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Journalism Ethics
Paul Trummel uses the pseudonym Nmesis and openly declares personal or conflicting interests. Conflicts may relate to topics or to opinion especially when the content draws upon advocacy, experience, conclusion, or interpretation. An accredited journalist, he conforms with the code of conduct and ethics of the journalism profession, tested by courts in both Great Britain and the USA.
Journalists have a responsibility to report the details and to name the people that they allege have committed crimes. Therefore, withholding the names of people who have committed illegal acts for politically correct reasons subverts journalistic ethics. Political correctness defines as self-censorship.
Several courts have ruled that reporters who have evidence of crimes have no right to withhold the names of the people whom they allege to have committed them. The only reservation may relate to journalists identifying themselves as reporters. If people know that a reporter will probably publish what they say then they cannot expect the warning that law enforcement officers must give them under the Miranda v. Arizona law (1966). Under that law, US police officers must warn anyone taken into custody that he or she has a right to counsel and to remain silent.
No statement obtained from a person while in the custody of a law enforcement officer truly construes as free expression. Statements to journalists do not, or should not, result from such coercive conditions. Moreover, miscreants should know the risks they take by speaking to reporters about criminal activity. If they do not then they cannot later claim ignorance of the law as a defense.
Reporters do not act as law enforcement officers. Therefore, they have no responsibility either to make a judgment on the legal rights of individuals or to inform them of their rights. If people provide self-incriminating information, for whatever reason, then they have no recourse when they see it and their names published. Identifying both sources and the names of miscreants remains a prerequisite for good journalism.
Paul Trummel (Nmesis)
International Federation of Journalists, Brussels (Press Card #GB 8028)
National Union of Journalists, London (Press Card #025057)
Associate Professor, Communication and Rhetoric (Retired)
PO Box 1854, Renton, WA 98057-1854, USA
Paul Trummel
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