Ethical And Morally Ethical Dilemma - 1501 Words

In journalism, an ethical dilemma is a complex issue or situation that often involves an emotional and psychological conflict between moral obligations and duties, in which to obey one would transgress the other. Within the media there are many stories that can be deemed an ethical dilemma; some more so than others. One of the most recent and prominent ethical dilemmas was the worldwide coverage surrounding the shooting of two American WBDJ journalists, Alison Parker and Adam Ward. Despite the fact that the shooter filmed the ordeal clearly showing the two slain journalists being shot, news outlets had picked it up and ran with the story, which ultimately went viral in minutes. This essay will analyse and thoroughly examine the reporting†¦show more content†¦Flanagan shot himself during the car chase with police officers that ensued following the attack and died of his injuries. As previously mentioned, there has since been discussion surrounding the appropriateness of the coverage that followed these attacks. It is relevant to analyse and examine the media coverage of the tragedy in order to gain a thorough understanding of how this incident is indeed an ethical dilemma. The shooter himself, via twitter, in fact posted the initial report of the ordeal. It soon gained momentum as it was re-tweeted at an alarming rate until it was taken off of the website. However, it had already gone viral and once it was out online, it began to leave a mark. WBDJ soon released a statement regarding the deaths of the two slain journalists and the events that unfolded. Users of Facebook and Twitter were quick to criticise the sites regarding their policies that allowed the footage to be shared. In addition, the auto play and looping features were also condemned by forcing users to watch the footage while scrolling through their social media feeds. However, it was The New York Daily that was most heavily criticised for showing still photographs of the murder on the front pages of the US publication. These stills were not pulled from the recording of the interview; moreover they were from the shooters own footage. Not only did these images have an