For October 12th
(Please ignore the giant bold font, please and thank you!!)
Where The Journal News went wrong in publishing names, addresses of gun owners
The Journal News in Westchester, N.Y. published the names and addresses of local citizens who hold gun permits leading to upset citizens publish the names and addresses of journalists at the paper. A New York Senator, Greg Ball, responded with the proposition that would make gun permits private and no longer subject to open record laws.
“Frequently, the work of journalists is not popular. One of our roles is to report publicly available information on timely issues, even when unpopular. We knew publication of the database (as well as the accompanying article providing context) would be controversial, but we felt sharing information about gun permits in our area was important in the aftermath of the Newtown shootings.” – Journal News Publisher Janet Hasson
When I read this, I have mixed feelings. Because the article was posted after the Newtown shootings, I feel like this was a bit of a witch hunt. By the Journal News publishing the names and addresses of those who own guns, it sheds a light that one of them may act in a similar manner as Adam Lanza. But, on a personal level, I would appreciate a list of who owns guns in my town. As someone who believes in a strong gun control, I think the public should be aware of who hold these deadly weapons. The defense for this is that the information is public record already, the newspaper is just compiling it and giving the public it in an more accessible way.
Naming Victims of Sex Crimes
Background: 3 kidnapping cases where the parents publicized their kidnapped kids names to the public in order to help them. When the kids were found, they were found out to be sexual assault victims, is it okay to continue to name them? As “you can’t un-name a name any more easily than you can un-ring a bell.”
Dealing with children is always ethically complicated. You have to take into account the child’s age, situation, what the kid wants and what the parents want. If all of that fall into place, interviewing children should be up to media outlets’ own code of ethics.
How a Minneapolis Journalist Turned a Difficult Situation into a Human Triumph
This article concerns the ethical issues journalists have to make with stories the public deserves to know about. In 1987, Jacqui Banaszynski of St. Paul Pioneer Press wrote a series on AIDS, she had some faced tough ethical decisions on every step of the process.
The article then goes on to state the basic duties of journalism
- seek truth and report it fully
- Be honest
- Inform yourself continually so you can educate the public
- Give the voiceless a voice
- Hold the powerful accountable
- Act Independently
- Guard the role of free press
- disseminate competing perspectives
- Remain free of associations and activities that may damage your credibility
- Recognize that good ethical decisions require individual responsibility enriched by collaborative efforts
- Minimize harm
- Be compassionate for those affected by your actions
- Treat subjects and colleagues as human beings
- Recognize that gathering and reporting information might cause harm or discomfort, but balance those negatives by choosing alternatives that maximize truth-telling.
According to these principles above, Banaszynski acted within the basic duties of journalism. To the author of this article, it would be ethical as well as “true ethical decision-making is also about justification, the ability to explain dearly and fully the process of how and why decisions are made.” And, Banaszynski could do just that. I think there is a difference between ethics and morals if we use that definition. But, that is just because everyone has their own set of morals, and they at times can conflict with others.
Reporting on Suicide
The pdf’s purpose was to inform those who write on suicides how to go about doing so. One part I thought was especially important was to make sure when you’re writing about someone’s suicide to treat them as a deceased person. That is also mentioned in “How a Minneapolis Journalist Turned a Difficult Situation into a Human Triumph.” I think it is important people remember this as with today’s media, a big part of writing is writing for people’s attention, but journalist need to report sensitively to certain types of stories.
Liability for intrusive or harassing news-gathering activities
Intrusion is offensive prying with the intentional physical, electronic or mechanical invasion of a person’s solitude. The article states that overzealous surveillance, even in public, can possibly be intrusion. This article is good to know, as I thought that was all a part of going undercover. This makes sense for it to be illegal though.
I took most back from last week’s class from the discussion about Charlie Hebdo. Seeing the cartoons made me feel uncomfortable. As someone who does not celebrate any religion, I was still offended by those cartoons. I felt as if they did go way too far. Would I ever buy their magazine? No. Should others have the right to buy Charlie Hebdo, or anything similar? Yes. Although I personally did not like it, it is still their right to publish what they feel. It is not hurting anything more than one’s feelings. Others just do not have to read/look at it.