NYT

Quickie: Max Mosely Wins Privacy Case

Elizabeth — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 06:11:50 -0700

Max Mosely, head of Formula One racing, won his privacy suit against the British tabloid "News Of The World." The New York Times reports:

The judge, Sir David Eady, awarded Mr. Mosley, 68, damages equivalent to about $120,000 and legal costs estimated to be at least $850,000 in his lawsuit against The News of the World.

Question: Because this was a lawsuit it had to be framed in terms of a legal question, hence the focus on "press freedom" v. "individual privacy", but wouldn't this kind of thing be better discussed in terms of journalistic ethics? Instead of worrying about whether this decision represents a limiting of freedom of the British press, should the British press be discussing ways to make sure its members adhere to ethical reporting standards?

I'm all for investigative journalism, but there has to be something in the public interest to justify it. Exposing a person's private, legal, consensual sexual activity is certainly not in the public interest. It may be very interesting to the public, but that's not the same thing!

The Myth of the Liberal Media, or Further Evidence that the NYT is an Elitist Paper

Elizabeth — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 12:44:43 -0700

I've always known that the New York Times is an elitist paper. Most national papers are pretty directed at the upper middle and upper classes. You can tell just by looking at their advertising. Million dollar studio apartments and thousand dollar watches are not for the masses, after all. And I learned from a beloved sociology instructor in college to recognize the significance of the fact that there is never a labor section but always a business section and that the Times has two "Style" sections a week where you can learn about the newest expensive trends. So it isn't like this is a revelation. But today's Metro Section really beats all:

Kristof calls prostitution as dangerous as...

Elizabeth — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 14:58:55 -0700

...working for minimum wage? (And other problems of logic and evidence)

So according to Nicholas Kristof's op-ed today, Eliot Spitzer recently encouraged him to write a book about Spitzer's anti-sex-trafficking work. Perhaps he will. He certainly seems to buy the assumption that tightening penalties for johns will somehow help women who are victimized while working as prostitutes. Actually just the opposite is likely.

In non-Spitzer sex news...

Elizabeth — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 16:34:23 -0700

What a day! Eliot Spitzer resigned. Melissa Farley, Tracy Quan and Dina Matos McGreevey appeared on the same New York Times Op Ed page. And in other news we learn that at least 25% of teenage girls are infected with STIs.