JOURNALISM AND LIBEL
Journalism is a complex career choice that features a lot of laws and ethics on which to act by. Being a journalist is a tough job due to the fact that reputation can mean the difference between getting a job and being unemployed. There have been many stories about journalists falsifying facts, or simply not doing the necessary background research to be assured that those facts are valid. One simple mistake could potentially mean the end of a career for that writer. Journalism law and the code of ethics on which to act by are extremely important for any aspiring, or current, journalist to know.
Libel is defined as published false material that causes damage to someone’s reputation. The biggest part about libel is whether it is true or not. If whatever is published is true, than that reporter did not commit libel. According to the book, Everyone’s an Editor, There are five different things that plaintiffs must prove in order for a successful lawsuit against a reporter. First thing that must be proved is that the statement was defamatory to that individual. The second thing is that the statement was of fact and not of opinion. Third, the statement is a false statement. Fourth, the person that is defamed from this statement is clearly identified to the reader. Lastly, the publisher was the one who was at fault for publishing the defamatory statement. The best way to avoid libel is to write about true facts and focus on having a well-rounded tone concerning the reporting piece.
The ethical guidelines for journalists are absolutely crucial to follow for reporters. Having an unethical approach to writing stories can also tarnish a reporter’s careers. Reporters need to focus on reporting true facts that are displayed without bias. According to the Society of Professional Journalists, every journalist should follow the ethics of, “Seek truth and report it, minimize harm, act independently, and be accountable and transparent.” Journalists need to realize that these ethics exist so that journalists can gain credibility with the public. By discovering what is true and relaying that information to the public, journalists keep people who are in power, in check. Keeping harm to an individual at a minimum protects the writer from a libel lawsuit, but also forces the writer to minimize bias and focus on the facts. Acting independently from other sources also makes the writer avoid biased publication by keeping their motives neutral. This means that journalists should never accept gifts from anyone they are writing about because that can raise questions on whether the reporting was done honestly or not. Finally, by holding accountability and being completely transparent, the journalist is gaining trust and credibility with the public. It is extremely important that journalists be as transparent as possible so that the public can discover the full truth.
Reporters and people of the public have the first amendment right to access a lot of governmental documents. The Supreme Court even stated that access to court cases was a right of the public. Public information is in records that are stored in government buildings. Thanks to the Internet, accessing public records has been easier than ever. The US Courts website has a plethora of court records stored on their website database, which contains court cases and other public records. Even though finding court cases can be fairly easy, getting access to some governmental proceedings can be very difficult. The Supreme Court identified four factors that must be present in order for a right of access to be acknowledged. First, the person that wants to block public access must prove that having public access would result in someone getting an unfair trial. Second, there cannot be any alternatives besides closing the hearing, which could protect whatever interest is threatened. Third, the limitation of access must be as limited as possible. Lastly, the limitation on access that is chosen must work in protecting whatever interest is threatened. These stipulations are in place to make sure that the public has as much access as possible to all government proceedings.
Another important topic that journalists need to respect is privacy. The right of privacy is something that has been debated by many different legal commentators for quite some time. The debate can be traced to an issue of the Harvard Law Review where future Supreme Court justice Louis D. Brandeis commented how the press was overstepping many forms of decency by their methods in which they gained stories. This led a massive debate where eventually four different branches of a “right of privacy” were identified. There four branches to the “right of privacy” are: (1) Using someone’s name for a commercial purpose; (2) telling the public about private facts; (3) Intruding someone without reason while they are specifically secluded, and (4) giving someone false light in the view of the public. Publication of private facts can be described as a reporter disclosing extremely embarrassing personal facts about an individual. Using someone’s name for a commercial purpose occurs when companies or reporters use a name or likeness of an individual to gain some sort of commercial advantage. Intruding privacy violations occur when a reporter goes somewhere where an individual is secluded and tries to bother them. This can include pictures, questions, etc. Giving someone false light is an invasion of privacy by giving publicity that would put the plaintiff in a false light in front of the public. This usually requires the same amount of evidence as a libel case in order to prove. Even though these are generally terms that are widely accepted in legal cases, there are certain states that have their own unique exceptions for what constitutes as “invasion of privacy.” For example, New York will only recognize branch number one as something that can be seen as an invasion of privacy. No matter where the journalist is writing from, it is important to recognize and respect the right of privacy for individuals.
Libel, invasion of privacy, and ethical decisions can all affect the reputation of individual reporters and media publications as a whole. There have been many different cases on reporters who do not follow the ethical guidelines or laws concerning journalism that affect reputations. The most popular case of libel in media is about the Rolling Stone writer, Sabrina Erdely, who wrote an article about a fraternity and a gang rape that allegedly occurred there. One female student told Erdely that she was gang raped while attending a University of Virginia fraternity party. Erdely took the student’s word for it and published an article detailing the alleged ordeal that the student went through due to this attack. However, Erdely did not do the necessary fact checking that she should have done and the story ended up being completely fabricated. The accuser was not actually at that party that night and her details did not add up. Erdely is still being sued by former fraternity members and by UVA for her damaging fabricated story. Rolling Stone as a publisher suffered an extreme amount of damage for publishing this story and Erdely suffered irreparable damage to her reputation for the article. Following the guidelines for journalism, whether it is ethics or laws, is the best way for journalists to protect themselves from lawsuits and defamation.
