The ethics of an Ole Miss Journalist

Del Mixon

Journalism 271

The Ethics of an Ole Miss Journalist

562

            OXFORD MS, - The Meek School of Journalism holds a very high standard for its students.  While writing and test scores still hold significance to professors, the teaching of ethics is something that is equally important. “The Journalism School is unique in that it is the only department on campus that offers a course in ethics,” says Professor of Journalism Joe Atkins, “ We have students from other departments who end up taking the class with us.”

             What do the Journalism Professors of Journalism at the University of Mississippi do to teach ethics to future journalists? How can Professors prevent them from cheating in the future?

            A USA News survey of “Groups Most Likely to Cheat Often”, journalists were rated third behind politicians and lawyers, to be likely cheaters. 

Stephen Glass and Jayson Blair are two names often mentioned in horror stories about plagiarism and ethics.  Both Glass and Blair were discovered to have fabricated and plagiarized many of their stories.

            In 2012 Journalist has made the Huffington post’s top ten most stressful jobs list.  It doesn’t surprise Assistant Professor of Journalism,  Debora Wenger that a profession that has strict time constraints and severe pressure might tempt a Journalist to “cut corners”. “It is not justified and should be penalized,” said Wegner. 

            Wenger says that it is important Journalism students are taught the application of ethics before they enter the job field.  Wenger is very involved with the Ole Miss chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, an organization dedicated to preservation of a free press. The organization holds a code of ethics for members; seek the truth and report it, Minimize Harm, Act Independently, and Be Accountable.

             “I do my best to check my facts from sources,” says Alison Bartel, a sophomore writer for the Daily Mississippian, “If there is something questionable then I will double check, or call back the person I have interviewed,”

Bartel writes once a week for the paper and says she enjoys it, although sometimes its stressful turning stories in before a short deadline.

The Internet has changed the way people view the media in the modern world. Today college students exchange information and possibly cheat on papers or assignments can use the Internet.  

“The internet is like a double edged sword for the Journalism department,” says Atkins, “ It has increased the amount of information for students to borrow or steal. But it has also made it easier for Professors to detect plagiarized information.”

Wenger says there is only one instance she knows of where an Ole Miss student plagiarized a story in the student paper, the Daily Mississippian.

             “The student was severely penalized, and no other student has plagiarized since then,” says Wenger.

Although the ethics of journalism cover more than just plagiarism and fabrication Atkins says those are the greatest sin that can be done in journalism. Atkins teaches Journalism 575, a course on mass media ethics. This class is which is required for all Journalism Majors. The class gives lectures and talks teaching students to apply ethics to young Journalists.

“What’s most important about ethics is your own sense of personal integrity,” says Atkins, “ I teach students to be serious in their search for the truth. I teach them to follow their own mission of ‘why am I a journalist?’”