But the point is that a jury does not get to ignore the freedom of the press just because it does not like the press. And we do not get to say that an enterprise is not journalism just because we find what they do reprehensible. There is no official certification from the government or anyone else that makes someone or some organization journalists. As I have said, we do have some guidelines, established a priori (prior to the act that we may find offensive) to help us decide when the reporting of information in some way no longer enjoys protection. Did Gawker violate those? Again, I have not heard anyone even try to make that case here.
The main penalty for engaging in irresponsible journalism is supposed to be a loss of credibility. The big problem we currently have is not that we have websites publishing sex tapes, but that the standards for what constitutes credible journalism have fallen so low that such behavior is not already self-punishing. Rather than having rich bullies going around putting absurd little web sites out of business, I would rather they use their influence to figure out ways to restore some semblance of credibility to responsible journalism. On Sat, Aug 20, 2016 at 10:23 PM, Kevin M. <[email protected]> wrote: > > > On Saturday, August 20, 2016, PGage <[email protected]> wrote: > >> On Sat, Aug 20, 2016 at 8:57 PM, Kevin M. <[email protected]> >> wrote: >>> >>> >>> It turns out that posting somebody's sex tape without their permission >>> doesn't qualify as journalism, for which Gawker was taken to court and >>> punished. The case was bankrolled by a guy they outed, which also doesn't >>> qualify as journalism. Gawker called themselves journalists and were proven >>> repeatedly to not be. And for that they are no more. >>> >> >> Says who? It isn't only good journalism that deserves protection. >> > > Says a jury. And we aren't talking about journalism. We are talking about > a website that posted a home made porn as click-bait. > > >> >> Posting sex tapes and outing sexual orientation are not disqualifications >> from the protections afforded journalists - and even are not really per se >> irresponsible journalism. >> >> I agree, but journalists didn't post the video; it was posted to drive > traffic to a website. > >> >> I think half of what comes across Fox news is shabby stuff and does not >> deserve the proud label of journalism - but I would defend them against >> attempts to sue them in court. Irresponsible, obnoxious, bad and even >> harmful journalism is the price we pay for a free society. >> > > No it isn't. And unless FoxNews aired a sex tape of Macho Man Randy Savage > snapping into more than a Slim Jim, there is no comparison. There are > limits to free speech, as courts have ruled time and again. This time > around a jury decided that a sex tape posted without permission had no > journalistic merit. It wasn't bad journalism because it wasn't journalism. > It was invasion of somebody's privacy and Gawker's only defense was that > since the person is a public figure, they are not entitled to privacy. They > hid behind the 1st Amendment the same way a guy who wants to own a garage > full of rocket launchers hides behind the 2nd Amendment. It is a bullsh*t > defense, and a jury saw through it. > > Bad journalism is protected by the 1st Amendment. Nonexistent journalism > is not. > > > -- > Kevin M. (RPCV) > > -- > -- > TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People! > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > Groups "TV or Not TV" group. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected] > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected] > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "TVorNotTV" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > -- -- TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TV or Not TV" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TVorNotTV" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
