Rachel Smolkin | Off the Sidelines
Smolkin writes about the conflict for journalists when they are required on the one hand to be objective observers and on the other to respond as human beings to suffering and tragedy. Her experience reporting on the inexcusable lack of government help during Katrina changed her from a hard-line view (journalists should only report, never help victims) to feeling that helping out does not compromise one's impartiality and objectivity in reporting a tragedy.
-According to the ethicist Michael Josephson, a journalist's primary obligation is to act as a

Question

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According to the passage, Rachel Smolkin's experience reporting on the inexcusable lack of government help during Katrina changed her from a hard-line view (journalists should only report, never help victims) to feeling that helping out does not compromise one's impartiality and objectivity in reporting a tragedy. This suggests that Smolkin believes that a journalist's primary obligation is to act as a human being, rather than as a detached observer, objective philosopher, or sympathetic listener.