I remember watching it on the news. It was awful. My family and I lived on Cape Cod for the summer and instead of our usual outdoor activities we circled around the small TV in our trailer living room. Thesouthern coast of the United Stateswas in shambles. The storm left families homeless, some people badly injured, and some dead. My dad spent his nights studying for his master’s degree in theology at Anna Maria College at the time and his class organized a mission trip. We all packed up the trailer and went with him on the three-day drive south, headed towards Cameron, Louisiana.

The news reported high winds and rain “look at the wind just roaring past these buildings here...you can hear it coming...it’s pitch black everywhere...like somebody turned out the lights” (Stormcoverage). They reported information about relief efforts and government crews too, but most of their coverage focused on the drama of the storm. When we arrived, we didn’t see any of that. For miles, the only thing to see was leftover rubble from hurricane Rita. Houses had crumbled to nothing but piles of brick, shredded Harry Potter pages littered the mud, dolls were caught in the trees with their tangle-haired heads separated from their bodies. Whole families of parents, cousins, children and grandparents slowly moved the crumbled pieces of their homes, one brick at a time, while we worked right alongside them. The media had shown floods and wind, but what we saw was much worse. Aside from the mounds of rubble and sludge, everything was flat. Not a single crew was in sight. Recently, I interviewed my mom to see what she remembered of the disaster,

The media didn’t waste much time on hurricane Rita. They mentioned that troops were on the way, but there wasn’t even any sign of them from what we could tell. I assume it would have been bad for ratings to cover the disaster, considering hurricane Katrina had flooded the iconic capital of New Orleans less than a month prior. Nobody wanted to see more news reports on water damage and broken homes, they would never make money off these stories because it would feel like old news.

Now, I am a freshman in college and I thought I knew exactly what I wanted to do with my life, but recently I’m not so sure. You see, I’ve come to a crossroads. I love reading and writing, so it’s safe to say I’m a huge supporter of the First Amendment. Also, after my parents’ ugly divorce, honesty and integrity are among my most important values. While I consider a career in journalism, I can’t help but contemplate an extreme lack of honesty in media, and yet the integrity of media can’t be monitored without infringing on freedom of speech and expression. It is a given that media provides important information to the public, informing and educating citizens on serious issues both domestically and internationally. The media industry is also concerned with entertainment, profit, and ratings, which are all important aspects, but I feel like sometimes they may take it too far. Is there a line between ethical media and unethical media and is it ok to cross that line?

According to dictionary.com, ethics is defined as a branch of philosophy relating to values in human conduct, as well as the rightness and wrongness of actions or motives (“The Definition of Ethics”). While certain individuals and networks within media hold ethics at a high priority, there are also many who are infamous for their “agenda setting” tactics to influence public opinion. “In a classic phrasing of the argument, Bernard Cohen (1963) claimed that news ‘may not be successful in telling people what to think, but it is stunningly successful in telling people what to think about’” (Croteau 237). By manipulating certain content, the media has the power to shift the conversation on topics like terrorism, politics, and natural disaster in a direction that best suits their own future and success. I believe agenda setting through use of dramatized or dishonest narratives is unethical. So, if this sort of storytelling is unethical, then why isn’t there a system in place to regulate and monitor the honesty of media?

Of course, it only gets trickier from here. Every individual’s concept of what is ethical within media is bound to be different, but more importantly than that is the significance of First Amendment rights. In Leathers v. Medlock and Turner Broadcasting (1991), the supreme court had to consider both the First Amendment rights of the media, and of the public (Taxation 444). The court determined it would be wrong to suppress the expression of specific ideas and viewpoints, but they also

recognized that a fundamental purpose of the First Amendment is to protect the public’s access to a broad range of information sources so that each person can ‘decide for him or herself the ideas and beliefs deserving of expression, consideration, and adherence. Our political and cultural life rest upon this ideal (Taxation 446).

This right to express and interpret freely means so much as a writer and as an American, without it we would all share similar thoughts and creativity would not thrive so vibrantly.

While it is true that many larger outlets like Fox News are constantly pushing some personal, political agenda; smaller news outlets, independent papers and content creators do try to be more widely accepting of varying opinions. Even YouTube creators like the channel “ThinkTank”, which generally prides itself on being well-rounded and honest with its viewers, can tend to push more liberal and democratic agendas considering the political perspectives of the hosts. This brings up the question if true, unbiased and ethical media is even possible with so many charged issues being covered?

With the recent election, many creators and members of the media industry are concerned about how long their right to express freely will be protected. It is so important to have a range of opinions and political positions represented in the media, without which the public could not form their own views on important issues. Where does this leave a generation of up and coming media representatives? Where does this leave me?

Works Cited

Pavlik, John V. “Journalism Ethics and New Media.” Journalism and New Media, Columbia University Press, 2001.

Stormcoverage. "Hurricane Rita Coverage (9/24/05 - Landfall) - The Weather Channel." YouTube. YouTube, 20 June 2014. Web. 07 Dec. 2016.

“Taxation of Cable Television: First Amendment Limitations.” Harvard Law Review, vol. 109, no. 2, 1995.

"The Definition of Ethics." Dictionary.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Dec. 2016.