Newspapers "Close Sources"

Is it just me or does anyone else notice that when a newspaper publishes a scandal article the people involved always seem to have an unnamed friend ergo "close source" that always tells the story?

now do you think that these people need to find better friends or that the paper has invented the close source to sell papers due to a lack of any real research into the story?

Under what circumstances is it ethical to publish personal details?

It has been argued in previous posts, such as the one on Jack Wilshere that it is unethical to publish such personal information about someone, such as their texts messages or the places that they go to.

However I think that surely in some circumstances it is ethical to publish such personal data..

I take the example of the Madeline McCann disappearance case. Every last detail about her family and her life were published world wide for months on end, and to this day details of her family as well as pictures of them are still being published. But surely they would not argue with this and claim that this in unethical. The McCann’s daughter went missing and without all the media attention and so much exposure the disappearance of their daughter would have gone un noticed and searches world wide would not have taken place. In this instance surely the personal invasion into their lives can only be seen as a good thing.

Another example is criminals... maybe if they were able to be exposed in such a way like celebrities are then people would be more aware of them and be able to report them. Criminals identity and personal information is kept more private than a Z list celebrity who is no harm to society, however alot of time and money is spent protecting these criminals that put us at risk. An example is John Venables who’s new identity was kept secret despite him being a criminal and the fact that he could still be a danger to society.

So I ask you.. When is it ethical to publish personal details? And does it depend on the situation and who is involved as to whether it is seen as ethical??

Pre Publication: Ethical considerations when carrying out research

Publishing research, not just in the media but any type of research has to be ethically valid.

When examining the ethically validity of a piece of research there are several factors that have to be considered. For example, were the people involved deceived in any way about what data was being collected from them and were they aware of the reasons as to why this data was being collected?

In general research is considered ethically valid if full consent was gained from the person; this means that they agreed to taking part and giving over certain information, also that they were in a state to give full consent. A child or a person with mental health issues would not be considered to be in a state to give full consent as they would not be aware of what they were consenting to.

Also research should only be considered ethical if the people involved were not affected by the research. For example in any study the experimenter should ensure that the people involved leave the study in the exact same state as to which they entered it. If the participants are in anyway psychologically or physically harmed then the research would be considered unethical.

As mentioned earlier a way in which research is sometimes carried out is by deceiving the people involved which is considered unethical, however there are ways in which deception can be used and if the people involved are debriefed after then it can be ok.

In terms of publishing research it can only be considered ethical if all the above issues have been covered. When discussing if it is ethical to publish research all these points should be taken into consideration. In any type of research publication, whether it is by a journalist or a scientist. Ethics is very important and if at any point the people involved want their data or information to be withdrawn from the publication then they have a right for this to happen. This is called the “right to withdraw” which all participants in any type of research are entitled to.

So when considering how ethical it is to publish something, the real question should be.. how ethical was the research that is being published??

A Real Life Example

We have looked at many points and issues that come when it comes to publishing information and I'm sure a few more points will be made. But I now think its time to look at a really life example of information that has been published and question if it should have been published. Below is a article from the SUN about Jack Wilshere

"YOUNG England sensation Jack Wilshere went behind his girlfriend's back for sex with a blonde lap-dancer.

The 18-year-old star - who recently signed a £50,000-a-week deal - sneaked Jessica Jensen, 18, into the Arsenal team hotel and romped with her at her gran's house.

Kicks ... Jack Wilshere playing for England

GETTY

Jessica also swapped saucy texts with the England midfielder, tipped for a glittering career.

The fling has only just ended - after Wilshere's girlfriend of three years found out.

Cheating Wilshere, 18 - who missed out on his second England cap on Wednesday because of a bad back - met 18-year-old Jessica in August at swanky nightclub Maya in London's West End.

He was celebrating a 6-0 thumping of Blackpool. Stringfellows babe Jessica and her friends spotted him and his pals in the VIP lounge, and he asked if she wanted a glass of champagne.

A friend said: "Jessica didn't have a clue who Jack was at first. But she found him funny and attractive and they got on great.

"At the end of the night they got a taxi back to a mate's house and had sex for the first time."

Invite ... Jack Wilshere asks Jessica Jensen to meet in hotel

A few weeks later they romped at the house she lives in with her grandparents in Welwyn Garden City, Herts.

And on September 28 Wilshere drove the 13 miles there from Luton airport straight after returning from a Champions League victory in Belgrade.

Before the next game against Chelsea on October 3, Wilshere was holed up with his Arsenal team-mates at the Cadogan Hotel in West London.

At 5pm the £50,000-a-week ace sent Jessica a text saying: "Come to my hotel tonite" and added: "Get some condoms lol".

He told her that he would leave room "116 on the latch".

Later he impatiently asked if she was nearly there. She texted: "I'm like on my way. Grandad's dropping me."

Jessica feared getting caught but Wilshere gave her a cover story and added: "Don't make it too obvious."

A friend said: "They caught up with their gossip. They had sex just once - after all Jack had a game the next day.

"At this stage they even had pet names for each other.

Jack was saving Jessica's number on his phone as 'Giggs' and she called him Fatty in texts."

They would also drive into the countryside to just "chat and joke" after his training sessions.

Wilshere was finally caught out by his girlfriend of three years, hairdresser Lauren Neal, 21.

The friend added: "She phoned Jessica and asked her about it. She didn't confirm it and she didn't deny it. Jessica liked Jack but she has quickly moved on."

Wilshere's older England colleagues John Terry, Ashley Cole and Wayne Rooney have already been unmasked as love rats.

Last night a source joked: "It looks like Jack's getting the hang of being a Premier League star!"

Today Wilshere will report back to police after he was arrested following a brawl outside a nightclub in August.

Two friends have already been charged."

Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3236044/Arsenal-and-England-ace-Jack-Wilshere-and-the-lap-girl.html#ixzz16BsMlfMB


The information above has many ethical issues, the first one is this is going to change the way that Jack can now live his life and is going to change what is happening in his life. As it is more than likely going to end the relationship that he has with his girlfriend at the moment, and is a bad image for footballers who many kids see as being their role models.

Out of Date Research

When updated research is published about a topic should the old research be 'unpublished'? Is it just going to be taking up library space or wasting peoples time if they look at it, or do we need to keep it for historical purposes.

The steps to follow

Below is a diagram with some stages that you need to go through before you publish some of your researching depending on the time of research that it is. Do you believe theses are the correct stages that need to be followed or do you think that there are stages that need to be removed and some that need to be added? 

What's Most Effective?

focus groups, surveys, questionnaires, experiments, books, debates, blogs, interviews?

pick your top three and give us a reason