Post by Lex Hurley on Nov 12, 2016 23:34:51 GMT
In Thank You for Smoking, one of the biggest blows to come to Aaron Eckhart's character (I can't remember his name, so he will heretofore be referred to as Eckhart) was when Katy Holmes published her scalding news story revealing everything he had mentioned about his assignments, associations with the M.O.D. Squad, etc. while they were "seeing" each other. While the circumstances of her attainment of this knowledge might be a breach of journalistic ethics (as even their temporary adult arrangements could be construed as an actionable conflict of interest according to this article: www.spj.org/rrr.asp?ref=77&t=ethics) Eckhart was primarily stunned because in his words, he thought that everything he said when they were [informally together] was off the record. I personally wasn't sure of the correctness of this statement, so I looked up a handbook for journalism ethics from NYU.
"[Off the record is a] prearranged [agreement] between a reporter and a source, which govern how specific information can be used. These deals must be agreed to beforehand, never after. A source can't say something then claim it was "off the record." That's too late. When dealing with individuals who are not experienced in talking with reporters, journalists should make sure ground rules and potential consequences are clear, and then perhaps offer leeway."1
So technically, this was only a partial breach of journalistic ethics. Holmes didn't specifically tell Eckhart that everything he said was on the record, but then again she could argue that a lobbyist would have had ample experience with reporters and that he should have known better; and Eckhart completely dropped the ball by assuming that she would not print an incendiary story about a man paid to promote cigarettes. Moreover, according to the handbook, he couldn't have sued Holmes for libel by means of breaching journalistic ethics, but rather any and all punishments would have to come from Holmes's news agency (as that is often the case).1 I think the overall message that I took away from this instance is that if you are ever speaking to a reporter for any reason, you should always assume that they are actively listening and that anything you say or do will be completely on the record and broadcast unless you preemptively tell them otherwise -- and even then, you should assume that something will be indirectly written about you.
1) n.a. (2007). NYU Journalism Handbook for Students: Human Sources. New York University. Accessed online on November 12, 2016 from journalism.nyu.edu/publishing/ethics-handbook/human-sources/.
1) n.a. (2007). NYU Journalism Handbook for Students: Human Sources. New York University. Accessed online on November 12, 2016 from journalism.nyu.edu/publishing/ethics-handbook/human-sources/.
