Privacy and Accuracy the Focus of Media-Ethics Stories

Feb 8th, 2010 • Posted in: News

Google reportedly asks NSA for help in tracking hackers; Forbes reports on TV-enabled new age guru charged in deaths; organization of television and radio news professionals crafts code of ethics for social media

VARIOUS DATELINES
The intersection of media and technology made for several ethics headlines last week. Among the stories:

• Google reportedly has asked the National Security Agency to investigate the recent hacking attack that company officials say they suspect emanated from China and was aimed at getting access to the accounts of human rights activists, reports Wired. The move has raised concerns among privacy advocates, according to the report, because they fear the combination of national security probes and Google’s vast storehouse of user data. Google recently said it would exit China if the government there continues to insist on censoring search results. Reuters reports there has been no change yet in Google policy abroad, and the company and the Chinese government remain in talks.
• James Arthur Ray, a new-age self-help guru who has appeared on the Oprah Winfrey program, was charged with three counts of manslaughter in the deaths of people who attended a “cleansing ceremony” in which they fasted and then were placed in a heated “sweat lodge,” Forbes reports. Forbes healthcare blogger David Whelan accuses the powerful Winfrey of taking “a highly unskeptical approach when booking guests who make science and health claims.” Whelan writes: “Winfrey helped establish Ray by putting him on her show multiple times to talk about the DVD he appeared in, The Secret, which became a worldwide self-help phenomenon. It’s not the first time that Winfrey has lent credibility to dubious characters, whether in literature (with James Frey’s debunked memoir A Million Little Pieces) or with health advice (Suzanne Somers’ dangerous hormone regimen).”
• The Radio Television Digital News Association last week issued new guidelines for reporters using blogs and social media, trade journal Broadcasting & Cable reports. The new guidelines essentially call on news organizations to apply the same standards as traditional news for fairness, accuracy, and factuality to information posted on Twitter, Facebook, or a blog, according to Broadcasting & Cable.

Sources: Reuters, Feb. 5 — Wired, Feb. 4 — Forbes, Feb. 4 — Broadcasting & Cable, Feb. 3.

For more information, see: Related Newsline story, Jan. 25 — Related Newsline story, Jan. 19 — Related Newsline story, Nov. 23, 2009 — Related Newsline story, Oct. 19, 2009 — Related Newsline story, Mar. 10, 2008.

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