Ethics of reporting the Palin story: Babies, bloggers and the MSM
Wright: Does the public have a right to know whether Sarah Palin’s (or any candidate’s) daughter is pregnant or not?
Generally, the public does not have a RIGHT to know the marital or reproductive status of a candidate's daughter. The reason Sarah Palin's daughter is in the news is because her mother is a social conservative who claims abstinence-only sex education works and parents just need to focus on teaching their kids "good Christian values" to prevent things like teen pregnancy. Yet, even Palin's statement acknowledged that this would be a difficult time for her daughter- is this what she meant when she championed abstinence-only sex education?
Wright:Should the private lives of family members of presidential and vice-presidential candidates be off-limits?
The private lives of all candidate's underage children should be off-limits. Children are not in a position to defend themselves or to define their public image in the same way that their parents are. However, adult children or children who choose to become part of campaign events through speeches, etc. do become part of the public discussion. Palin, who described herself in Ohio as a 'hockey mom' and uses her children as part of her basis for her ability to lead, put her all of her children (especially her baby) on a national stage, under a national microscope. This includes Bristol's life.
Wright: How aggressively should the mainstream media pursue allegations and rumors in the blogosphere and tabloid media?
The MSM does not pursue ALL allegations and rumors in the blogosphere and tabloid media with the same zeal and desire to discover the truth. The biggest difference is that the blogosphere is willing to show its partisanship/interests in getting a story exposed while the MSM is not.
Wright: Should journalists have reported the Palin pregnancy story before the McCain campaign’s announcement?
If journalists knew about and sat on the Palin pregnancy story before Friday (and/or after Pawlenty and Romney had announced they were not the VP), they should have reported it. Journalists often, and sometimes justly, speak with pride of their role in a robust democracy. But, if the fourth estate keeps failing in its role as the everyday man's eyes and ears to news and instead becomes a parrot of various press releases then the MSM is truly no different than the most liberal or conservative of bloggers who only report the news as they believe it.
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- Chabeli
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Interesting post and great discussion topics. Thanks!
This idea of 'the public's RIGHT to know' is often thrown around on controversial stories like this. I'm of the opinion that the public only has the right to know personal information if it has or will have a direct effect on them in the long or short term. This is an interesting case in that the person whose private affairs are suddenly thrust into the media spotlight is not only a family member of a public figure, but a minor as well. While I don't agree with the media frenzy that has blown up around this topic, I do think it's at least important that the story has been picked up by the MSM because it exposes a level of potential hypocrisy or conflicting messages in someone who is in the running to be the vice president of the United States. Palin champions abstinence-only sex education, despite it clearly not working in her own home.
People rely on information in the press to inform their vote. I believe an uninformed vote is worse than no vote at all. So in this particular case, I think it's the public's right to know about Palin's conflicted values. But that's where I draw the line. I don't believe we have the right to know who the father is, or when the baby is due, etc. We only need the information that is relevant to how having in Palin in the White House might effect the rest of us.
I think the greater challenge for journalists these days is not to fall into the trap of reporting nonessential information (usually the sensationalist crap) because they'll get the hits or the numbers.
