. By telling the authorities, I am assuring that the public is safe and his sister also. She may not realize that by withholding information she could be considered as a accessory to the crime, so relaying this information to the authorities would be beneficial to her as well. After giving the authorities the tip, I would write an article giving further insight on the criminal but I would withhold my sources. I would withhold her name so her name isn’t connected to the crime. I think it would be beneficial to her in the future if she isn’t associated with the crimes committed by her brother.
References:
Jacquette, D.(2007)Journalistic Ethics:Moral Responsiblity in the media.Upper Saddle River,New Jersey.Pearson Education
Christina
Peacock
ThursdayFeb 1 at 5:08pm
Manage Discussion Entry
Although every couple should have the luxury to keep their issues private, as celebrities this luxury is no longer available. Celebrities are humans, however to the public they are placed on a higher pedestal. With, any time these celebrities are knocked off that “pedestal” it is a story that almost every consumer wants to know about. Tiger Woods has always maintained a clean reputation and not to mention could be considered one of the best golf players of our time. So, when it was reported that he had gotten into an accident, of course the public would be concerned for his wellbeing. That is until the rest of the story reveals his wife was chasing him with a golf club, which is probably the reason he wrecked the vehicle. Although infidelity is a common story that’s told about couples, it’s not a story that the public would believe about the star athlete. When it comes to journalism controversy will always be a great story but knowing that these seemingly “perfect” celebrities have similar issues just like the “regular” people it will always be a top story. As journalist, our priority is the public. So, if the public is interested, it’s our job to not only report about it but to also get to the root of the story. Unfortunately, the root of his accident, could have been running from a heartbroken wife. As a celebrity the hardest task to do, is to protect their privacy, but that comes with the “job”. They are celebrities because they are known for their skills or in some cases just their names. For whatever the reason, the public are obsessed with celebrities, whether that be in the best of times or the worse. I think it was only right that the public was made aware of what was really going on behind this “perfect athlete and his perfect life”.
References:
“Tiger Woods’ 5 years of scandal and misery since infamous crash”
Retrieved from: https://nypost.com/2014/11/26/tiger-woods-5-years-of-scandal-and-misery-since-infamous-crash/ (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
Christina
Nathaniel Searl
WednesdayJan 31 at 1:33am
Manage Discussion Entry
As a reporter covering a story for the Town Times, one of my top priorities is keeping my sources confidential and secure. In the case of an armed robbery that resulted in a shooting, however, I think it is paramount that the criminal is brought in, as he is clearly a danger to society. After interviewing the suspect’s sister, I would report the information I gathered to the police. I would attempt to avoid revealing that the source of the information was from the suspect’s sister if possible, to protect her identity. If it was mandatory that I revealed this information, however, I believe it would be the morally correct choice to do so. This would probably be the case because the police would want to interrogate her on the suspect’s location.
The main reason I would choose to reveal this information to the police is because the sister is not entirely innocent herself. She clearly knows that he did something illegal and is in hiding after doing so. She may not be a direct accomplice to the crime, but she knew that it happened and was attempting to cover for him. I think that if her safety or reputation is in question over this, then that is something she needed to prepare for when covering up for a criminal. Someone should not have knowledge of a crime as big as this and keep that information secret, and then attempt to ensure that he escapes, even if he is family. While I would still try to keep her identity private throughout the investigation, if revealing the source of the information was an absolute necessity, I would not hesitate to reveal her identity.
Sources:
Jacquette, D. (2007). Journalistic ethics: Moral responsibility in the media. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education, Inc.
Nathaniel Searl
ThursdayFeb 1 at 1:18am
Manage Discussion Entry
It is hard for me to determine whether the media was right to intrude in Tiger Woods’s privacy. To determine whether to intrude on someone’s privacy as a journalist, we should use the golden rule (Jacquette, 2007). It is difficult for me to use the golden rule here because I can never see myself in a situation where I cheat on my wife. I don’t think that the media was wrong for doing this necessarily, however, because I view what Tiger did as something very wrong that the public has a right to know about. If Tiger Woods didn’t want negative publicity from the media, he should not have committed adultery in the first place. As a celebrity, he must know that journalists will take advantage of any mistake made.
