Legal & Ethical Issues in News

1. Legal & Ethical Issues in News

2. Anyone can sue... • Tort -- a wrong other than breach of contract for which an injured party is able to bring a lawsuit against the person who injured him/her • Civil Law vs. criminal law • Time & Money • Lose Case, Win Appeal

3. Lawsuit process • Complaint and response • Must respond • Deny everything, move to dismiss • Discovery (interrogatories, depositions) • Set trial date / settle out of court • Trial (which court jurisdiction?) • Appeal

4. LIBEL • Libel = false report that damages the reputation of an individual • Elements needed to prove libel: • False, presented as fact • Publication • Identification • Defamation (reputation, not character) • Fault • Negligence • Actual Malice

5. LIBEL • Defenses against Libel—U.S. • Truth • Privilege • Fair Comment & Criticism

6. PRIVACY • Invasion of Privacy - 4 types: • False Light • Publishing private facts • Appropriation • Intrusion

7. False Light Although not recognized in Texas, ______ is when content of a story creates a false impression of someone they have no connection with and that harms them.

8. Limited Invitation NOTE THIS EXAMPLE:  Restaurant lawsuit against CBS station-->"The end result? Broadcast journalists can photograph in public places, but if their behavior becomes overly intrusive, they also can find themselves in court.” This is an example of Limited Invitation and Private Property (trespass).

9. Free Press-Fair Trial Balance between news coverage hype and a fair trial in the courtroom Cameras in the courtroom introduced in 1965; two-thirds of states allowed by 1991 Presumptively open Shield Laws State laws that protect reporters from naming anonymous sources for police investigations Freedom of information State and federal laws give citizens and journalists the right to view government documents Open meetings U.S. Patriot Act 2001 has taken away access rights to many federal, state documents HIPPA 1996 has complicated access to health information that is generally public Access to information

10. Anti-SLAPP legislation Limited Invitation Apparent Authority Trespass Police orders Public vs. private property Designated Public Forum Inaccessible public property Private property (see outline link) Access to information

11. News Ethics RTV 440

12. As such discussion implies, law and ethics are intertwined. • Often, unethical activities also are illegal. • Ethics is a branch of philosophy, not of law, and the distinction between the two is clear. • Ethics is / are the rules of living and conduct that you impose on yourself, or that your profession strongly suggests you should impose on yourself, and few enforceable penalties exist. Definition of Ethics

13. Many ethical problems that reporters encounter come from knowing the competition is in head-to-head combat—and pushing hard In their zeal to be first with the best story. • Some reporters overstep the boundaries that define ethical behavior. • Sometimes not about deadline but about just getting attention as getting a great story. Effect of Competition

14. In the 1980s a third of U.S. citizens believed news reports were often inaccurate. • In 2000 that number jumped to almost two-thirds of those polled. • Belief that the media try to portray their coverage as fair; but has a slant – either toward a liberal or conservative bias. Effect of Competition

15. Moral agents –communicators with a particular motive commits an act –either verbal of non-verbal – within a specific context directed at a particular individual or audience • Ethical decisions are always made within a specific context • Evaluation of the ethical decision requires examining the moral agent’s motives Context of an ethical decision

16. Ethics training is a process of instilling moral values and attitudes • Values: building blocks of attitudes—the learned emotional intellectual and behavioral responses to persons, things and events. • Three components of attitudes: • affective—the emotional side • cognitive—the intellectual side • behavioral—individual’s predisposition to respond • Sources of ethical development: parents, peer groups, role models, societal institutions Ethics training

17. Socialization--the process by which all these introduce the individual to the conventions and norms of a given society. • Your ethics choices are based on your socialization. • Codes of Ethics – enforcement? How can they be enforced? •  Which gives us more freedom in our society—law or ethics? • There is no absence of ideology  Ethics training

18. Situational -- The practice of judging a situation based on the good that will likely come from a particular course of action • Judeo-Christian—says you live up to absolute standards of conduct because the actions are good, not because of consequences • Utilitarianism—create the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people. • Egalitarianism—the notion that individuals should be treated equally in terms of rights and responsibilities— Ethics theories

19. Many others… • Overall, some are duty based—deontological • some are consequence based—teleological • You’re driving on the freeway and the speed limit is 75… • You’re in a state where there is no enforcement outside city limits… Ethics theories

20. Examples / cases …

21. Image Manipulation

22. You are researching an investigative report about a palm reader who is said to con elderly people out of their life savings. You send a colleague in to the palm reader at her place of business and she tells them to get lost. • So -- you decide to visit with a hidden camera to see how she answers questions not knowing you’re a reporter. Hidden camera

23. You hear that someone is flagging down elderly people in RVs coming through down and telling them there’s smoke coming from under their RV, then they go under and squirt oil. They offer to do a quick repair. • You set up a sting with a hidden camera. Hidden camera

24. An emotionally disturbed man holds hostages inside a local bar. He says he’ll kill one of the hostages unless he can broadcast a message to his wife. • Police ask you to loan them your video camera so two of their officers can pose as a reporter–photographer crew to gain entry to the bar. Hostage sitution

25. To show how easy it is for minors to buy liquor, you send a seventeen-year-old minor into a couple of liquor stores, record video of the purchases through the store windows with a long lens from a van across the street, then walk into both stores, camera rolling, to interview the clerks. The clerks protest that you are guilty of entrapment and ambush journalism Ambush journalism

26. You’re producing a half-hour special on drug use in your city and have learned the address of a drug dealer. You go to the house, but no one answers when you knock on the door. You then notice that a side door is standing open. You determine the house is vacant. Will you go inside to check out the place or will you not enter the house? Trespass

27. It’s the same drug house but you hear the Commerce police are doing a drug bust. They tell you where to set up. When police arrive and set up their perimeter, you ask the sergeant if you can go in with them as they enter the house, so you can get the fleeting video. Will you go in? Apparent authority

28. You’re friends with a local concert promoter. He gives you backstage passes for night two of the big concert to come as a fan, asking you to come night one as a reporter to cover this concert and others he has upcoming. Will you accept the gift? Accepting gifts

29. You attend a fund-raiser that has a free buffet for all attendees, who have donated money to be at the event and who are there bidding on auction items. During the meal, before it’s time to get shots of the auction, you ask the event host if it’s okay to have something to eat. Should you? Accepting gifts

30. Splash Kingdom sends you a Video News Release – a complete PKG that tells about their Grand Opening in town. It’s a slow news day. Should you run the story as a regular news story within your newscast? Furnished news -- VNRs

31. A local bar and club is cooperating with the TV station you work for to do a special about drinking and driving. The assignment editor gives you the story. • Your religious views prevent you from using alcohol or condoning or promoting its use, so you ask not to cover the story. You’re told it’s a legitimate story, to cover it or you’re fired. Personal ethics

32. Carla calls 9-1-1 • Tower Jumper • Freeway police chase and shootout • Airport gate access – security • Suicide attempt on the overpass • Body parts on the freeway ### Others