COMM 491

Final Ethics
PowerPoint.
Spring 2022.
B Y: E T H A N E L L I OT T
Case 4-B, Situation
• This case discusses several reporters who decided to
intervene and help those in need during a crisis. For
example, the case discussed how several members of a
CNN crew once helped an elderly man pull his wife and
daughter out of their home in the aftermath of Hurricane
Harvey.
• Ethical Issue: Should reporters focus solely on collecting
and reporting information, or should they also intervene
and help those in need?
 Professional Values
• While all journalists would agree their primary job is to collect
and report news, this does not necessarily mean that is the only
job of a journalist. The Society of Professional Journalists’ code
of ethics lists minimization of harm as one of its four principles
of ethical journalism. Under this principle, a journalist should,
according to SPJ.org, “Balance the public’s need for
information against potential harm or discomfort.” If a journalist
were to focus only on the story and ignore someone in need,
that may cause the person harm or discomfort.
Internal Values
• My own personal values tell me that while it is important to
do your job, the well-being of others is always paramount.
If there is something you can do to prevent someone from
sustaining an injury and or losing their life, that job is more
important than any you receive a paycheck for. Ultimately,
regarding the situation in this case, I am not the only
reporter in the world, so I believe someone will always get
the story to the public. Therefore, I would never turn a
blind eye to those in need purely for the sake of producing
a story.
External Factors
• There are a couple of external factors that I think would
make this a difficult decision to make. For one, if I were to
assist the people in need as opposed to reporting, there’s
always the possibility that coverage of the situation would
suffer. Yes, I believe someone else would cover the story,
but they may not cover it accurately or may leave out an
important detail that I would have covered. This may cost
me my job. Of course, the main factor would be the well-
being of those in need and whether intervening could save
someone’s life.
 Sages
• I felt like there were two philosophers’ approaches that were
applicable to this case. The first is deontology, Kant, which
according to Ethics Unwrapped, “ doesn’t require weighing the
costs and benefits of a situation. This avoids subjectivity and
uncertainty because you only have to follow set rules.” The
other approach is consequentialism, popularized by John
Stuart Mill. This approach argues that an act should be
deemed right or wrong based on its perceived benefits for the
majority involved.
Decision/Defense
• I do not believe it is unethical for a journalist to assist someone
in need while reporting. There are ways in which a journalist
can provide assistance while also doing their job to inform the
public. The assistance may come before or after the broadcast
so as to not interrupt the deliverance of information. However,
if emergency assistance during the broadcast is needed, that in
itself may provide all the information the public needs on a
disaster such as a hurricane or a tornado.
 Decision/Defense (Continued)
• Furthermore, while I believe both deontology and
consequentialism are both applicable to this case, my decision
was mainly influenced by consequentialism. Deciding to direct
your attention away from the story and towards something else
may cost a journalist their job but deciding to intervene could
lead to many positive consequences such as the preservation
of people’s lives, avoidance of injury; and such actions help
contribute to a more just society.
 Works Cited
• “Deontology.” Ethics Unwrapped, April 2022,
https://ethicsunwrapped.utexas.edu/glossary/deontology#:~
:text=Deontology%20is%20an%20ethical%20theory,Don%27
t%20steal.
• “SPJ Code of Ethics.” Society of Professional Journalists, 6
Sept. 2014, https://www.spj.org/ethicscode.asp.