Jane Simpson is likely to win a judgement against the reporter as the odds are often in the plaintiff’s favor versus the defense in libel cases. The first element of the plaintiff’s libel case is an assertion or statement of fact – not an opinion. The defense’s blog note about Simpson shooting players with illegal steroids is a statement of fact. Since the reporter’s statement was published through mass media, or the campus blog, it is considered libelous through the second element, publication. The third element of the libel case, identification, is easily met because the defense uses the name Jane Simpson and identifies her by the title of a women’s basketball training staffer. The fourth element of a plaintiff’s libel case is the defamatory content itself, or libel. Defamation can range from words that are false or injurious to statements that cause scorn or ridicule. If the Simpson faces contempt, hatred or loses confidence from others because of the reporter’s blog, it is defamatory. The defamation would be categorized under libel per se, involving accusations of criminal activity, unethical conduct, unprofessional behavior, immoral actions or malpractice. Implying that Simpson gave the basketball players illegal drugs meets these requirements. It also meets the first rule-overall context; when you look at the reporter’s statement …show more content…
Served to protect a citizen’s reputation, libel law lets any living person who believes their reputation was damaged by written word file a libel case to rebuild their reputation and gain money for compensation. The initial failures of the story lie in reporter’s negligence in collecting and verifying information regarding the rumor following Jane Simpson. Principal tenets of the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics include seeking truth, verifying information before publishing, avoiding furtive reporting if possible, and not
However, regardless of whether the print industry actually is dying or not, a publisher is responsible, both legally and ethically, for every manuscript they put onto our shelves. This essay argues that publishers need to make fact checking part of the standard publishing procedure to uphold their legal and ethical responsibilities to the public. Forbidden Lies by Norma Khouri will be used as a case study throughout the essay. First, this essay will give a brief overview of the Norma Khouri hoax, then move on to discuss why fact checking is not commonplace in the book publishing industry. Next, it will assess where the legal and ethical responsibilities lie — with the author or publisher. After this, it will examine the financial repercussions and damage to a publisher 's reputation after the publication of a literary hoax. Then, it will begin to examine the ethical damage literary hoaxes cause to the readers who are
When Jimmy Quatermain pursues a libel claim, he will have to prove defamatory content, falsity, fault, identification and publication on my behalf. The claim made on Quatermain puts his job and reputation at stake. What I wrote on the blog accused Quatermain, the baseball team and the University of all practicing bad habits. Concerning defamatory content, the judge will review the statement in context of the entire article or story and decide if it is a matter of law (libel per se because accusations were made). Afterward if the judge thinks the meaning of the language is unclear and is considered defamatory then factfinder, which is typically a jury or a judge, is
Moving aside from the question of whether technology changes the view on ethics in journalism, it’s important to look on the opposite side of the spectrum—the court itself. Jonathan Entin does just that in his article Being the Government Means (Almost) Never Having to Say You’re Sorry. Entin puts a different (and slightly more unknown) perspective on how the law feels about the Sheppard V. Maxwell case by giving insight on the prosecutor’s point of view. Entin explains in detail, “The prosecutor’s theory of the case was straightforward: Sam Sheppard,… whose wife was frustrated by his infidelity, argued with Marilyn in their bedroom, beat her to death… and invented a tale of a bushy-haired intruder who slugged him unconscious… After killing his wife, Sam called his brother Steve to help him fix up
Nowadays journalists have the responsibility to report facts as accurately, objectively, and disinterestedly as is humanly possible. ‘’The, honest, self-disciplined, well-trained reporter seeks to be a propagandist for nothing but the truth’’ (Casey, 1944b).
The O.J. Simpson Trial will always be one of the most discussed cases in history. The well-known former football-player-turned-sports-announcer married Nicole Brown in 1985. Around ten o’clock on the Sunday night of June 12, 1994, a single male came through the back entrance of Nicole Simpson’s condominium located on Bundy Drive. The man brutally slashed Nicole’s neck, nearly severing it from her body, then stabbed Ronald Goldman, Nicole’s current boyfriend at the time, at least thirty times. Whether Simpson is guilty or innocent is not up for debate, but I am here to present a few facts.
