Comments from another forum with thanks.
Re: Sonia Poulton - clearly not what most call a real journalist
Postby Carana » Tue Feb 10, 2015 12:46 pm
She's saying that she "did some studying" about the protocol of journalistic ethics of doorstepping (and mentions having consulted or contact with Reuters and CNN), and the result of her research is that it depends on whether you're a "private citizen" or a "celebrity / public figure". According to her, BL was in the former category, with a right to anonymity, merely one of "millions" on the #McCann tag expressing her views, and that as a "private citizens" people can refuse an interview and that therefore doorstepping is out of the question.
She contrasts with with the McCanns were in the latter as a result of voluntarily placing themselves in the public eye "going to the public asking for money..." and were therefore legitimately open to scrutiny.
Erm... there are a few problems with that somewhat simplistic 'tutorial'.
Private v Public
- BL wasn't a "public figure", but she had voluntarily placed her identity in the public domain, even though she later chose to disguise it. She had also chosen to say / write and do numerous things of a questionable nature, beyond simply "asking questions" or expressing a view.
Sky did not name her, nor even name the village. Others did. If any of the villagers, or indeed her family or friends from elsewhere, had followed her Facebook or Twitter accounts, they would have been aware of who she was in any case.
- The McCanns voluntarily placed themselves in the public eye to appeal to the public to help find their missing daughter. They were not Z-list wannabe "celebs", nor were they "public figures" prior to the disappearance.
Public interest
Sky had carefully considered the issue prior to the broadcast.
- Sky News’ guidelines state: “Any grounds for an investigation that involves significant intrusion into any individual’s privacy must be very strong. Before we start out we must be certain that any such intrusion is outweighed by the seriousness of the story and the amount of public good that will be delivered by its publication and/or broadcast.”
http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2 ... cann-troll
- Did Isabelle also ask about the relative weight of public interest versus privacy issues? If so, it doesn't seem to appear in her "tutorial".
(For some reason the difference between an issue deemed to be "in the public interest" and "what the public is interested in" continues to be confused.)
