Journalism And The Debate Over Privacy

Journalism and the Debate Over Privacy situates the discussion of issues of privacy in the landscape of professional journalism. Privacy problems present the widest gap between what journalism ethics suggest and what the law allows. This edited volume examines these problems in the context of both free expression theory and newsroom practice. Including essays by some of the country's foremost First Amendment scholars, the volume starts off in Part I with an examination of privacy in theoretical terms, intended to start the reader thinking broadly about conceptual problems in discussions about journalism and privacy. Part II builds on the theoretical underpinnings and looks at privacy problems as they are experienced by working journalists. This volume features discussion of: *privacy as a socially-constructed right--a moving target that changes with technology, social norms, national experience, and journalistic practice; *privacy as both a property and a commercial right; *privacy in terms of journalism ethics and journalistic codes; *privacy as an attribute of press independence from government; and *Bartnicki v. Vopper and its implications for journalism. With this volume, editor Craig L. LaMay provides a concise, intellectually provocative overview of a topic that is of growing importance to journalists, both legally and ethically. The work is intended for scholars and advanced students in communication law, ethics, and First Amendment rights, and is also appropriate for First Amendment and media law classes in law schools.

Edward Snowden's revelations about the mass surveillance capabilities of the US National Security Agency (NSA) and other security services triggered an ongoing debate about the relationship between privacy and security in the digital world. This discussion has been dispersed into a number of national platforms, reflecting local political realities but also raising questions that cut across national public spheres. What does this debate tell us about the role of journalism in making sense of global events? This book looks at discussions of these debates in the mainstream media in the USA, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Russia and China. The chapters focus on editorials, commentaries and op-eds and look at how opinion-based journalism has negotiated key questions on the legitimacy of surveillance and its implications to security and privacy. The authors provide a thoughtful analysis of the possibilities and limits of 'transnational journalism' at a crucial time of political and digital change.

Writing in their famous Harvard Law Review article of 1890, Louis Brandeis and Samuel Warren asserted what many have considered one of the most cherished American values: the right to be let alone. Yet in this post-9/11 world, personal privacy is more threatened than ever. This book provides students and general readers a comprehensive overview of privacy in contemporary America. Included are some 225 alphabetically arranged entries written by more than 100 expert contributors. Entries cover such topics as the USA PATRIOT act, abortion rights, wiretapping, telemarketing, identity theft, DNA databases, Internet and email privacy, and numerous other concerns. Entries cite works for further reading, and the Encyclopedia closes with a bibliography of books, websites, organizations, and films. New threats to privacy have arisen in the face of competing social, political, and economic demands, rapid technological change, and an intrusive and voyeuristic mass media. Citizens are barraged on a daily basis with stories of corporate data mining, government surveillance programs, identity theft, and computer hacking of personal information. As a result, citizens are becoming increasingly concerned about their personal privacy as well as their privacy rights. This encyclopedia, the first of its kind, comprehensively overviews various aspects of privacy throughout U.S. history, including significant legal cases, events, laws, organizations, individuals, technology, and terms. With some 225 alphabetically arranged entries written by more than 100 leading scholars and experts in the field, this inclusive and authoritative work will appeal to those interested in both historical and contemporary notions of privacy in the United States. Readers will learn of the significance of technology in today's society, its helpful and harmful effects on citizens' privacy, and what to expect in the future. Entries cite print and electronic resources, and the Encyclopedia closes with a listing of books, organizations, websites, films, and other sources of information.

Media Ethics: Key Principles for Responsible Practice makes ethics accessible and applicable to media practice, and explains key ethical principles and their application in print and broadcast journalism, public relations, advertising, marketing, and digital media. Unlike application-oriented casebooks, this text sets forth the philosophical underpinnings of key principles and explains how each should guide responsible media behavior. Author Patrick Lee Plaisance synthesizes classical and contemporary ethics in an accessible way to help students ask the right questions and develop their critical reasoning skills, as both media consumers and media professionals of the future. The Second Edition includes new examples and case studies, expanded coverage of digital media, and two new chapters that distinguish the three major frameworks of media ethics and explore the discipline across new media platforms, including blogs, new forms of digital journalism, and social networking sites.

In an age of smartphones, Facebook and YouTube, privacy may seem to be a norm of the past. This book addresses ethical and legal questions that arise when media technologies are used to give individuals unwanted attention. Drawing from a broad range of cases within the US, UK, Australia, Europe, and elsewhere, Mark Tunick asks whether privacy interests can ever be weightier than society’s interest in free speech and access to information. Taking a comparative and interdisciplinary approach, and drawing on the work of political theorist Jeremy Waldron concerning toleration, the book argues that we can still have a legitimate interest in controlling the extent to which information about us is disseminated. The book begins by exploring why privacy and free speech are valuable, before developing a framework for weighing these conflicting values. By taking up key cases in the US and Europe, and the debate about a ‘right to be forgotten’, Tunick discusses the potential costs of limiting free speech, and points to legal remedies and other ways to develop new social attitudes to privacy in an age of instant information sharing. This book will be of great interest to students of privacy law, legal ethics, internet governance and media law in general.

The SAGE Guide to Key Issues in Mass Media Ethics and Law is an authoritative and rigorous two-volume, issues-based reference set that surveys varied views on many of the most contentious issues involving mass media ethics and the law. Divided into six thematic sections covering information from contrasting ethical responsibly and legal rights for both speech and press, newsgathering and access, and privacy to libelous reporting, business considerations, and changing rules with social media and the Internet, the information in this guide is extremely relevant to a variety of audiences. This guide specifically focuses on matters that are likely to be regular front-page headlines concerning topics such as technological threats to privacy, sensationalism in media coverage of high-profile trials, cameras in the courtroom, use of confidential sources, national security concerns and the press, digital duplication and deception, rights of celebrities, plagiarism, and more. Collectively, this guide assesses key contentious issues and legal precedents, noting current ethical and legal trends and likely future directions. Features: Six thematic sections consist of approximately a dozen chapters each written by eminent scholars and practitioners active in the field. Sections open with a general Introduction by the volume editors and conclude with a wrap-up “Outlook” section to highlight likely future trends. Chapters follow a common organizational outline of a brief overview of the issue at hand, historical background and precedent, and presentation of various perspectives (pro, con, mixed) to the issue. “See also” cross references guide readers to related chapters and references and further readings guide users to more in-depth resources for follow-up. This reference guide is an excellent source for the general public, students, and researchers who are interested in expanding their knowledge in mass media and the ethics and law surrounding it.

This open access book provides a detailed exploration of the British media coverage of the press reform debate that arose from the News of the World phone hacking scandal and the Leveson Inquiry. Gathering data from a content analysis of 870 news articles, Ogbebor shows how journalists cover debates on media policy and illustrates the impact of their coverage on democracy. Through this analysis, the book contributes to knowledge of paradigm repair strategies; public sphere; gatekeeping theory; the concept of journalism as an interpretive community; political economy of the press; as well as the neoliberal and social democratic interpretations of press freedom. Providing insight into factors inhibiting and aiding the role of the news media as a democratic public sphere, it will be a valuable resource for the press, media reform activists, members of the public, and academics in the fields of journalism, politics and law.