With more and more wealthy Australians bringing journalists and publishers to court to demand the revelation of sources shield laws are becoming increasingly important. Shield laws can be defined as an array of laws that offer protection to journalists or other communicators who otherwise face a disobedient contempt charge for refusing to reveal a confidential source. In particular, with the introduction of shield laws in Western Australia journalists’ professional ethics have taken priority over the demands of the law. Although these shield laws provide some protection for journalists and their informants in WA there are still some weaknesses in terms of how these laws are interpreted in court. Furthermore, shield laws are significant in maintaining
Living in a modern era, “fake news” and “truthiness” have become increasingly more common phenomena. In what is also known as the “post-truth” era, terms such as these were relatively new concepts to American citizens when Janet Cooke, a Washington Post journalist, wrote a completely fabricated story about a young child who was a heroin addict called “Jimmy’s World”. She attracted praise, attention, and fame, but this glory soon took a nosedive when she admitted her faults. In the Columbia Journalism Review, one of Cooke’s colleagues, Mike Sager, gives an account of the events that occurred in the 1980s, as well as how these events affected the reputations of Janet Cooke, her editors, and The Washington Post as a whole. Sager also gives an
This paper conducts research on Orenthal James ‘O.J.’ Simpson’s 1994 murder trial of his ex-wife Nicole Simpson-Brown and her friend Ronald Goldman, in which Simpson was acquitted.This trial is one of the most televised court cases in history. Once a well-rounded guy, Simpson born in San Francisco, had a successful college football career at USC, winning the Heisman Trophy. Simpson then went onto the NFL playing for the Buffalo Bills as a star running back. The O.J. Simpson trial was majorly sensationalized due to the fact that he was one of the first african-american sports figure who 's crime was televised through all channels of media. I am going to discuss how he was considered not guilty in how is defense lawyers were able to get the charges acquitted. In this case money certainly bought Simpson justice but in a few other cases money did not buy people with celebrity status justice.
The first and most important principle in the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics is to seek truth and report it. Glass violated this principle in every way that one possibly could. Glass wrote 41 pieces while working with the New Republic, 27 of those pieces were fabricated in some form or fashion. The piece that brought light to Glass’s
It was perplexing time for The New York Times; a chapter, in their long-run, of fabrications that are now consider fabulists and egregious plagiarism. Hard News by Seth Mnookin, recounts the time a narcissistic and pedantic executive editor, named Howell Raines took took charged of the steering-wheel of one of the most reliable and prominent newspapers in the nation. It is described how Raines and other high-profiled and important figures for the paper, such as managing editor Gerald M. Boyd, dealt with the Jayson Blair’s scandal. The Jayson Blair scandal is about the terrible repercussions when plagiarism and fabulism is committed by a reporter. It not only tarnishes the reporter’s reputation but the newspaper’s transparency as a whole. I
Being trusted by millions of people is more than an honor or privilege, but rather it is a power of immense impact. It is a force that shapes the nation, for better or worse. As much good a journalism can create, it also used to deceive the masses and incite unrest. Recently, an article circle Facebook sites. The title was FBI Agent Found Dead in a Murder Suicide. It was published in an apparently-legitimate website. Truth is, it was a fake article published in a website meant to confuse readers. Many similar websites and articles had been created by the author Jestin Coler. At first, his motivations were heroic, trying to highlight the “failed” American government. During the 2016 elections, fake news about the candidates went rampant. Coler had 20 to 25 writers working for him publishing article after article of slander and propaganda for either party. Some of the articles published reached 1.5 million views in just ten days. Coler makes anywhere from $10 thousand to $30 thousand every month from ad revenue of people who visit his fake news sites. Despite his initial good intentions, Coler willingly deceived readers into believing outlandish claims simply because it was published in a “news
In the Journalists’ Code of Ethics is implemented to the media to keep the reporting of all journalists fair and non-judgemental. The professional standards
Jayson Blair, former New York Times reporter was found guilty of committing acts of fraud and plagiarism for more the 600 articles he wrote in 2003 after 5 years. In his journey into journalism he went from raw intern to reporter. His colleagues and other public officials made the first allegations that his articles were fabricated. The investigation found he was lying about being at the scene of major events in history (Times reported,” 2003). It shocked a lot of people because he was a lead reporter for one of the biggest news articles in US (10 Years After Jayson Blair). The investigation went further and New York Times reviewed all his articles in depth. It was stated that Jayson Blair was not in the locations he describes in his articles. However, he made it seem that way. They found out he used his laptop and cellphone to
This is where the media tend to clash with people. Some journalist may argue and say that when publishing privet information it is in the public interest but they must prove that. This is in reference section4 which states, “The defendant reasonably believed that publishing the statement complained of was in the public interest." This is under the public interest defence, which was created under the defamation act 2013. The law was set up to allow journalists the right to free speech in reference to Article 10 stating “Everyone has the right to freedom of expression.”
The film Shattered Glass presents the ethical issues of fabrication and the deception of the writer, Stephen Glass, to his editor and co-workers. He deliberately sensationalized his stories in order to gain his reader’s attention. His facts were partially, if not completely, inaccurate and he presented notes that he fabricated as facts for each of his pieces at the New Republic. Journalists in the media have a duty to the people to report the truth and follow an ethical code whenever reporting stories.