Ethical Issues In 'All The President's Men And' Welcome To Sarajevo?

In comparing ethical issues surrounding the journalists in “All The President’s Men” and “Welcome To Sarajevo”, there are several ethical issues that the journalists experienced. Ethics are an important aspect of journalism, since journalists face a multitude of ethical issues within their industry. Therefore, there are ethical guidelines that journalists’ use called “The Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics” [SPJ Code of Ethics]. When analyzing how the journalists in “All The President’s Men” and “Welcome To Sarajevo”, one can refer to the SPJ Code of Ethics to observe the possible ethical issues the journalists experienced. The four main concepts in the SPJ Code of Ethics are: seek truth and report it, minimize harm, act independently,

Just as with “All The President’s Men”, one can investigate the ethical issues in accordance to the SPJ Code of Ethics. Set in 1992, during the besiegement of the capital of Bosnia, Sarajevo, American and European journalists risked their own lives to report on the tragic and horrific incidents that took place. Flynn, an American journalist, and Henderson an English journalist, are the two main journalists who are featured in the film. Since the journalists are in the middle of a war scene, their lives were inherently in constant jeopardy. In order to report on the incidents that are occurring, they often found themselves in the middle of a shooting or in the aftermath of dead bodies lining the streets. Flynn and Henderson are both passionate about their work; Flynn especially is determined to catch the best story at all costs. Whereas, Henderson begins to find himself emotionally attached to one of the victims in Sarajevo. In the midst of life threatening chaos and terror, both Flynn and Henderson sought the truth and reported it. They were both courageous and respected the lives of whom they were

Firstly, the journalists are reporting from two vastly different locations. One is reporting from the comfort of an office and familiar surroundings, while the other is reporting from a war stricken foreign land. Although, there is a common tie, they both involved and had the ability to effect the government and they were all in danger. All of the journalists had the opportunity to report on the truth, even if it were to have political and even personal repercussions. Thus, due to the political nature, all of the journalists were putting their lives at risk and were aware of this. They also had the ability of putting other lives in danger. Woodward and Bernstein discovered how the information they were gathering had to be used strategically in order to not harm their sources, and Flynn and Henderson had the ability to create further conflict and terror for the country they were reporting about. Thus, all of the journalists had to learn how to use precautions while investigating, writing, and reporting on their given