If you read my piece on why majoring in journalism sucks, well you're in for a treat! I previously talked about how I write out of passion, which isn't always a good thing if you are pursuing a career in the journalism and media field like I am. It can often cloud your judgment and sometimes be biased. However, if you see most of the stuff that is being printed or aired on live television, as I'm a hundred percent sure you are if you have social media, then you can see all the unethical things that make me so angry.
In the previous post, I mention how the deaths of Kobe Bryant, Gianna Bryant, the Altobelli family, Christina Mauser, Sarah Chester and daughter Payton, and pilot Ara Zobayan are hard as a journalism student because of the heartbreaking topic it is to investigate. I also mentioned that sources such as FOX, ABC, and TMZ are guilty of rushed reporting and sharing inaccurate information during the first hour of the tragedy. I recently learned that Vanessa Bryant wasn't informed of the deaths before the media; she found out about he husband and daughter through TMZ, who released the information before it was even confirmed that the basketball star was on the helicopter.
Seeing sources like TMZ getting away with such actions sickens me to the core and I one day hope that they get shut down as an organization. I also hope that anyone who participated in the rushed reporting will be held accountable for their unethical actions.
Given the circumstances from the past 24 hours, I hope that with everything that I am studying in college, I am able to make a difference in the field both ethically and morally. I take passion in what I am studying because I don't want there to be another Princess Diana case where someone has to run away to their literal death because they are being chased by the paparazzi. There needs to be a stop of another Michael Jackson case where someone becomes a media pariah because of the fact that they are known being internationally. Everyone working with and for the media is capable of preventing another Princess Diana, Michael Jackson, and Vanessa Bryant case from happening. Let all parties involved be informed before the public, don't chase someone for the latest scope, and most importantly, give celebrities their privacy until they are ready to speak. At the end of the day, we are all human and entitled to cope and process what is happening.