Whoa, interesting topic! The discussion has stomped up a huge debate on the factors of ‘need to know’ vs. ‘want to know’. There are generally speaking two meanings of the word ‘interest’ as it relates mostly to political and social affairs, which are clearly dissimilar and distinctive.
Social affairs
Celebrity – do they deserve privacy, by leading a public life?
It is true to a certain extent that curiosity kills the cat but how far should journalist go ahead, to gather information? Is it public interest or public prurience? Where should journalists draw the line?
Yes, personally, celebrities deserve their own privacy. Whatever that is reported – which is beyond their duty / job scope is termed as intrusion. Intrusion, as defined by unwarranted violation of one’s physical solitude!
Ryan Giggs, the once famous, turned infamous footballer has many news publications of embarrassing private facts! The Manchester United football superstar was a role model of talent, application, commitment, and achievement. Many newspapers reported that he was a nice guy who eschewed the foul-mouthed, hard-drinking, flash-spending ways of the contemporary top-flight footballer.
After reading about the scandal from several sources, it seems like the press is full of spurious exasperation about the 75,000 people who had posted Ryan Giggs’s name on Twitter and commented on the injunction, stating that law was therefore absurd by trying to gag the media in this era – the internet age!
Despite the injunction, the media got hold of the scandal details and reported every factual detail however, is there a need for everyone to know? News media outlets are capitalizing on the scandal and, serving the public’s interest craving of their ‘want to know’.
It is true to a certain extent that curiosity kills the cat but how far should journalist go ahead, to gather information? Is it public interest or public prurience? Where should journalists draw the line?
It was discussed and debated that by entering public life, individuals surrender any claim to personal privacy. Well, I feel that journalists have a duty to report situations when these details could have relevance to the public performance of an individual or group.
For Ryan Giggs’ case, the reports are irrelevant since it does not affect the way he play as he has the appropriate skill set.
References
Herald Sun. (2011). Ryan Giggs named in parliament over sex scandal. Viewed on 21 June 2011. < http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/soccer/ryan-giggs-named-in-parliament-over-sex-scandal/story-e6frfg8x-1226061588412>.
The Telegraph. (2011). Never mind naming Ryan Giggs, now for the real secrecy scandal. Viewed on 22 June 2011. < http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/finance/ianmcowie/100010371/never-mind-naming-and-shaming-the-footballer-what-about-the-fsa/>.
No comments:
Post a Comment