Media Ethics Conference 2015

As I may not have fully disclosed, the reason for this blog's creation is not purely for the love of art. I'm a senior journalism student, who has been forced to blog by a class entitled, "Blogging for Journalists." Then, I purposely chose to blog about my art for my own gain, bahahaha. I guess I gotta get some gain first for this to even be worthwhile!
 Anyways, journalism is also a passion of mine, and I was privileged enough to attend the University of Central Oklahoma's fifth annual media ethics conference. The segment I went to was entitled, "From Newsbreakers to Newsmakers." It was the story of Mary and Sharon Bishop-Baldwin's triumphant challenge to the Oklahoma constitutional ban on same-sex marriage.
I cannot emphasize the bravery of these two women enough, because Oklahoma is such a conservative state and, unfortunately, most citizens sit quietly in discontent; they are not willing to make a voice for change. Mary and Sharon candidly told their decade long struggle about making their voices heard in opposition to the ban on gay marriage. Not only did the couple have their voices heard, but their efforts ultimately made same-sex marriage legal in one of the most conservative American states before the Supreme Court made it legal everywhere. It was an amazing accomplishment.
I have two things come to mind about this incredible story. One is why didn't I hear more about the legalization when it happened? I know it was in the media. The women showed us the front page story of it in The Tulsa World. They could not vouch for the Oklahoman. One of the most disconcerting aspects of being a future journalist stationed in Oklahoma for now is the severe bias I see in the media. Not only are citizens, who think differently, afraid to speak up, but the news also acts afraid. What's troubling to me, is that the entire purpose of the news is to speak up about what is going on. If we have a long-line of pocketed old-boys dictating what information is disseminated to citizens, how can progress ever be fully realized? Part of me wants to stay in Oklahoma to fight this, and part of me thinks its a bigger fight than I can win, but isn't that the problem? The people with a mind to stand up to the bigotry and injustice that is hurting Oklahoma's lower-class, who are in the majority, are not taking up the fight. These women took up the fight, and they deserve every applause they've gotten for it.
The second thing that came to mind was how Mary and Sharon decided to go against the so-called ethics of their profession and become involved in the news. Reporters aren't supposed to be involved in the news. The thing is: how can we be human and not ever be involved in the news? Mary and Sharon did a great job not reporting or contributing to their story while it was happening, but why should challenging an injustice ever be an issue in the first place? I don't think it should, and I think journalism should rethink some of their ethical guidelines to become more realistic. Maybe the reason why we see so many lines crossed is not because we have so many unethical journalists, but because journalistic vision needs to be rethought.