Spring Break
The Daily OrangeExpert panel addresses ethical dilemmas of free press
By Bethany Bump
Posted: 11/14/08, 12:46 AM EST Section: News
Hughes witnessed local newspapers in her hometown smear a fellow community member and attended the panel out of concern for media coverage of innocent or guilty persons.
"They said he had ties to a terrorist," she said. "They destroyed his life and they continue to do so. I feel very passionately about civil liberties and really appreciated this discussion tonight."
Lorraine Branham, dean of Newhouse, served as one of the panelists. She said she thought the lineup of panelists did a good job highlighting the complexities of the issues on the table.
"It touched on the difficulties journalists face when making decisions for stories," Branham said, "especially in the world of new media and how complex it's become."
At times during the discussion, some panelists did not get a chance to voice their opinion as much as others and it was difficult for all voices to be heard, Branham said.
Irene Liu, one of the featured panelists and a staff writer for the Albany Times Union's Capitol Confidential blog, capitalized on her role as a blogger to address whether bloggers should maintain the same standard of ethics conventional journalists do when it comes to reporting inflammatory stories.
"Nothing goes in our blog that I'm not confident in," Liu said. "We have a different role than print media, but we have the same standards. If there is something shady going on it is our job to investigate it."
William Easton, another panelist and a Rochester defense attorney, engaged in an extensive debate with Liu and Mike Grygiel - an attorney with Hiscock and Barclay -toward the end of the discussion in response to whether reporters have an obligation to hand over subpoenaed video of a crime they witnessed and recorded.
"The reporters I've always talked to relish the prospect of jail time," Easton said as the audience laughed. "They want a story and there's no better story for them than a reporter going to jail. And they want their sources to know that they will go to jail for them."
Liu conceded Easton's point. "Journalists around the world risk much more than jail in order to do the public justice."
blbump@syr.edu
"They said he had ties to a terrorist," she said. "They destroyed his life and they continue to do so. I feel very passionately about civil liberties and really appreciated this discussion tonight."
Lorraine Branham, dean of Newhouse, served as one of the panelists. She said she thought the lineup of panelists did a good job highlighting the complexities of the issues on the table.
"It touched on the difficulties journalists face when making decisions for stories," Branham said, "especially in the world of new media and how complex it's become."
At times during the discussion, some panelists did not get a chance to voice their opinion as much as others and it was difficult for all voices to be heard, Branham said.
Irene Liu, one of the featured panelists and a staff writer for the Albany Times Union's Capitol Confidential blog, capitalized on her role as a blogger to address whether bloggers should maintain the same standard of ethics conventional journalists do when it comes to reporting inflammatory stories.
"Nothing goes in our blog that I'm not confident in," Liu said. "We have a different role than print media, but we have the same standards. If there is something shady going on it is our job to investigate it."
William Easton, another panelist and a Rochester defense attorney, engaged in an extensive debate with Liu and Mike Grygiel - an attorney with Hiscock and Barclay -toward the end of the discussion in response to whether reporters have an obligation to hand over subpoenaed video of a crime they witnessed and recorded.
"The reporters I've always talked to relish the prospect of jail time," Easton said as the audience laughed. "They want a story and there's no better story for them than a reporter going to jail. And they want their sources to know that they will go to jail for them."
Liu conceded Easton's point. "Journalists around the world risk much more than jail in order to do the public justice."
blbump@syr.edu
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