Ethics Lessons from the Mainstream

How Do Citizen Journalists Avoid Being Sued for Liable and Slander

Jul 23, 2008 Kent Ninomiya

Citizen journalism is largely unregulated but there are citizen reporters sued for slander and liable. Valuable ethics lessons can be learned from the mainstream media.

Citizen journalism ethics are a rising concern as more and more citizen journalists are sued. According to the Media Law Resource Center, "there have been several cases that ended with verdicts against bloggers, in which the bloggers were ordered to pay damages to people who they wrote about on their blogs."

Reporters Sued for Slander and Liable

Anyone can write an article or shoot a video and have it viewed around the planet in seconds. Internet journalism is far more anonymous and brazen than the traditional media. That has emboldened many bloggers to present unsubstantiated rumors or outright lies as fact. That's why more citizen journalists are being sued.

Ethics Lessons from the Mainstream Media

While citizen journalism has the advantage of independent reporters pushing limits by working outside a corporate structure, that independence also places them at greater risk of lawsuits. Journalists in the mainstream media are required to have training in media law. The primary purpose of this is to avoid being sued. Most bloggers lack this training. In traditional media there are also numerous managers checking reporters' work and corporate lawyers watching everyone. There are no such checks and balances for most citizen journalists.

Sued for Liable, Sued for Slander

Citizen journalists must follow the same laws regarding libel, slander and defamation as traditional journalists. They should therefore understand the definitions of these legal terms. The Media Law Resource Center says "libel generally refers to statements or visual depictions in written or other permanent form, while slander refers to verbal statements and gestures. The term defamation is often used to encompass both libel and slander."

Citizen Journalism Ethics

Citizen journalists must diligently check their own facts and rely on colleagues to confirm their work. In many ways new citizen journalists face challenges similar to entry level reporters in the mainstream media. They must learn to apply journalistic standards to every day reporting. This is especially challenging when bloggers upload articles and photos without editors to check them. This leaves fewer opportunities for contemplation and more chances for mistakes.

How Do Journalists Avoid Being Sued?

The Society of Professional Journalists code of ethics says journalists must always "test the accuracy of information from all sources and exercise care to avoid inadvertent error. Diligently seek out subjects of news stories to give them the opportunity to respond to allegations of wrongdoing. Identify sources whenever feasible."

It is worth the time of citizen journalists to ponder these ethics daily as traditional journalists do. There is a seemingly inexhaustible supply of attorneys lining up to sue reporters.

The copyright of the article Ethics Lessons from the Mainstream in Online Publishing is owned by Kent Ninomiya. Permission to republish Ethics Lessons from the Mainstream in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Citizen Journalism Ethics