The Importance Of Personal Privacy

Many people assume that they have a right to personal privacy no matter what the circumstance. This is a reasonable assumption; no one wants details of their conversations, movements, and actions publicized after a traumatic event. Often times people want the opportunity to grieve, recover, or processes what has happened to them without having to worry about what they have done or said being put on display for the country to see. On the other side of that, humans are inherently curious creatures and we want to have access to all the information we can possibly get our hands on, especially if the event of interest is as sensational and suspenseful as a car accident or violent crime. It is the job of news organizations to gather information and
They can give personal information about the subjects that no one else would have the ability to know. However, the news media also has a reputation for sensationalizing a story and getting that information at what ever cost (The Victim’s Right to Privacy). This can sometimes lead to bombarding a person with phone calls for an interview or taking photographs and asking prying questions at the wrong or inappropriate times to get that shot or quote that will stand out (Nolte, 2012). This is usually where people feel that their privacy has been invaded. They sometimes feel that the media needs to have respect for the situation despite the fact that many people outside of the event may need to know what is going on (Notle, 2012). This brings about the question of how far is too far? How far can the media push before they are becoming invasive or
B.J.F. (1989). A case that went to the United States Supreme Court in 1989 involving a Florida newspaper that had published the full name of a sexual assault victim, after which the victim sued the newspaper for damages related to the publishing. The local Sheriff’s Department put the police report in the pressroom, which is available for anyone who wants to read the documents, and a reporter copied the report and submitted it to the paper which was in turn published in an article (Florida Star v. B.J.F., 1989). On September 26, 1984, the victim sued the Sheriff’s Department along with the newspaper, accusing them of violating Florida’s shield law, which makes it illegal to publish a sexual assault victims name. The Sheriff’s Department settled in their lawsuit and paid out $2,500 to the victim; however, the newspaper did not settle stating that the shield law was unconstitutional. The court ruled that the law did not violate the First Amendment and awarded the victim $75,000 in compensatory damages along with $25,000 in punitive damages (Florida Star v. B.J.F.,