DOCUMENT RESUME ED 415 545 CS 509 670 TITLE Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (80th, Chicago, Illinois, July 30-August 2, 1997): Radio-Television. INSTITUTION Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication. PUB DATE 1997-07-00 NOTE 357p.; For other sections of these Proceedings, see CS 509 657-676. PUB TYPE Collected Works Proceedings (021) Reports Research (143) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC15 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Case Studies; Content Analysis; Ethics; *Journalism Education; Journalism Research; Language Usage; *Mass Media Role; Media Research; News Media; Presidential Campaigns (United States); Programming (Broadcast); *Radio; Recall (Psychology); World Wide Web IDENTIFIERS African Americans; Hidden Cameras (Journalism); *Media Coverage; Sound Bites; *Television News; Video News Releases ABSTRACT The Radio-Television section of the Proceedings contains the following 14 papers: "Law and Ethics behind the Hidden and Intrusive Camera" (Geri Alumit); "Television News and Memory Distortion: Confidence in False Memories for Television News Stories" (Julia R. Fox); "Hype versus Substance in Campaign Coverage: Are the Television Networks Cleaning Up Their Act?" (Julia R. Fox and Chris Goble); "Still Knowing Their Place: African Americans in Southeast TV Newscasts" (Kenneth Campbell; Ernest L. Wiggings; Sonya Forte Duhe); "Political Candidate Sound Bites vs. Video Bites in Network TV News: Is How They Look More Important Than What They Say?" (Dennis T. Lowry); "The Effect of Redundant Actualities on Recall of Radio News" (Larry G. Burkum); "The 'News of Your Choice' Experiment in the Twin Cities: What Kind of Choice Did Viewers Get?" (Kathleen A. Hansen and Joan Conners); "Television Newsroom Training for the 21st Century" (Sandra L. Ellis and Ann S. Jabro); "Impact of New Managers on Local TV News: A Case Study" (Jim Upshaw); "Is It Really News? An Analysis of Video News Releases" (Anthony Hunt); "The Effects of Audiences' Gender-Based Expectations about Newscasters on News Viewing Satisfaction in a Collective Culture: South Korea" (U-Ryong Kim and Cheong-Yi Park); "Seven Dirty Words: Did They Help Define Indecency?" (Jeff Demas); "Television Station Web Sites: Interactivity in News Stories" (Ray Niekamp); and "The Priming of the People: Media Coverage of Presidential Campaigns" (Kim Bissell). Individual papers contain references. (RS) ******************************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. ******************************************************************************** PROCEEDINGS OF THE ANNUAL MEETING OF THE ASSOCIATION FOR EDUCATION IN JOURNALISM AND MASS COMMUNICATION (80th, Chicago, Illinois, July 30-August 2, 1997) : RADIO-TELEVISION U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and Improvement PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS CENTER (ERIC) BEEN GRANTED BY This document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization 9riginating it. J A4-c- CtLe_ Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality. Points of view or opinions stated in this TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES document do not necessarily represent INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) official OERI position or policy. 1 BEST COPY AVAILABLE 2 LAWS & ETHICS BEHIND THE HIDDEN & INTRUSIVE CAMERA 1 Laws & Ethics Behind the Hidden & Intrusive Camera AEJMC Convention 1997, Chicago Radio / Television Journalism Division presented Wed. July 30, 1997 at 7:15 p.m. Geri Alumit Michigan State University Ph.D. student [email protected] 2 LAWS & ETHICS BEHIND THE HIDDEN & INTRUSIVE CAMERA 2 Abstract Network news stations and newsmagazines use the hidden and intrusive camera to uncover mayhem not able to be uncovered without the use of these clandestine techniques. The courts have heard lawsuits against the media that claim these techniques intrude on or invade privacy. Two lawsuits brought against television newsmagazines, one involving the hidden camera, the other the intrusive, will explore the rights of the media and the rights of the individuals captured on tape. This paper will also examine and suggest guidelines for the use of these stealthy techniques to gather the news. 4 LAWS & ETHICS BEHIND THE HIDDEN & INTRUSIVE CAMERA 3 Introduction The hidden and intrusive cameras have been effective techniques to capture newsworthy information. The hidden camera never lets its targets know its recording. The intrusive camera doesn't let its targets know it's recording until they are ambushed for an interview or for just video. Primetime Live, a news magazine, owes an increased viewing audience and several journalistic awards