Doing Ethics Flashcards
Privacy
public has right to know the private details of public officials
Names made stories concrete, not abstract
Journalists have an obligation to inform the public but must balance that with the obligation to respect an individual’s privacy
Sources
audiences expect Sources to be fully identified as a way of assessing and assigning media credibility
only an argument of seeking a greater good or trying to avoid Grievous harm can justify not identifying the sources of information
when an editor decides to keep sources confidential the editor should recognize that the reputation of the newspaper station is being placed on the line asking audiences to accept the information on faith
Richard Jewell
a security guard at the Centennial Park during the Olympic Games
He discovered an abandoned knapsack with a bomb and quickly moved people away minutes before it exploded
The Atlanta Journal released an Olympics Special edition reporting that Jewell was under surveillance and was the focus of a federal investigation
Painted him as fitting the description of a lone bomber
CNN confirmed he was a suspect
NYT played down the information saying that Jewell had not been named on the record as a suspect
FBI exonerated Jewell due to a lack of evidence
Threatened NBC and CNN with a libel suit
Joann Byrd “is that law enforcement people may be wrong. This is only one of the recent cases where journalists went even farther than law enforcement in our presumption that police suspicions were right”
Law enforcement work is preliminary and should be treated as such
The ethical failure was not in naming Jewell as a suspect but what happened after identifying him
Arthur Ashe
1992, USA Today
Ashe had gotten HIV from a heart surgery blood transfusion
The paper said they needed on- the record sources to report the story
Ashe did not confirm or deny the allegation
Ashe held a press conference the next day to announce his disease
Blamed media for invading his privacy
Concerned about the disclosure for his young daughter
Ashe became the first celebrity to disclose he contracted the disease from something other than sex or drug abuse
This topic generated emotionally protective public responses
Amongst rape
Some believe this has a unique stigma attached
Case exemplifies need for balance between truth telling and minimizing harm
Some argue this was a private matter and caused harm to him and his family
Others argue this is truth-telling and it would benefit the public
How he contracted AIDS is important
For this story journalists should have publicly justified their action, explaining how and why they decided what they did
Burn Victim
Clifford Harris testifying against Ford in Florida
Was severely burned and lost three limbs in a car crash that killed two of his friends
Feared being photographed and in the news
Journalists did not photograph him outside the courthouse after talking with his attorney
No photos - not even taken from behind were ever published
Numerous newspapers used photos of Harris before the crash when reporting the story
Journalists have an ethical responsibility to treat people with respect
E.B.
1994 Megan Kanka of NJ was kidnapped, raped, and murdered allegedly by a neighbor who was a twice convicted sex offender
NJ lawmakers pushed for an emergency measure requiring police to notify communities when certain sex offenders move into the area
“Megan’s Law”
E.B. of NJ successfully petitioned a federal appeals court in 1996 to prevent authorities from carrying out Megan’s law
E.B. was convicted of the rapes and gruesome murders of two young boys and molesting three others
He served his sentence and was rehabilitated
Curtis Sliwa of Guardian Angels printed flyers bearing the man’s identity
News orgs did not publish his name in their reports
The moment the lawsuit was filed E.B.’s true identity was revealed and legally could have been printed or broadcasted
AP withheld the name until a court ruled
Jersey Journal was the first in the state to run E.B.’s name
Bergen County Record held a meeting with the press and prosecuting attorneys to discuss what should happen
They decided to wait until the courts ruled before releasing E.B.’s name
Newsroom decision makers weighed the decision and decided against naming E.B. into such a charged environment
Gave strongest weight to minimizing harm and independence
Jersey Journal found no reason to hold back believing the public benefit of disclosure outweighed any potential harm
Morally important to go public with the thought process
Crack reporting in Detroit
Detroit Free Press, 1989, “24 Hours: The Drug Menace”
Photographer Manny Crisostomo bought sausage from Tim (crack addict) and paid him $20 for a Sony Walkman
Each purchased allowed Tim to buy crack
Reporter Pat Chargot and Crisostomo did not disclose this to the editor
Blamed competition and the requirements for what happened
After buying the sausage the team could observe Tim for 24 hours
The team drove Tim and his friends to buy crack
Editors asked if the team gave Tim money and they denied it
The withholding of information from editors was more deception than a lie
The purchase made by Tim with the money from the team allowed Tim to break the law
Two and three suspension without pay for the photographer and reporter
Connie Chung
1994, CBS, Connie Chung interviewed Newt Gingrich’s parents
Mother Gingrich let on that her son had no high regard for Hilary Clinton
Chung urged Gingrich to answer the question about Clinton by saying “whisper it, just between me and you”
CBS released the quote two days before the broadcast making front pages
Newt replied saying that Chung had victimized his mother as an unethical reporter
Keeping a Promise to a Source
St. Paul Pioneer Press Dispatch overrode a promise to a source and disclosed the sources name
The man was an employee of an ad agency working for the Republican lieutenant governor candidate
He told embarrassing stories of the Democratic candidate
He had been arrested 20 years prior for a shoplifting charge
Editors of the Star Tribune and the Pioneer Press Dispatch disclosed his name
The source was fired, took legal action against the newspapers and won a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 1991 that promises of confidentiality may be legally enforceable under state law
