Discussion week 5

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Southern New Hampshire University *

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100

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Philosophy

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Dec 6, 2023

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docx

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Uploaded by CorporalFieldMosquito28

The case study I chose is Cooperating with the Government. In January of 2005 a two-week prison black out and standoff took place in an Arizona prison, where two guards(a male and female) were taken hostage by prison inmates using homemade weapons. During the stand-off personal identifiable information was asked to be kept out of the news and media by the governor’s office until after the situation ended to protect the guards who were taken hostage and other individuals in the prison. This request included not releasing disciplinary records and criminal histories of the inmates also. State officials and authorities were concerned that by releasing specific identifiable information it would reach the inmates and lead to more problems in the prison and the negotiation process. This request led to upset from many news organizations across the state, as well as with the reporters. However, all media organizations agreed to the request and held off on other interviews with the relatives and friends of involved parties. Two comments were made from media outlets expressing their feelings towards the situation. “A blackout creates and atmosphere that feeds off or suspicion and rumor, but we trust that the state is taking the safe road…” a second comment said, “To me the lives of those two guards are more important than getting any story on the air.” (citation) Following the standoff the inmates were indited with abduction, sexual abuse, and others. Personal information of the guards wasn’t released for quite some time, following the event. Question: Should your media outlet go along with the state’s request not to release the information? Yes! In releasing information prematurely, it violates a handful of principles and the code of ethics. Confidentiality, informed consent, respect for vulnerable people, anonymity, and protecting identities along with some others. This is a sensitive dilemma. The prison guards who are being held hostage are in an extremely vulnerable situation. They have been taken hostage by inmates who we don’t have much background or information about. Do they suffer from mental health issues? Will information that’s released lead to further retaliation both inside and outside the

prison? Will there by other consequences from the ripple effect if information is released? There might not be a way to get consent from the parties involved until the standoff ends, so anonymity and protecting identities would be violated. Any individual wanting to write an article or share information about the situation is responsible for their own choices, or consequences and weighing the pros and cons before posting anything, including the public and social media. Its vital to do what brings the least amount of harm to those involved. It’s important to be honest with the public and information being shared, but also in eliminating further harm or trouble. This is a fine line. Think about who would be affected by information that’s released. Spj. (n.d.). Ethics Case Studies - Society of Professional Journalists . https://www.spj.org/ecs1.asp

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