What is a journalist permitted to publish, and in what manner? What must they publish and what cannot under any circumstances be published?
The reporter must respect the sources and objects of their information, and their privacy. The rule of thumb is that the more the object of the article has received publicity in the past of their own free will, and the greater their societal power, the less privacy they must be granted.
Universal principles of equality and non-discrimination also apply to journalism.
If a politician is suspected of a crime, the societal significance of the issue is more important than the protection of the politician’s privacy. In this case, it is justifiable for the topic to be made into a story.
Instead, if a “regular” person is suspected of the same crime, due to the protection of privacy it is often not justified to publish the name of the perpetrator. The harm that is caused to the individual by the publication of the story might be greater than the reader’s right to know the perpetrator’s name.
Show compassion for those who may be affected by news coverage.
American Society of Professional Journalists
The media often has accurate guidelines about the publishing of criminals’ names. In the Finnish media, the rule of thumb is that the name of a person who has been sentenced can be published, if the sentence is greater than two years of unconditional imprisonment.
Publishing names must always be considered on a case-by-case basis in order not to cause harm to the victims of the crime. For example, the names of people who have been sentenced for sexual offences towards minors or domestic violence are often left unpublished, so that the identity of the victims is not revealed against their will.
The ethical guidelines of the American Society of Professional Journalists proclaim as follows: “Show compassion for those who may be affected by news coverage. Use heightened sensitivity when dealing with juveniles, victims of sex crimes, and sources or subjects who are inexperienced [in dealing with media] or unable to give consent [to the publishing of the information]. Consider cultural differences in approach and treatment.” The society’s guidelines also state that it is not always ethical to publish information that is legally available.
Universal principles of equality and non-discrimination also apply to journalism. A journalist must take care of the fact that equality is realised through refraining from discriminating against anyone based on race, ethnic origin, religion, gender, social class, profession, disability or other personal characteristic.
Reflection:
Under what circumstances do you think the name of a suspect or the name of a convicted criminal should be published and under what circumstances not?
Do public figures have a right to privacy?
The code of conduct of journalists states that the right to privacy of public figures like government ministers is narrower than for “laypeople”. If a politician is suspected of a crime, the societal significance of the issue is more important than the protection of the politician’s privacy. But the right to privacy still exists. So, for example the ministers also have a right for privacy.
For example, a minister’s health and medical history is a personal matter as long as there is no major reason to suspect that it might affect his performance.
The right to privacy also protects a minister’s personal money spending habits. This means that the public does not have a right to know, for example, how much they spend on a family member’s wedding reception. This does not, however, include cases where there is suspicion of corruption, like for instance evidence that they made use of public money to finance the reception.
In Finland, tax records are public. This helps responsible journalists to track the money flows of important decision-makers, but it also makes misuse of the information possible.
Reflection:
Can you think of examples of cases that bring into question a public figure’s right to privacy? Should a politician’s choices in their private/family life be completely separated from their public life?
Keep Reading:
Protection of sources; Tips for responsible reporting
Go back to the beginning of this section.
This article was updated on January 10th 2020.
