JRNL 3651

Privacy ethics
Privacy
• The right to be left alone, to control unwanted publicity
(Brandeis and Warren)
• A reaction to the journalism of the late 1800s
• “The ability to do things in our lives without public
scrutiny” (Plaisance)
• A concept that is socially and culturally constructed
• Why it matters
• Helps us become moral and social beings (Aristotle)
• Gives us the “ability to protect ourselves from being judged out of
context” (Rosen)
• To lose control of one’s information is, in part, to lose control of
one’s life and one’s dignity
Circle of
intimacy
• Identifies
zones of
privacy
• Necessary
for the
development
of self and of
relationships
Privacy
• Universal features of privacy (from Plaisance)
• Social distance is a part of social interaction
• People believe they are never fully alone
• Privacy invasions often occur “for a perceived social benefit or to
prevent antisocial conduct”
• In a more complex society, opportunities for physical and
psychological privacy tend to increase
• Frontstage and backstage spaces
Types of privacy invasions
• Deception
• Collecting information for one purpose, but using it for another

• Violation of confidentiality
• Intrusion into private spaces
• Can be physical or using technology
• Examples are intercepting phone calls, peeping, taking
photographs or videos without the person’s consent or knowledge
• Publication or release of embarrassing information
Intrusion?
• Bode Miller interview at Sochi Olympics
• NBC statement:
• “Our intent was to convey the emotion that Bode Miller was
feeling after winning his bronze medal. We understand how some
viewers thought the line of questioning went too far, but it was our
judgment that his answers were a necessary part of the story.”
• Tyler Clementi, 18 and a student at Rutgers
• In 2010, secretly taped by his roommate having sex in his dorm
room with another young man
• The roommate, Dhaurn Ravi, live streamed the videos on Twitter
• Clementi, after learning about the videos, committed suicide
• Ravi was found guilty of invasion of privacy and bias intimidation
Privacy and journalism
• Inherent clash between privacy interests and journalism,
which often delves into people’s personal lives
• Good journalism “respects private spaces and information
when there is not an overriding public interest”
• But journalists cannot be guided by primarily by privacy
concerns
• Loyalty is to the public
Privacy and journalism
• Some guidelines:
• “Rules” are seldom the answer
• As a journalist, you will inevitably hurt or offend someone
• But do put yourself in the other person’s shoes
• Is there a way to ease the pain or intrusion?
• The First Amendment is not a license to gossip
• Avoid the arguments that “it’s news” or that “other people
are running the story”
• Keep the community and its standards in mind
• Consider whether there is a real right or need to know
Privacy and journalism
• In December 2013, following
the Sandy Hook school
shootings, the Journal News
in White Plains, NY, published
a story about gun ownership
along with a map identifying
people who had pistol permits
• Washington Post gun story
• With information on lobbying
and ‘time to crime’ data
Gawker case
• The story
• Nick Denton about the case
on CNN
• The ruling
• In March 2016, a Florida jury
awarded Hogan $115 million in
compensatory damages and $25
million in punitive damages
• Gawker filed for bankruptcy in
June 2016
• August 2016, Gawker sites
bought by Univision
• Gawker itself shut down
• Gawker settles with Hogan in
November 2016 for $31 million
Privacy and reality television
• Jeff Lewis and Gage Edward of
Flipping Out, as well as Bravo and
Authentic Entertainment being sued for
invasion of privacy by Alexandra Trent,
the surrogate who gave birth to Lewis’s
and Gage’s daughter
• Birth was filmed and aired on Bravo on
Aug. 31, 2017
• Trent agreed to be on the program, but
not to filming of the birth
• Says the birth was filmed
“surreptitiously from behind a curtain”
• Says the filming, airing and comments
from Lewis left her humiliated and
distraught