The Class That Created a Passion - Journalism Law & Ethics

When I read the agenda before our class meeting time, I remember sitting at my desk nearly 15 minutes before the scheduled time, anxiously waiting for Iowa Supreme Court Justice Susan Christensen. If you had told me five years ago that I would be interested in a Journalism Law and Ethics class, I would have laughed in your face and walked away. Today though, I am interested, I am learning, and I am meeting important people who move mountains with the power they possess. I am involved and taking the time to learn about correct ethics, what can and cannot be disclosed when reporting and more importantly, I am engaged in material and content. I sat and listened to how inspiring Christensen was. Starting from her background in small-town Iowa to her dedication and grit to finish law school while juggling the task of being a mother. After hearing Justice Christensen say, “succeed on purpose by working hard", I took a second look at my career path and contemplated looking more towards law. Without this class or Justice Christensen, I would not have even thought about that as an option for me.

Journalism Law and Ethics taught me a lot about how to cover court cases, the ethics used by journalists, certain laws, and rights that people have, but it also taught me one of the most valuable lessons which is to keep digging. Throughout this course, we have examined multiple court cases that have either a huge significance on life today or have impacted other laws in big ways. Without the drive to continue digging through course material from previous lectures, other court cases, or simply just learning what certain words meant, I would not have succeeded. Starting from the beginning of the course work through the very end and the final presentation, I used each lecture to expand my knowledge going into the next.

As I learned quickly throughout the course, the news doesn’t wait for anything or anyone. The storming of the Capitol Building happened at the very beginning of our semester. With this being such a recent and relevant event, it was easy to start and research it as research is a required task of a journalist. Having an event as large as this one made the daunting task of covering the story much easier. Since this was the first real assignment thrown our way, there wasn’t much time to ease into the fine details of journalism which I enjoyed because it allowed me to write a story exactly like I would and get actual feedback. It seemed like a test for both the United States and the students in the Journalism Law and Ethics class. Being able to do my best and write without much guidance leading up to that first assignment helped my confidence and carried me through the class.

David O’Brien explained his role as a civil rights attorney and showed his true passion for helping people. He compared his career and salary to that of a professional golfer, “I get paid if I win, if I lose, I get nothing, I’m like a professional golfer.” Most importantly, he left us with the thought that all young people in America should hear, “If you think the government is horrible when you look in the mirror tomorrow morning, you’re looking at the government. Go do something about it...make your voice heard, it’s a democracy.” This quote stuck with me only because I had not participated in a lot of my basic duties as a citizen but when he said this, I realized how much I had been missing and the injustice that I was doing to my country by not participating.

“Youth should have a say about your lives. When one of you is cheated, everyone is cheated”, said Mary Beth Tinker in our mock press conference. Going along with what O’Brien said about youth and having actual power, Tinker only wants the best for us. Without her stating this, I didn’t realize that change needed to start with me. She brought her concerns to the supreme court as a teenager and if that doesn’t show dedication to changing the wrongdoings in America, then I don’t know what does. She also reminded us, “there are limits to rights, but they are still our rights” and with that, we need to remember to fulfill our rights and do our civil duties as American citizens.

One of the most enjoyable blog posts required for this class was when we chose a movie that showcased Journalism and wrote a piece on it. I chose Spotlight after many classmates talked highly of it and I had never seen it before. Many of the movies that are usually assigned to students aren’t very well produced or just plain boring, but Spotlight is my favorite movie and since I had watched it for class, I’ve watched it four other times. I’ve also made all my roommates watch it. In my story covering Spotlight, I mentioned my favorite quote from the movie. It’s when Mike is ready to put out the story because of how invested he has gotten into the lives of the people affected and for the fear that other competitors would send out a faulty story before them, ruining their hard work, a common problem that journalists face. “It's time, Robby! It's time! They knew and they let it happen! To kids! Okay? It could have been you; it could have been me; it could have been any of us. We gotta nail these scumbags! We gotta show people that nobody can get away with this; not a priest, or a cardinal, or a freaking pope!” The movie was emotional itself but as Mike showed his feelings towards what had happened, you could see how passionate he was to be a journalist, how much he loved his job, and what he wanted to do for those affected. This movie showed me what a passionate journalist looks like as well as the day-to-day life of a hardworking individual.

The final presentation that we were assigned was the perfect assignment to display all knowledge learned and taken away from this course, from beginning to very end. In all presentations, it was clear that multiple court cases had been used to examine and study the court case at hand. It showed me the true relevance of all court cases and why they are so important. They are all still used to investigate current events.

As I only touched on a couple of specific events and assignments over the semester, every blog post and lecture added to my knowledge in law and ethics. Aside from law and ethics, I learned life lessons from Mary Beth Tinker prompting us to stand up for what we believe in, to Justice Christensen telling us, “don’t let your job own your soul, learn to balance” to DA Aaron Hawbaker who quotes Caddyshack. All the people we interviewed and met had something impactful about their job and their biggest lesson learned in life. DA Hawbaker’s, “the world needs ditch diggers too”, explains that there may be jobs that aren’t the prettiest or the most exciting but for life to go on, it needs to be done. That’s what this class encompassed, we looked at the good and the bad, the pretty and the ugly but without learning about the ethics and the laws that can sometimes be redundant, we wouldn’t be able to continue our education being ethical journalism students.