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
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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
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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
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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.)
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Scenarios should be drafted based on newsdriven 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
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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
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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
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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!
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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
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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
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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