Privacy and Public Interest[1]

8/3/2019 Privacy and Public Interest[1]

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A presentation by,

S Subhakeerthana

V SandhyaV Maathanghi

V Lakshmi

(III Journalism)


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Relationship between a person's right to

privacy and the public's right to knowabout that person's life

What it means to be a public figure and

what rights journalist have to examinetheir lives and the lives of their families.

Examining the rights of people to grieve

in private


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A journalist should let people know what ishappening and decision making lies withpeople to believe it or not

The right of society to be informed conflictswith the right of individuals to privacy

Concern for the individual must be balancedwith your responsibility to society as a

whole.


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When there is a conflict between the public'sright to know and the individual's right toprivacy, the first thing you should do is askyourself two questions:

Will I intrude on a person's private life by the wayI collect the news?

Will I intrude on people's private life bypublishing or broadcasting the story?

It is possible to justify publishing about a

person's private life in the public interest, eventhough you cannot justify upsetting them in theway you gather the news


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Is difficult to separate a person's private life fromtheir public role

Politicians are the best examples

People elect politicians to office for who they are,

not just for their skills in a particular job A politician's career depends on meeting lots of

people and being popular with voters.

Success of cinema people lies on the image theyproject to the public.

Many deliberately blur the distinction betweentheir on-screen and off-screen personalities toachieve success


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There is a difference between the one whoenters public arena voluntarily and byforce/circumstance.

For e.g. A businessman who holds a pressconference to announce some new money-making project is seeking public attention;the airline hostess who suddenly discoversshe has contracted a rare tropical disease hassimply been thrust into the news against herwill.


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You could justify probing into both the publicand private finances of the businessman. Youcannot justify digging up scandalous detailsof the flight attendant's private life where it

does not have any relevance to the story ofthe disease.

There is also the question of who is a publicfigure?

Journalists would accept it is their duty toexamine the whole life of someone, but oftenit is wrong to do so


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It is difficult to put hereditary leaderssuch as royalty in the class

Although they are obviously public

figures, they did not put themselvesforward for office in the same way aspoliticians. Neither do they depend on

being liked by the public, althoughmost of them probably want to be.


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The answer varies between differentsocieties and different hereditary leaders

In some societies, royalty is treated

almost like public property, with themedia feeling that they can comment onanything they do, in public or in private.In other societies, it is not acceptable to

criticise royalty at all, even in their publiclives


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Does your society believe that hereditary leadersshould be questioned or criticised?

If it does, how far can the media go in tocriticism? Can you criticise their public

performance in office? Can you examine even their most private lives?

Do you as a journalist have the right to criticisetheir behaviour under special circumstances,even if the tradition is not to question them?

If they accept public funds, can they be criticisedfor corruption? How bad must their behaviour bebefore you should report on it?


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The public has the right to know anyfacts which reveal special aspects oftheir character, especially faults

Public figures are responsible to set amodern tone to the society. So theymust be clean and transparent

The media should constantly examinethe lives of public figures withresponsibility


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News must be interesting, but we cannot expectalways to find an educational aspect of everystory we cover. Many people read newspapersand listen to the radio simply to know what is

happening in the world around them, whether ornot it will make them better people.

Theres a difference between things which thepublic has a right to know and those which

individuals have a right to keep private. It is not easy either to define or maintain a

balance, but you have to!


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Public figures have right to relax from theeyes of public.

The public does have the right to questiontheir methods of relaxation when publicfigures use their position to gain preferentialtreatment

Entertainers make a plea for special treatment

as public figures


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They argue that, as they are not elected topositions of public trust, their off-stage oroff-screen lives are nobody's business buttheir own. They say that they play a fantasy

role in a movie or a television show, and theirreal lives are private.

For journalists, the issue centres on whetherpublic figures use publicity to promote a

good image of themselves to the public. Ifthey do, they cannot claim that the mediashould also not expose their bad qualities.


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If they use the media to makemoney, they cannot be surprisedwhen the media use their private

lives to sell newspapers.

The more that people use themedia machine, the more they canexpect to be used by it.


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How far should the families of public figures be thesubject of media scrutiny? You are often able to make judgments based on your own

perception of what is news for your readers or listeners inparticular cases.

For example, would you cover any or all of the following

stories? A film star's son commits suicide. The Police Minister's wife is caught stealing. The council surveyor's daughter is on a drink-driving

charge.

We stress that there is no single right or wrong answer,but these are the kinds of questions you should discusswith colleagues, taking into account all relevant factors.


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Journos need to be sensitive during certaintimes in peoples lives

The media should respect the privacy of eventhe most prominent public figure if a lovedone dies.

In fact, tragic deaths are often the kind ofstory your readers or listeners will be

interested in. However, you should approachall tragedies with sensitivity and even try tofind alternative sources of information


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Some people actually welcome the opportunity totalk to the media at such times, either because itis an emotional release or because they believethat their loved one was important enough for

their death to be recorded in the media. The sobs and gasps should not be included

simply for the emotional effect. They must bepart of the way your interview is telling the story.

People should be allowed to grieve in their ownway and we should not judge them at such times


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The same concept applies to journalists aswell

If you believe you have the right to inform thepublic and you do it responsibly, you can

argue for the same treatment for your privatelife.

if you overstep those boundaries to sell morepapers or attract more viewers or listeners,

you have no right to argue for specialtreatment if others overstep the sameboundaries to examine your private life


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The more journalists put their own personalityinto their presentation of the news, the morethey can expect others (especially other

journalists) to focus attention on their

personalities, both public and private The person who simply and objectively reads the

news bulletins can expect to enjoy a private life;the one who presents a television chat show or

writes a personal comment column in anewspaper must accept the risks associated withfame.


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You have a right to report on the public life ofpublic figures

You can report on the private life of publicfigures if

it tells something about their character whichmight affect their public duty

they are responsible for public assets

their private misdeeds could affect the public

good You have no right to intrude on a person's

private life where there is no public benefit

Privacy and Public Interest[1]

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