Deck 10: Private Lives, Public Interests in a Digital World

Question 1

All of these are among Clifford Christians' principles for ethical decision making on privacy - except ...

A) Privacy is in the eye of the beholder; you can't please everyone
B) Promote decency and fairness, not innuendo and exaggeration
C) Promote redeeming social values, not prurient interests
D) Don't malign people and their dignity in the name of press privilege

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Which one of these mostly explains the proliferation of reality TV shows?

A) They're more ethical than scripted TV shows
B) They generally have higher ratings than scripted TV shows
C) The participants are more talented than the actors in scripted TV shows
D) Studios can produce them relatively cheaply, without many professional writers or actors

Answer 2

D

Question 3

All of these are among W.A. Parent's questions for determining the ethics of stories involving privacy -- except ...

A) Is the purpose of the information you're seeking legitimate and important?
B) Is invading a person's privacy the least offensive way to get the information?
C) What safeguards are there to ensure the information doesn't get used inappropriately later?
D) Can you use this method to invade people's privacy indiscriminately rather than favor some people over others?

Answer 3

D

Question 4

When is it most appropriate to report on the private life of public officials?

A) When a public official, such as Gary Hart, dares you to
B) When the story will draw high ratings or readership
C) When a public official does something really embarrassing in private
D) When the officials do something in their private life that contradicts their public words or actions

Question 5

Which one of these philosophies would Kittross find least appropriate for mass communicators to use when deciding what to do in privacy situations?

A) The golden mean
B) Utilitarianism
C) The categorical imperative
D) The veil of ignorance

Question 6

Which of these is in the best position to safeguard the privacy of private people thrust into the public eye, according to Kittross?

A) The courts
B) The media
C) The public
D) The police

Question 7

Which one of these groups deserves the least amount of privacy from the media?

A) Public officials in high-ranking office
B) Public figures
C) Private citizens
D) Private people thrust into public events

Question 8

Who does John Michael Kittross say should decide when the media cross the line into invasion of privacy?

A) The courts
B) The public
C) The police
D) The media

Question 9

It is NOT legal for the media to invade someone's privacy in all the following ways -- except ...

A) Privately disclosing embarrassing public facts
B) Appropriating their name or likeness for profit
C) Portraying someone in a false light
D) Unreasonable intrusion into their seclusion

Question 10

All of these are among David Gordon's sources of guidance for the media on privacy dilemmas - except ...

A) Critics outside the established media
B) Congress and state legislatures
C) Ombudsmen and other newsroom liaisons with the public
D) Academics, especially those leading classes in media criticism