As a journalist with my own financial interests in mind, I find it hard to say that I could turn down an opportunity like a famous actor going to the emergency room in my county. While this is an invasion of privacy, when I use the golden rule here, I don’t think it would bother me if the media found out I was injured, as they are bound to find out when I’m wearing a cast for the next few months. While parading into the emergency room may not be very polite, it’s probably the only chance I’d get to get such a story. Mr. Rittenberg does not seem to be in a life-threatening situation here, so I think that getting the first scoop on this story would be a great career opportunity, and I don’t think that it is ethically wrong enough to make me pass the opportunity up.
Source:
Jacquette, D. (2007). Journalistic ethics: Moral responsibility in the media. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education, Inc.
Michael Angelo
Michael Angelo
FridayFeb 2 at 2:27pm
Manage Discussion Entry
Nathaniel,
I strongly believe that the service of a journalist toward that of the general public, audience, and community or society as a whole as well as their dedication are very critical and important in relation to exactly how they perform and the choices or decisions in which they make or choose to make. This can outweigh the need to protect sources in some cases and this is typically seen in criminal investigations and claims towards that of a person acting immorally or unethically. I absolutely agree that being scared is a very strong reason in which she may have chosen not to go to the police. Her making the specific statement that she had known where he was ultimately had been a serious mistake on her part as this had put her at risk of serious negative and legal actions or repercussions if she had chosen not to speak any further about his location. I also absolutely believe and agree that news reporters protecting themselves and their career is a very critical and important aspect. There are ultimately some very serious and challenging choices and decisions in which a journalist must face, take on, and make on a regular or daily basis. It is quite likely that she would want what was best for her brother and she had then been faced with confessing her knowledgeable information or keeping quiet about it. This is ultimately related to her judgement of what was best for him. I strongly believe that calming her down and getting her to speak or talk freely and openly is key here.
Reference
Jacquette, Dale. (2207). Journalistic Ethics: Moral Responsibility in the Media. Pearson Learning Solutions. VitalBook
Michael Angelo
Michael Angelo
FridayFeb 2 at 2:35pm
Manage Discussion Entry
Nathaniel,
Consider, as you did, Ronald Rittenberg, a big-time actor who lives his life in the public eye. However, celebrity or not he still bleeds red, meaning we are all the same.
An anonymous source calls to inform me that he is in my local county hospital with a possible broken foot. I’m now faced with the option to send a reporter there for a story or to let him be. I for one can say that when I am not feeling well, the last thing I want is to be harassed at my home, let alone a hospital. Everyone deserves some form of privacy, even celebrities.
As a journalist, it is my job to be fair and invading someone’s privacy for a story on the actors possible broken ankle is not that. “The right to privacy is morally justified as: the foundation and protection of individual freedom; a presupposition of respect for persons as morally valuable ends in themselves, and a requirement for personal happiness and avoidance of anxiety and discomfort” (Jacquette, 2007).
This does not mean I wouldn’t interview him or send someone else to do so; it just means I do not need to ambush an individual who is in his right to have privacy. “The newspaper should uphold the right of free speech and freedom of the press and should respect the individual’s right to privacy” (Jacquette, 2007).
There are other means of getting this story, which may include contacting the local hospital to be sure he is even in the ER or checked into the local hospital. For all we know, someone could have just been playing a prank or falsely giving out information.
This kind of work reminds me of TMZ, which mainly focuses on celebrity news. They receive a lot of backlashes because they do not always, if at all, follow journalism code.
As an editor for XYZ Television, I would not want that type of backlash for my journalists or news outlet, so I would give him the privacy he deserves and then have someone confront him when he is up to it.
Another alternative would be a phone interview, which could form a story without invading his rights. This process could also help the news outlet because others will see the level of professionalism and respect we carry.
As for Tiger Woods, I am not going to lie. I like hearing stories of these celebrities.
Our society puts these famous people on a pedestal. So when stories like the Tiger Woods circa 2009 come around, I feel it’s a nice reminder that these people aren’t picture perfect and are human just like you and I.
With that being said, most people expect these people to be perfect, and when they are not, unfortunately people like Tiger Woods are judged harshly. Of course infidelity is not ideal, but in cases such as these news articles, tabloid articles, whatever you want to call them, push the public to judge celebrities more than they would judge a neighbor or friend.
So from a fan of scandal, it may be okay for the media to post these stories. But from a personal stand point? The line may be grayed ever so slightly. If the accusations for this sex scandal were true, we have absolutely every right to report the news. Report the truth, and nothing but the truth (So help me, God. Joke.).
