![]() It’s a set of best practices to guide journalists in making ethical decisions," he said. ![]() "The ethics code is not intended as a legal standard. ![]() It doesn’t establish a standard of care for journalists," SPJ president Paul Fletcher told POLITICO Media.įletcher, who has a law degree from Washington & Lee University and is the publisher and editor in chief of Virginia Lawyers Weekly, said that the code is intended as a set of principles, not a detailed list of rules that journalists must follow. "In 2009, we added an explicit disclaimer saying that it was not legally enforceable. The SPJ is tired of attorneys treating it like it is. The strategy - to use guidelines published by strong advocates for press freedom to impugn the reporting processes involved in the publication of the video Hogan is suing over - appears to be taking a central role in the plaintiff’s case, even though Foley himself acknowledged on the stand that the SPJ's ethics code is not legally binding. He also said that Gawker's writers and editors violated the SPJ's code of ethics when they failed to verify the source of the tape, reach out to Hogan for comment before publication or consider what harm publishing the tape might do to Hogan. Foley, who is being paid $350/hr for his expert testimony, said that he believed there was "no question" that Gawker violated the Society of Professional Journalists' Code of Ethics when it published a short excerpt of a graphic sex tape featuring Hogan, alongside commentary about the tape.įoley testified that the sex tape was "gratuitous" and should not have been published. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |