Daily Inter Lake
What guidance does the SPJ Code of Ethics provide?
We'll use this story as our first blog assignment. I'd like each of you to comment on the above story and the ethics behind leaving out the name of one of the news subjects. You need to make at least one blog post by noon on Friday. Multiple posts will improve your score on this assignment. You can continue to respond through the weekend, and we'll discuss in class on Monday.
Remember, these decisions are rarely black and white. Is there both rationale to leave the name out, as well as to include it?
I'll be out of town on Friday, Feb. 20, but Scott Crandell, the news editor of the Daily Inter Lake, has agreed to teach the class that day. So you'll have a chance to ask the person who made the call about his rationale for leaving out the identity of someone involved in this news story.
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I think that this article follows the SPJ code of ethics in not revealing her name to minimize harm. At the time, this victim was a minor. She is a private citizen, as opposed to a public official. So, there is no justification to intrude on her right to privacy. She may have family members, as well as new employers who do not know. I don't know what the rationale would be to include the victims name in the story.
ReplyDeleteI agree that it was a responsible decision that the report avoided revealing the woman's name. After all, this is a very delicate matter that is intensified by the fact that the woman was a minor at the time. Even now, this is not the type of thing that should involve her name. It just isn't right to reveal her name, and expose her to the public, despite the fact that she is older, so they did good to protect her.
ReplyDeleteThis story is following the SPJ code of ethics in relation to "minimizing harm". They did not include the name of the woman who was involved in the sex crimes because of this. I think that it was good idea to protect her name from the public eye. It could have caused a lot of problems on many levels.
ReplyDeleteSexual assault is an extremely difficult thing for someone to have to experience. The woman in this story has already been through enough. In the SPJ code of ethics journalists have to minimize harm. It would be harmful to this woman to release her name. She was brave enough to turn in the assualter and that in itself is commendable. A lot of people who are assaulted are too panic stricken to even turn in the person that committed the crime. They got the criminal and the woman's name was witheld so the SPJ code of ethics was fulfilled.
ReplyDeleteThese are all good insights. But I'm also wondering if there may be some rationale for including the name of the victim of the crime. Remember, just because there is some rationale does not mean we include the name. Consider our weighing test. There is always harm, but we make decisions based on minimizing - not eliminating - harm.
ReplyDeleteThis may be an easy call. But not all decisions on withholding information are so easy. In fact, they can be some of the toughest decisions you'll ever have to make in the newroom.
Have a good weekend. I look forward to discussing this in more detail in class next week. I'll post some notes on upcoming lectures this weekend.
What if the victim of this crime wanted her name to be published? That would certainly warrant the publication of her identity. Maybe, if she was a victims rights advocate or just wanted to be a source of strength for other victims.
ReplyDeleteWithholding crime victims’ identities is a standard practice by nearly all newspapers, with only a few exceptions: when victims choose to come forward and when victims go to court, as it could be argued that the victims are taking initiative and stepping into the public spotlight. I think it all depends on the victim. As Julia said, they may want to share their story, to tell other people and to help them get through whatever the ordeal is that they’re trying to get through.
ReplyDeleteThey did not mention the victims name in the story. Therefore they had a reason to minimize harm by not putting her name in the story. If she had requested to have her name published then they might have put it in there. There are instances where the victims name should be indicated but not in this case.
ReplyDeleteThis news story fulfills the ethics code for journalists in that seeking truth and prevailing facts are the released information. Bringing the case back to the news and reporting an outcome can be difficult to protect someone's privacy. One point that isn't covered is the recovery of the girl after this type of episode and info about the family - they do show the man as able to fraudulently control a sizable amount of money by transferring assets to another's possession to avoid court order. They did use the word "make out" and that really strikes me as questionable based on the assumption of agreement.
ReplyDeleteThe woman wasn't named because she was the victim of sexual assault. And if she doesn't wish to have her name put in the public spotlight then appease her demands.
ReplyDelete