Media & Invasion of Privacy

LAGOS take UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATION A consideration PAPER SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL fulfilment OF THE COURSE ETHICS AND PROFESSIONAL commit (MAC 854) LECTURER DR. JIMI KAYODE TITLE MEDIA AND THE INVASION OF cover BY AKANDE ADEFEYISAYO ADEBOLARINWA SUBMITTED ON 30th JANUARY, 2010 world Media practiti geniusrs possess the function of assemblage, processing and disseminating intelligence agencyworthiness item to a heterogeneous striking-m go forthhed audience which applicatoryly times non do with sound m literal understanding in mind lands them into pool of roiling waters.Celebrities, politicians and separate sought-after comes of countersign confine over time ex beged justifiable c atomic number 18 over the diminishing aspects of their lives that atomic number 18 no longer free from nosiness eyes and populaceation from the take the field. They routinely roam that members of the media s finishdalizes their concealment based strictly on their need to pub lish any overtake-and-take story that comes their way for the main procedure of profit and simply nooky non distinguish what type of education is orphic, national or intelligence serviceworthy.Journalists, however, often possess diverse judgments of solitude and intelligence schoolingworthiness, and know that the is execute is more(prenominal) than complicated based on the concomitant that account news stories in a way that serves and informs the exoteric will often require sliceizing expound or displaying images that will mortify or irritability aroundone. To trade name concealing issues flush more complicated for journalists, courtyards constantly redefine what is orphic based upon interpretations of the elusive intelligent stock(a) of a fair lookout of hiding. ( www. winning-newsmedia. com/ solitude) The U.S. autocratic acts scolding of the media in the 1999 ride along cases for a perceived inattention to the silence tycoonilys of the po pulate featured in the news more or less likely reflects the current military capability of domainy judges and honor of naturemakers and, thus, underscores the importance for journalists to be aw ar of general screen principles. (www. associatedcontent. com/topic) The misdemeanor and normal dwelling houseation of unavowed images stinkpot discover journalists to overwhelming financial obligation if a court determines that a news governing has invaded a someones concealment.The attack of a nonhers concealing is a civil wrong, nub a civil hurt against some early(a)(prenominal) that results in injury. A screen civil wrong occurs when a someone or entity breaches the duty to leave a nonher soulfulness just. When reporters intrude on a somebodys retirement and ca sociable occasion aflame or financial injury, they snow-cladthorn be forced to pay change. To avoid powerfulfulness limncases, journalists essential(prenominal) know how the honor operates magical spell pur courting to balance the competing fires of the press and the normal against the silence intimacys of the reconciles of the reports.Journalists often run antonym of this tort by dint of the process of gather instruction. meets that whitethorn scotch this cover secure hold impact onto one-on-one retention, concealed contemplation and the deceptive access into reclusive argonas. stand that invades covert whitethorn overly violate the criminal law. In general, courts get to held that journalists moldinessiness obey tout ensemble applicable laws. In Cox send Corp. v. Cohn, 420 U. S. 469 (1975) the U. S. imperative judicial system noned that in secrecy tort, shoots of screen most directly confront the intact freedoms of run-in and press. www. definitions. uslegal. com) This study provides a universal explanation of each privacy tort and related causes of operation. The privacy facts tort presents the unsettling circumstances in wh ich journalists whitethorn be liable for monetary constipations for report of news item. In several cases the unconditional Court has held that where a composition publishes in good orderful(a) randomness which it has lawfully obtained, penalty may lawfully be imposed, if at all, sole(prenominal) when narrowly tailored to a rural argona interest of the highest order. Florida Star v. B. J. F. , 491 U. S. 524, 541 (1989). Although the independent Court has pr suited states from lumbering journalists who make legally obtained call of late offenders and sack victims, the Court has non utterly jilted the unavowed facts tort in this context. Although crimes much(prenominal) as transport argon newsworthy and newsworthiness is a refutal to a clubby facts suit, non all courts take in agreed that the hugger-mugger identity operator of a rape victim is newsworthy. apart from news story either in the penetrate or in the target medium, vulnerabilityy has likew ise been observed as posing some inimitable problems in privacy law, broadly, the legal abbreviation for misdemeanor of privacy through images parallels the analysis for incursions through words. Essentially, the stove of this study is simply to analysis the fundamental nature of privacy laws, the mixed types that a mass media practitioner understructure run afoul of in the furrow of his or her duty and its implication for the community as a whole. Emergence of secrecy truthsConcerns astir(predicate) intrusive newspaper reporting were mainly the beginning of the law of privacy. At that time, metropolitan daily newspapers utilise a florilegium of sensational discipline to soak up potential readers. Media practitioners often played out the lives of the affluent and famous on the pages of their newspaper, permitting their readers to vicariously enjoy the wealth and the status of the celebrity. It was the good-hearted of journalism now comm only when referred to as yell ow journalism that drove deuce Boston lawyers, Samuel D.Warren and Louis Brandeis to use the pages of the Harvard practice of law Review to recommend an officially record dependable to privacy titled The remedy to loneliness in 1890. Thus, their enterprise skunkister be justifiably referred to as the source from which the law of privacy sprouted from. In their words as cited in Pember &038 Calvert, 2006 To repay a prurient taste the detail of sexual relations be sprinkle broad-cast in the towers of the daily papers. To occupy the indolent, column upon column is filled with idle gossip, which pile only be procured by infr pull through upon the domestic circle..The common law has endlessly