Story by Kaitlyn Christensen
“Ethics is the process of making a decision and morals is what we have been told is right by our church and mothers,” said Jim Fisher, Associate Professor Lecturer in communication.
Oct. 03, 2011, Jim Fisher lectured a class of journalism students at the University of Utah about morals and ethics.
“Most of us are ethical people,” said Fisher, but would any one push that aside to get ahead and print the story of a journalist’s career?
Fisher wanted the students’ input in different scenarios and to see if it was right or wrong to send an article to the press that could potentially ruin the reputation of the people behind it.
These scenarios had students questioning what they would do in this situation.
Callie Mendenhall, a journalism student at the university, said, “His lecture was great; his talk about ethics made me question between what was right and what was wrong.”
Is it write to say something that could potentially hurt someone in the end?
“Community standards, if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say it at all.” Fisher said about towards when considering one’s morals in a story.  The lecture opened another door for students when it comes to journalism.
Katie Andrus, a journalism student from the University of Utah said, “The lecture gave such great insight on what the difference was between ethics and morals.”