There were many ethics issues that I was unaware of before taking my Intro to Media course. This class has helped me understand different aspects of media-related ethics and has made me more confident in my ability to recognize such situations. Even as I write this, I am reminded of every rule that I must follow when posting these blogs. Luckily, that must mean that at least some of what we’ve learned is sticking in my brain.
The most important thing that I’ve learned from this class concerning ethics, would be the proper usage of images. When using other people’s images in your work, you must always give credit and sometimes that may even require getting permission from the original photographer. You have to be very careful to properly obey and follow certain copyright laws so that your work can be seen as valid. Sometimes, it can be tricky territory to navigate, but as long as you can remember to make sure that you have given adequate credit to all of your content sources then you will be on the right track. If you still have trouble with this, you can always visit the OU Writing Center for more assistance. It is okay to ask for help!
Another ethics-related area in which I feel this class has helped me to improve is citing my sources when writing papers. I am never quite sure how to cite other articles, books, or websites when quoting them in my papers. However, this problem did not persist as I found a handy way to make sure that I never mess up my citations again. I began using a website that a classmate introduced me to called Citation Machine. This website will assist you in citing your sources in whatever format that your professor acquires and it has helped me greatly. Little things like this have helped me to understand the importance of media-related ethics and I hope this blog can give some useful tips to you too!
