Ethics and Privacy

Photo in the Providence Evening Bulletin Normally, a metro daily would NOT run a photo like this. But... ●Several previous recent fires - no smoke detectors ●In urban New England, many houses are fire-traps ●Death was thought preventable The Relevant Facts

●“The message it signaled to the public was an overridingly important, powerful and worthy one.” ●“Witness the reality of a fast-moving fire.” ●“Witness the reality of the risks to residents, police, and firemen involved.” ●“Witness the reality of a fact sometimes forgotten or ignored -- the grim fact that fire kills.” --James Wyman, legendary editor who guided the paper to a Pulitzer The Justification

The Foley Beheading…About as Far as U.S. Media Went

●Tradition ●Philosophy and academic, such as Warren and Brandeis ●“Memo and Meeting” ●Formal codes, usually dealing with... ○Conflict of interest ○Accuracy and truth ○Constitutional privilege ○Protecting sources ○Recognizing and correcting error ○Context ○Objectivity ○Respect, responsibility, privacy Where do “Rules” Come From?

A popular, handsome high school student kills himself inside a building that is part of a school complex. He is an outstanding athlete and seemingly had everything to live for. Most news organizations do not divulge that the death of an essentially private person is a suicide. But in this case one editor thinks it’s worth breaking the rules. Here is how the case plays out in terms of moral philosophy.... The Teenage Suicide

The mayor of a small town is a hardliner on crime. He has made local drug enforcement a major issue and has berated judges for handing down light sentences in drug cases. You learn that his 19- year-old son, who lives at home and attends a local junior college, has been arrested for possession of a small quantity of marijuana, a violation. Very few papers would ever run a story on a small marijuana violation. Would you make an exception in this case? The Mayor’s Son

You have it from an unimpeachable source that a prominent tennis player has AIDS. He will not confirm or deny the report, but claims he has a right to privacy. In general, major news organizations don’t run unconfirmed reports about the medical problems of people who are not, let’s say, major public officials. Do you make an exception? The Athlete with AIDS

The Boston Blur NON-Consequentialism and the Gory Original Photo

The “rules” say we don’t alter news photos, but...

What’s Wrong with This Picture?

Ethics and National Security Clearly, do not want to endanger lives…would you cover an ambush? But national security claims have been abused: Pentagon Papers Wikileaks – Good or bad? Ben Bradlee’s View: NsI

Privacy Often viewed as a balance between right to privacy and right to know But where do those “rights” come from? Plenty of legacy for other “rights” – property, human rights, etc. But for centuries people had little expectation of privacy, even indoors Media were really not equipped to invade privacy

Warren and Brandeis, 1890 Angered by press intrusion Remember, at a time when newspapers discovered they had to fill pages…”society” news was more or less invented Argued that privacy was the most comprehensive of all rights

The “Right to Know” Argument developed after WWII Often attributed to Kent Cooper Basically, Cooper argued that press served a watchdog function for the public good

But Here’s What Sissela Bok Says: “How can one lay claims to a right to know the truth when even partial knowledge is out of reach concerning most human affairs, and when bias and rationalization and denial skew and limit knowledge still further? And how can one claim a right even to all the limited insights that it might be possible to acquire? Even such limited knowledge can rarely be viewed as a matter of right; indeed, there are realms about which we recognize that we must claim no rights to knowledge: the personal letters others wish to keep private, for example, or their intimate relationships.”

Major consequentialist exceptions accepted usually if it is the only way to get a story... ●Impersonation ●Spying ●Heavy reliance on anonymous sources ●Great public benefit ●But in general, lots of latitude for consequentialism The Bottom Line

We are Often Looking for the “Higher Right” ●When something is obviously wrong, it’s not really a question for ethicists ●What concerns us is the balance competing “right” options ●Rushworth Kidder,looked at “core values” of honesty, responsibility, respect, fairness, and compassion... ○Truth vs loyalty ○Individual vs community ○Short term vs long term ○Justice vs mercy

The Virtue-Ethics Decision - My View... ●Basic sense of decency and reasonable base of knowledge ●Consider consequentialist and non- consequentialist alternatives and WHY you choose them ●Realize there may be a price to be paid

To conclude on that last point...