Go to http://www.learner.org/vod/vod_window.html?pid=197 and
view the clip from Ethics in America that is discussed on pp. 229-230 in your
text. The scene begins 31 minutes into the video and runs for 12 minutes.
Answer the following questions:
What analogy does Mike Wallace offer in this clip? Be sure
to state the analogy clearly.
Do you believe Wallace's analogy is a good analogy? Why or
why not?
What decision do you believe you would make in a situation
such as this? Why?
After you have answered these questions, explain to at least
one classmate why you agree or disagree with his or her view.
You must post at least twice to complete this assignment.
Responsibilities
of Journalists and Soldiers in War Zones (Ethics in America)
Consider this hypothetical--you are
an American TV news journalist who is embedded with enemy troops who are about
to ambush a platoon of American soldiers. Your options--videotape the ambush
for the evening news or warn the American platoon. The program Ethics in
America brought together military officers, journalists, and government
officials to debate this hypothetical as a way of exploring the relationship
between one's responsibilities as a professional journalist and one's
responsibilities as a fellow American. Mike Wallace and Peter Jennings--at the
time two of the best-known, respected, and widely watched TV journalists in the
nation--struggled mightily with the high-stakes hypothetical. As Mike Wallace
is speaking, another panelist, USMC colonel George M. Connell, is seething with
contempt for the journalist. The Marine colonel is wondering whether he should
order American Marines to rescue a reporter pinned down by enemy fire if that
same reporter didn't have the courage to risk his own life to save a platoon of
Americans. Watch how Wallace answers the general and whether the colonel would
in fact send Marines to rescue a journalist for whom he has 'utter contempt.'
This clip is available as Scene 5, 'Journalists in the Enemy Camp,' from the
program 'Under Orders Under Fire-Part II' in the series Ethics in America.
