Blog #10- EOTO Whistleblowers

Today was our last class of Media Law & Literacy. I am shocked to say I am sad about it. I have very much enjoyed this class because it is hands-on, from taking notes to presenting new topics to the class. We did our last EOTO presentations and I decided to write my blog on Whistleblowers. Kimberlee Summerville did a great job of teaching the class the meaning of this concept.

Whistleblowing is defined under the law as “disclosing information that you reasonably believe is evidence of a violation of any law, rule, or regulation, or gross mismanagement, or gross waste of funds, an abuse of authority, or a substantial danger to public health or safety.” In Kimberlee's presentation, she discussed the pros, cons, positive impact, and famous whistleblowers. For her pros she mentioned "ensure wrongdoers are not rewarded by corruption. I liked this pro because people need to be held accountable for their actions. A con she went over was how whistleblowing can be a threat to a career. That is because
if a person informs your organization of wrongdoing your career can be ended fast. I realized that the pros and cons go hand and hand. Whistleblowing has a positive impact on society and that is because corruption and injustices are called out. It can also help balance levels of authority in a business. A famous whistleblower Kimberlee mentioned that stuck out to me was Linda Tripp. She was the woman who revealed the affair that President Bill Clinton

was having with Monica Lewinsky, a white house intern. It is known that a lot of men use their authority to get what they want from employees with less power.

Personally, I think whistleblowing was one of the most important presentations that occurred in class today. I believe that it can do more good than harm. That is because I think the harm that comes out of whistleblowing is the punishment corrupt people need.