to the use of these stealthy videotaping techniques. Senior producer of the show Ira Rosen (Chang, 1992) had this to say about the investigative tool: [Hidden camera footage] is the most evocative, interesting and informative way to tell the story. It grabs the readers by the lapels and shakes them and tells them to watch this. The use of these sexy techniques to gather news is also motivating debates on ethics. The journalist must lie in order to get to the truth. The target of an investigative story is deceived by the use of concealed or intrusive cameras. These techniques infringe upon the privacy rights of the individuals who are captured on tape. News programs and stations justify this infringement however, by bringing in the public's right to know the information captured on tape. Laws on the use of the hidden and intrusive camera vary from state-to-state and case-by-case. Little light has been shed on the legal issues posed by this "popular, but controversial technique" (Lissit, 1995). The purpose of this paper is to analyze the procedure, precedent and doctrine of two cases, one involving the use of the hidden camera and the other, a mix of the hidden and intrusive camera. This analysis will lead to a discussion of the privacy rights of individuals who believe they have been victimized by the use of these clandestine news gathering techniques. Using several lawsuits brought against the media and several misuses of these surreptious techniques, this analysis will also examine and present: "Guidelines for the using the hidden and intrusive camera." 5 LAWS & ETHICS BEHIND THE HIDDEN & INTRUSIVE CAMERA 4 Literature Review Television researchers have found that the more interesting the video on television news, the more interested the audience is in watching the news. Edwardson, Grooms and Proud love (1981) randomly assigned nearly 100 residents in Gainesville, Florida, to view one version of a newscast in their homes. After the newscast, they were asked to fill-out a questionnaire. Researchers found that across every demographic sub-group, the participants were not only more stimulated, but remembered more about the story when the story was delivered with exciting video rather than a shot of a talking head. Television news executives have been aware of the effect of engaging video on viewers for decades. Some television newsmagazines have capitalized on this notion with the use of hidden and intrusive cameras that provide the viewer with some racy, unforgettable video: Television newsmagazines have an insatiable hunger for the kind of documentation that looks good on screen. Palatial homes, incriminating memos, revealing audio tape these have always been the truffles of the producer on the hunt. But secretly recorded video, where the viewers see the action with their own eyes, may be the tastiest delicacy of all (Baker, 1993, p. 26.) Television newsmagazines have met with favor from their audience, but with fire from the individuals captured on tape. While the use of these stealthy techniques hasn't received all-out public criticism, it has raised some eyebrows about ethical issues in journalistic circles. Some could argue that these deceptive techniques are one more reason to institute independent news councils or panels that evaluate complaints against the media, in order to make the news media more ethically accountable. News councils, while successful in deterring journalistic wrongdoing in Canada and Britain (Pritchard, 1991), have been unsuccessful here in the U.S. (Brogan, 1985). A LAWS & ETHICS BEHIND THE HIDDEN & INTRUSIVE CAMERA 5 better non-legal alternative is the use of ethics codes to increase accountability. Ethics codes for journalists, covering a variety of issues, have been developing rapidly since the early 1970s (Christians, 1985-86). Several ethics codes for individual news organizations fail shortly after adoption, aren't read, or aren't enforced in many news organizations. Despite some of the failures of ethics codes, Boeyink (1994) believes if ethical standards are clear and top management at news organizations is committed to those ethical standards, then a code could enhance the social responsibility of a news media organization. This paper suggests some ethical standards that a committed news organization may refer to when they debate the use of the hidden or intrusive camera. 7 LAWS & ETHICS BEHIND THE HIDDEN & INTRUSIVE CAMERA 6 The Hidden Camera Its Use Primetime Live and other news outlets have used the hidden camera to capture juicy interviews and compelling video. Primetime Live's reports on televangelists, abusive day care centers and racial discrimination have won them national awards in journalism. They have used this secretive technique