You'll need to be an active viewer while watching the movie as there will be a quiz next week and questions about the film will be on your final. The movie presents in dramatic fashion some of the ethical questions journalists face when reporting important stories. It is a movie, so the the film takes some liberties to heighten the on-screen drama, However, it remains a fairly straight forward, almost documentary-style take on the Washington Post's investigative work on the Watergate break in and the following cover up.
The following instructions will help you prepare for the quiz and final exam questions to come.
Your instructions are simple. Review (in other words, READ) the SPJ Code of Ethics before you watch the film. Then consider the four main sections of the Code — Seek Truth and Report It, Minimize Harm, Act Independently and Be Accountable — and evaluate the work of Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein at the Washington Post as they investigate the Nixon administration and the Watergate break in.
Be prepared to tell me how the reporters measured up to the Code in each of the four areas, citing specific examples from the movie and the code itself.
Also, pay special attention of the reporter’s use of anonymous sources. Identify the area in the Code that addresses the use of anonymous sources and evaluate the reporters' performance in this regard. Have they been ethical in their dealings with anonymous sources? Have they promised a source anonymity when it was not ethical to do so?
We will talk about the movie and the Code in greater detail next week. In the meantime, enjoy the nice weather and get caught up on your stories.
