Ethics and critical thinking

Today we had a discussion about ethics with Kenny Irby. At Medill, we have extensive discussions about ethics, the law, morals, etc. In fact one of the better journalism classes I've taken was Media, Law and Ethics with Craig LaMay. David Protess was an investigative journalism professor and director of the Medill Innocence Project, until a few weeks ago when the university decided not to allow Protess to teach this coming fall. Protess worked with student journalists to investigate the murder conviction of a man named Anthony McKinney starting in 2003. In 2009, the Cook County State's Attorney's Office sought documents relating to the case, including notes from students. When the university attempted to respond to the subpoena in an accurate way, Protess got in the way. It was both fortunate and unfortunate to have an ethical "scandal," if you will, at our own doorstep. It allowed students to analyze and have ethical discussions of relevance. Regardless of whether or not I agree with Protess, his teachings, his class, etc., I was given material with which to think critically. Irby's discussion of ethics today allowed all 11 in this SJI class to do just that--think critically about our profession, the decisions we make and the standards we hold. It's something I hope continues when I enter the newsroom this summer, and for the rest of my career.