DEVELOPING ETHICAL APPROACHES TO REPORTING FOREIGN NEWS

Prepared by: Christopher Karadjov Associate Professor Department of Journalism and Mass Communication California State University, Long Beach ©2012

 A capstone, interdisciplinary, general education class  Typical enrollment: 40 students in 2-3 sections per semester  Usually, 30-40% are not journalism majors  Lecture format with 4,000 words minimum writing requirement over the semester  In-class and online (BeachBoard) discussions play a substantial role

 Current format of JOUR312I is overly U.S. specific  Students must be put in situations that challenge their critical thinking in foreign situations  Developing multicultural sensitivity is of paramount importance not only for reporters, but for anyone involved in interactions abroad

 Developing news-based scenarios for students to use in classroom setting  Asking students to read all relevant materials prior to the exercise  Assigning students randomly to groups of “reporters” and “sources”  The rest of the class is observing  Conducting reporter-source interactions as appropriate (20-30 min.)  Debriefing (20-30 min.)

 Scenarios should be drafted based on news- driven situations that require students to read up on the current events; currency will ensure the freshness of the exercise  The instructor maintains detachment during the interaction between “reporters” and “sources” – students are allowed to make their own decisions throughout  Comments and criticism are offered during debriefing after the completion of each scenario

 Student reporters take notes and make any other appropriate recordings of the interaction  “Reporters” will have to explain the rationale for their actions and questions in debriefing  “Sources” will be asked to be attentive to their treatment by “reporters”  The main objective of the exercise is to maximize the amount of information elicited during interviews, while maintaining ethical treatment of sources

 Military conflict/action: Issues of embedding, relations with troops, secrecy, safety  Terrorist acts: Ethical treatment of victims  Disaster: Relating to victims, problem-solving of ethical issues  Protests: Navigating a complex ethical terrain, esp. if the protest is against the United States  Covering daily life: Maintaining proper distance from sources and showing cultural sensitivity

 Ethical reporting requires finding the balance between intrusiveness and restraint  Must know the background of the location  Prepare to expect unexpected situations and requests  Prepare to face adversity  Maintain professional detachment while exercising empathy as appropriate  First do no harm!

 No story is worth risking someone’s life, health or causing humiliation/community issues  Reporters are professionals on a mission to inform and educate their audiences  Reporters should state clearly their purpose and impartiality  Reporters should offer help in situations that require assistance in saving life or health of sources

 Special attention during exercise and debriefing should be paid to the use of visuals and other multimedia sources  Students must be sensitized to visual ethics (including those concerning U.S. audiences) and to particular cultural sensitivities of the sources in the scenario  Students are expected to prepare themselves for maximizing the use of multimedia while solving potential ethical problems

 Guidelines will help instructors create appropriate settings while leaving room for creativity  JOUR312I students will practice ethical decision making under several scenarios  Students must be taken out of their comfort zone and confront realistic situations while in the safety of the classroom  Reflections during debriefing are crucial to conceptualizing ethical decision making