fandomhigh | Journalistic Integrity (Wednesday, January 18

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Journalistic Integrity (Wednesday, January 18 - 6th period)

Rita scowled at the class.

“Public knowledge. What is it? Well, as one might infer, it’s knowledge that the public has. Something widely known, and not considered secret.”

She crossed her legs, and took a sip of coffee. “Now, that can be somewhat subjective. How do we decide what is publc knowledge? Do you have to be sworn to confidentiality in order to know that what you have been told is a secret?”

She waved at them. “Discuss.”

[ooc: Yep, I am ill, so if you go ignored by Rita, it’s nothing personal. OCD threads ~~coming~~ up.]

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...

Janet signed in and ignored Rita's scowl.

Krycek signed in, seeming more cheerful upon seeing Rita scowling.

Kara signs in.

Callisto signed in.

Veronica signs in

Alanna signs in.

Barbossa signed in.

Logan signed in.

Chloe signs in, smirking slightly at Rita's scowl.

...

"Aren't there reams of laws regarding what's public knowledge and what the government can rightly deem classified, or what a business or individual can keep secret?" asked Janet. "I would imagine if something has been classified by the government then it's definitively not in the arena of public knowledge. And I don't think being sworn to confidentiality matters. However, if you sign an agreement to keep something confidential, I'd imagine there may well be legal repercussions for violating that agreement."

"But really, public knowledge at its simplest is 'anything more than one person knows.' Because each person in on the secret is one more person a jorunalist can get the information out of. Not all journalists would follow the same definition of public knowledge as a business or the government."

"So by your definition, anything the journalist learns is, by default, public knowledge and then can be shared without compunction?"

"Not at all," said Janet. "But I do believe there are journalists who would use that definition."

"And do you think they would be justified, Ms. Fraiser?"

"One might expect, regardless of actual sworn oaths, that information about another person's private life which has not been volunteered by that person, should not be considered public knowledge. The gods gave us a sense of distrection for a reason." If Crichton, Jaye or Rory had been in the room Callisto would have glared at them, instead she settled for glaring at Rita instead.

"From a strictly journalistic standpoint, yes, if you are interviewing a subject, anything they tell you is on the record. However, if they don't know you're a journalist, or if you happen to over hear something, then I think you need to be more cautious with sharing the information."

"If the person be knowin' that they be talkin' to a journalist ~~or a shrub that be movin' a mite suspiciously~~, I be callin' bullshit if they say somethin' and then be tryin' t' call it back once they realize it be incriminatin'. If ye be not callin' it off-the-record up front, I be seein' no reason why ye could be doin' it retroactively," Barbossa said. "That bein' said, I be thinkin' that unless it be classified, as Janet be sayin', most if not all of what a government, especially one that be accountable t' the people, be doin' should be up fer public inquiry and knowledge."

"I think if you say something in a public forum, you should be aware that someone, whether a reporter or not, probably over heard you. You can't have a private conversation in a room with more than one person, and if there's more than one person, than at least someone saw who was talking to whom. Did that make any sense or only in my head?"

"If the subject is aware that they're talking to a reporter and don't say that it's off the record, then that's their risk," Logan said. "But if a person thinks they're talking to a friend then it should be assumed it's a personal conversation."

Chloe thinks for a moment. "Well, public knowledge is something that's widely known, but it can also be something that is widely /thought/ to be known. I mean, it used to be public knowledge that the world was flat.

"I don't think you have to be sworn to confidentiality to know if something is secret or not. If it's something that shouldn't be shared, that's a secret, even without a pledge to keep it quiet. Of course, the reverse is also true - you can be sworn to confidentiality about something that should be public knowledge. Then, it's the reporter's call to decide if it should remain a secret or not."

...

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Journalistic Integrity (Wednesday, January 18 - 6th period)

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After Class

OOC