Privacy is an ethical issue that concerns journalists. This
Annotated Bibliography focuses on recent news stories surrounding the custody
battle taking place between an Australian woman and Italian man over their four
daughters.
Christians, C. G.
(2010). The Ethics of Privacy. In C. Meyers (Ed.). Journalism Ethics: A Philosophical Approach (pp. 204-213). Oxford:
Oxford University Press.
Clifford Christians, Research Professor for Communication,
Professor of Media Studies and Professor of Journalism at the University of
Illinois, offers an educated, thoughtful insight into journalistic ethics concerning
privacy. Christians describes privacy as “the protection of one’s innermost
self by determining who or what enters our personal life space” (2010, p. 204). Firstly, he
states that privacy must be understood in terms of general morality and not in
terms of professional standards and secondly that the test for ethics is
whether the victim(s) consider the journalist’s behaviour and coverage
intrusive. This work is learned and intellectual as multiple philosophers such as
Aristotle and Rousseau are cited. Furthermore, Christians has written
extensively on this topic (e.g. Utilitarianism
in Media Ethics and its Discontents (2007) and Media Ethics on a Higher Order of Magnitude (2008)). The
credibility of the three sources below will be analysed in terms of their
content and medium as well as in light of “The Ethics of Privacy.” The key
difference between the sources are the ethical standards respectively adopted
and who the texts construct as being the “victims,” adopting Christians’ terminology, in the story.
Silva, K. (2012,
October 7). ‘’Please save them’: sisters’ plea.’ The Age. Retrieved from http://www.theage.com.au/national/please-save-them-sisters-plea-20121007-276we.html
Silva constructs an account of the dispute that dramatizes
the situation. The article describes how the girls pleaded with the Media, situated outside their Father’s Italian villa, to save them and return them to
their mother. The Age, owned and
published by Fairfax Media, holds a prominent position in the Australian
Commercial Media landscape. Its main purpose is to generate profit by covering what
the public demands. Silva has employed hyperbolic language such as “heated
standoff,” “dragged” and “clinging” in an effort to attract and engage the
public (Silva, 2012). However, this affects the credibility of the work, now rendered overly
passionate and one-sided. Further, Silva cites only one person in her article –
Sophie Walsh - an Australian Journalist. This privileging of the media’s
perspective unbalances the work. The publishing of the article online gives it
an interactive element, characteristic of Internet Journalism. Consequently,
the article is accompanied by links as well as a gallery of images. This
supporting journalism feeds into the piece’s ideological standpoint. Further,
the article holds many news values such as visualness, conflict and emotion. As
Christians professes, one determines ethical behaviour by considering whether
the victim(s) would find the journalist’s behaviour intrusive. If such a test
can be answered in the negative, the Journalist has acted ethically. Silva
depicts the four daughters in a way that fulfils Christians' definition of victims. Moreover, the article impliedly suggests
that the Media’s involvement was not an intrusion on the privacy of the victims
who actively sought the Media’s attention.
Holmes, J (Writer).
(2012, October 15). Media Watch - A
private dispute turned national spectacular [Television Broadcast].
Sydney: Australia Broadcasting Corporation
Jonathan Holmes, the presenter of the ABC’s Media Watch, a forum for media analysis, brings a highly informed perspective to
media coverage on the custody dispute (About Media Watch, n.d.). Holmes scrutinises journalistic ethics. In
doing so, he utilises a large range of sources including Peter Donnelley, the
Father’s lawyer; Chief Justice of the Family Court of Australia, Diana Bryant; and
the Girls’ Grandmother (on the mother’s side). Highlighting the inaccuracies in
mainstream media’s coverage, such as The
Age’s, Holmes suggests that coverage has been predominantly one-sided,
distorted and insensitive. The ABC is a form of public media. Consequently, its
purpose is to ultimately serve the public. This increases the source’s credibility
as it is able to “shun the temptations of monopoly,” unlike the profit-driven
commercial media (Scott, 1921). Significantly, Holmes depicts not only the girls but also the
Father as victims. Indeed, Holmes ends by stating that the Family Court has weighed
both sides of the story while the Public, through the media, has only heard one.
Holmes makes the point that all Family Court disputes are sensitive and that a
fair, ethical approach recognises that. In assessing the actions of the
Australian Media, he adopts a similar approach to that endorsed by
Christians who argues that victims dictate what is shared outside their “own
communities of intimacy” (2010, p. 210). Not only is the commercial media coverage unethical
in its disregard of the Fathers’ side of the story and his appeal for privacy,
journalists have also acted unethically by becoming active participants in the
story. Holmes draws specific attention to the actions of Sophie Walsh who rang
the girls’ mother and put her on speakerphone to talk to her daughters clinging to the gate. The Media, Homes suggests, have added to the children’s
distress.
Eeles, S (Writer). (2012, October 7). Sisters plead for help in Italy [Television Broadcast]. Mt Kootha: Channel 7
Eeles, S (Writer). (2012, October 7). Sisters plead for help in Italy [Television Broadcast]. Mt Kootha: Channel 7
“Sisters plead for help in Italy” produced by 7News reflects on the state of the girls
in Italy and their appeals for help. The way the article is written suggests
that the Media’s presence in Italy is necessary to allow the girls to be
heard, as if the Media have a public rather than commercial purpose. The
elements of the medium have been exploited to further the Channel’s agenda. The
filming used is selective and one-sided, showing scenes of the girls crying,
clinging to the gate and struggling with their father. This is accompanied by a
voice-over that states that one of the girl’s mouths was covered by her father
to “stifle her calls before dragging her away” (Eeles, 2012). Further, when outlining the
Father’s calls for calm, his words are juxtaposed with images of him struggling
with one of his daughters which positions the viewer to negatively respond to him and his requests. This portrayal, in extension, constructs the girls to appear as victims – a fact reinforced by the images shown at the end of the
broadcast of the villa’s padlocked gates. In “The Ethics of Privacy” Christians
states that “[i]nnocent victims … make the decision whether their grief is
shared outside their own communities of intimacy” (2012, p. 210). Indeed, Eeles appears to be
working off this premise as the Father’s request for privacy has been silenced
in favour of the girls (“victims”) decision to voice their grief. Not being a victim, the Father is irrelevant
to the question of journalistic ethics.
External References:
About Media Watch. (n.d.). Retrieved October 18, 2012,
from http://www.abc.net.au/mediawatch/more.htm
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