Schanberg, Pran and their colleagues follow the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics very well in the movie. We wanted to look into their moral behavior as journalists because of the emotional attachment they develop to the situations they are reporting.
"Seek Truth and Report It"
As the movie begins the viewer sees the kind of journalist Schanberg is. He pushes the buttons of the contacts he has in the military because he believes they are hiding information from him.
Schanberg "seeks" information and goes beyond what the other journalists are doing to find the real story. Fourteen minutes into the movie we see Schanberg and Pran boarding a boat to get to a city being impacted. Schanberg went beyond what the military was advising and allowing him to access this way. The other journalists in the movie aren't going as far as Schamberg's team to get to the root of the stories.
"Minimize Harm"
The code states that journalists should "show compassion for those who may be affected adversely by news coverage." Schanberg is covering a very sensitive subject. War, genocide and revolution are not pleasant things to right about. In the news articles we found that were written by Schanberg we found that his reports were very fact based and avoided bias.
"Act Independently"
"Journalists should: Remain free of associations and activities that may compromise integrity
or damage credibility."
The only real conflict with the code that we see Schanberg involved in is that he becomes very attached to the situation in Cambodia. However, one really can't blame him for this as one of his close friends is currently a victim of the reality he was reporting. Journalistic ethics state he should remain uninvolved with the situation but human ethics definitely give him the excuse to do everything he can to save Pran.
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