Thursday, October 16, 2008

Bomb Story Yields Media Law ?'s

There were reports that an explosion occurred in Clayton today and the immediate coverage provoke some thoughts n the media's reporting and the law http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/laworder/story/3C78B4C1F6395291862574E4005A77FB?OpenDocument. Starting off with the picture of people being evacuated: Instead of the current headline, the headline Suspect A Large; then that would've brought tort of False Light. If the follow p story includes the victim from his/her hospital bed and they decline to have pictures taken but nevertheless they are published? The questions would be if they were a private citizen or a public figure (private would have a good case). Another question would be if an ailment were derived from the incendiary device were contagious, then would the media have a right to publish information. What if the person decides to take a walk around the hospital grounds and ends up in a place where the public can see them (public gaze). There are many things for media to consider when covering this type of event. The must be responsible or it could cost them.

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