Telling the truth

I always wanted to work in the communication world. First I studied advertising, and I liked it. I started to work like copywriter for an Advertising Agency, and I never thought about ethical scenarios at that time. I wrote slogan, scripts , storyboard about that product or those companies, without any regard or moral conflict. Then I had the chance to start to study my real passion, journalism. After 5 years in college, and even before my graduation, I started to work like reporter, photographer, and producer in different types of media such as television, news Web sites and newspapers.  At that moment I realized about how powerful could be media, also some teachers told us about our responsibility, for been guardians of the truth. But what truth.

I never had a real dilemma or ethical scenario until a few weeks ago. It was not a wikileaks case or a Pentagon secret, but certainty that put me in a difficult situation.

I heard about one worker who was fired for a furniture store, and the owner never paid her some money.   I read about that case in the news and I started to try to talk with that person. Also I did some research about the store. For me surprise that business was a client of the newspaper where I was trying to work and do my internship. I talked about that case with  the news editor, and after one minute he told that I should not do that story because we did not know if the worker was saying the truth and the newspaper could face a lawsuit.

I didn’t write the story. Until now I think that the real reason of the advice of my editor was because the store is a client (they buy ad to the newspaper). However, I didn´t know if that worker was telling the truth. Also I could lost the opportunity of do my internship in that paper.  I don’t feel 100 % happy about my decision, but I think that even if I had written the story, the newspaper probably would not have published it.  

Inmigrant worker denied pay check

 

I studied about ethic in high school and also throughout my associate and bachelor in college. But if learned something about taking tough decision is that any dilemma has a black and white answer.  I really enjoyed read the first chapter of Media Ethics Issues & Cases by Patterson and Wilkins. I learned that ethics decision is not just about follow a set of rules, it´s more about built skills to analyze any difficult case that we, like communicators, could face down the line throughout our professional career.

I would like to discuss in class about current cases of ethical decision. Not just big cases, like the wikileaks that is a really big deal right now. Perhaps I would love to talk about those scenarios that we really will face in a newspaper, TV station, Public relation agency, and so on.  For instance, do a public discussion like Sissela Bok propose in her book, Lying, Moral Choice in Public and Private Life.  I agree with her about the idea that we must have empathy for the people involved in ethical decisions. It’s a really hard task, and you always going to receive critics by some party involve.