Week 7: Privacy: Where Do You Get It?

(Cartoon Stock, 2007)

It has been a long debate over which should be of higher importance – the public’s right to know or individual’s right to privacy. Journalists, especially, are often caught in an ethical dilemma while performing their day to day task – news writing. Since a journalist is primarily responsible to the readers, listeners and viewers who have the right to know what is happening in society, invading into privacy of other individuals for the sake of reporting on the truth would seem highly justifiable.

But, what exactly is public interest? Like McQuail (1992) had mentioned, public interest matters may be simply issues that cater to the public’s curiosity, nevertheless, it can be mean issues which the public have a right know, a share in or an expectation of benefit from knowing. Apparently, in situations where journalists are found to have invaded into privacies of others, reporting on issues that that merely interesting to the public and not of genuine interest to the public may seem less justified on ethical grounds.

Yet, is being ethical really an important aspect journalists, or even readers, are concerned over? Perhaps media, being a business struggling to thrive in the intense competition after all, tend to be more interested in selling papers and making profits. Although many may have realised the trend of tabloidisation of media and softening of hard news (Boczkowski, 2009), few are aware of the threat that comes with this unhealthy trend of journalism.

The blooming paparazzi culture and tabloid news business over the years are indications of news media professionalism giving way to the mere curiosity of the public. Since tabloid news media are not aimed at being the fourth estate for the nation or live up to being ‘balance and fair’, the increase tabloidisation of news media encouraged an increase tendency of journalist digging into private lives of public figures to appeal to the prurient curiosity of its readers.

Of course, it would be too idealistic to expect a media to be extremely morally upright and only report on news that are of genuine public interest. I guess journalist ought to remind themselves that even the most legitimate public interest may turn out to be insensitive public prurience when the intention of invasion of another individual’s privacy is for the nosiness of the people, and not exactly for an educative or interest-informing purpose.

Reference

Boczkowski, P. J. (2009), 'Rethinking Hard and Soft News Production: From Common Ground to Divergent Paths', Journal of Communication, 59, (1), 98 - 116.

Cartoon Stock. 2007. Public Interest. [Image] Available from: http://www.cartoonstock.com/newscartoons/cartoonists/lfo/lowres/lfon196l.jpg [Accessed 23 June 2011].

McQuail, D. (1992). Media Performance. Mass Communication and the Public Interest. Sage, London.