The one thing that I really got out of Ch. 3 was the SAD formula. This formula is helpful for an individual when making ethical decisions. It was very useful for me in Ch. 4 when dealing with the different case studies.
The first step of SAD is to identify the problem. You really have to go over all the facts to really understand the ethical dilemma because sometimes the problem isn’t always clear. In the case study with the undercover advertising, you have to understand that the ethical problem is whether this sort of advertising is deceptive because the public doesn’t know they are being persuaded.
The next step is to analysis the situation. Does it really matter that the advertisers are trying to appeal to consumers on a casual basis about their product? The company is not trying to sell their product, but they are trying to get it to spread by word of mouth. Is it deceitful because they don’t say that they work for the company?
The final step is to make a decision on whether it is ethical or not. The advertisers are trying to get the word out about their new product but they do not reveal that they work for the company. Is this ethical or not? By using the SAD formula, people have a much easier time making that ethical decision.

Jason Blair

Reading about Jason Blair is very disturbing for me because plagiarism and deceit are against everything journalists strive for. I really don’t understand how someone can fabricate so many stories, especially when the stories deal with very emotional and personal issues.
The story about the marine, Corporal Kingel, was very disturbing to me because this man just suffered from an injury in Iraq and Jason Blair lied about visiting him in the hospital and created an entire scene and story that did not exist. Blair even made up a false quote that was featured as the quotation of the day.
What I don’t understand is how Blair stayed undetected for so long. Jason Blair was a huge scandal for the New York Times because Jason Blair was deceiving them for almost four years. Although the Times suffered due to this scandal, they finally put a stop to it. Though it may be hard for readers to trust the newspaper now, I feel that the Times has learned from their mistake and is still a trusting source for news.