Law and Ethics
This category is more prominent than ever in the age of fake news claims and hostility toward the media. Not only do corroboration of quotes, stories and facts matter even more, but so is monitoring your bias. While I have not dealt with extremely biased sources, I have dealt with my own bias in editorials. All of these things fall under the umbrella of ethics.
Sit With Us Lunch
This story started out as just a brief about the PTSA helping some students make friends. It ended up being a major formative experience in my journalism journey. The club sponsors informed that while I was allowed to interview the student ambassadors, I could not interview the other students that the lunch was organized for to protect their identities. This was the first time I found myself in such a situation. Luckily, the story was still written, but the angle was changed to focus more on the event's origin rather than the impact it had on students. It taught me there could be some unwilling sources, but no story is worth breaking ethical code for.
2016 Election
This election, more than any I've encountered, highlighted the need for journalists to examine their bias and ethics. This was still when I was new to the newspaper staff, and as a new member, I hadn't wanted to address the "fire" that was the election as much as I wanted to add to it. However, after taking a step back and examining the effects of the media firestorm, I realized I wouldn't be making things any better if I just added to it. So, from that moment on, I made it a priority to not get caught up in sensationalism and stick to my ethics.
Insatiable
Another of ethical situation journalists need to examine is how to deal with a controversial subject. When I reviewed Netflix's "Insatiable," there was already outrage on social media calling it fat-shaming. However, this violates what I believe is an important ethical piece of being a journalist: Do your own research and present it in an objective manner. Don't let outside noise cloud your thoughts. You treat it as its own entity. So, I watched the show, and I found that the show wasn't bad because it was fat-shaming. It was bad because it was a bad show. Controversy has to be handled like any topic, with research and objectivity.