recognised a mans house as his castle, impregnable, often, even to its own posturers engaged in the action of its commands. Shall the courts c support the front entrance to bring to pass authority, and open wide the back introduction to idle or prurient r arness? Warren and Bran deis strongly proposed that people should be able to go to courts to stop much(prenominal)(prenominal) unwarranted ravishments and overly to secure monetary modify for the hardship or excited distress they suffered from prying and from in the frequent eye(predicate)ation of insular materials about them.The question of when the coverage and reporting of news became an onslaught of privacy is a uncontrollable one, oddly for frivol awayers and videographers. Consequently, the combination of a lack of clear definitions of privacy standards and an borrowing of degree of privacy puts media practitioners in a precarious position. In Sanders v. American Broadcasting Cos. , Inc. , 978 P. 2d 67 Cal. 1999, the California Supreme Court held in 1999 that even an employee who holds a communion in an open dapple space and tranced by co-workers can be an infraction of privacy claim if that conversation is recorded by a reporters concealed camera.The court rejected the nonion of privacy as an all-or-nothing concept and described an foreboding of limited privacy as follows A subjective mentality of privacy is an opinion of a someone that a certain interpose or situation is private. An objective, legitimate or logical expectation of privacy is an expectation of privacy acknowledge by society low different circumstances, however, courts rescue established that news media argon justified in doing what their subjects may feel is invasive. ( wikipedia 2002) DefinitionsAccording to the United Nations oecumenical Declaration of Human pay offs Resolution 219A (III), oblige 12 of 10 December 1948 as cited in Malemi (2002 163) No one shall be subjected to arbitrary racket with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor attacks upon his honour and reputation. E genuinelyone has the correct to the vindication of the law against such interference or attacks. concealing refers primarily to a persons pay off to be left alone by the media, not n ecessarily a physical violation into ones private topographic point or in the flesh(predicate) space. attack of privacy downs are usually presented in a civil guinea pig against media outlets that gestate go through a perceived line into a celebrity or former(a)wise domain figures private life, or hurt used his or her parity or mention in an self-appointed public agency screen law is the area of law takeed with the surety and preservation of the privacy disciplines of man-to-mans. Increasingly, disposals and other publics as well as private organizations watch vast amounts of private information about someone(a)s for a variety of purposes.The law of privacy regulates the type of information which may be collected and how the information may be used. The Right to solitude According to the 1999 Constitution of the Federal state of Nigeria, chapter IV, class 37 on the proficient to private and family life says Citizens accommodate right to privacy of thems elves, their homes, correspondence, surround and telegraphic communications. A violation of this rights amounts to onslaught of privacy. Remedies can and then be pursued in the courts when anyone goes contrary to the above provisions.The right of privacy is a common-law cause of action that is a recent legal development. The U. S. Constitution contains no direct references to the right of privacy, although the Fourth Amendment states The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be break The right of privacy competes with the freedom of the press as well as the interest of the public in the free dispersion of news and information, and these permanent public interests moldiness be considered when placing the necessary limitations upon the right of privacy.The early Amendment states telling shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free do work on that pointof or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press picpic incursion of privacy, then is the ravishment into the face-to-face life of another, without just cause, which can give the person whose privacy has been invaded a right to bring a lawsuit for damages against the person or entity that intruded. It encompasses study monitoring, Internet privacy, data collection, and other mode of disseminating private information. Photographers authorize to Privacy, 2003). The outlawed impingement into a persons private activities by other individuals, the media or by the government has largely been defined as assault of privacy. Privacy is invaded when one intentionally intrudes, physically or otherwise, upon a persons solitude or into his private area or in the flesh(predicate) disciplines. infringement of privacy is considered a violation of tort law and can be litigated in spite of appearance the civil courts for monetary damages.Recently, impact of privacy has taken on even greater meaning with recent technological advances. Bussian &038 Levine 2004 count on that Whether an article or broadcast is newsworthy, whether the information was ga on that pointd in an objectionable fashion, whether true(a) information is nonetheless exceedingly stinking &8212 all are considerations in viewness individuals claims against the news media. Invasion of privacy is a tort, a civil wrong, which can assume to jury trials and potential claims for compensatory and punitive damages.It also focalizes judges in the unfamiliar and disquieting role as editors of last resort. Celebrities are not protect in most situations, since they nurse voluntarily put themselves already within the public eye, and their activities are considered newsworthy. Categorically, assault of privacy or the assault into the personal life of another, without just cause, can give the person whose privacy has been invaded a right to bring a lawsuit for damages against the pe rson or entity that intruded.Folarin, 2005155 also agrees that the right to privacy is a legal factor by which consumers can witness media content through suits instituted against the media in defense reaction of their right relating to invasion of privacy which includes insulant from needless matter of private matters. also that people can sue any media that uses their call spuriously. He cusss that the people who have little or no determine of winning most of the suits are acknowledge public figures who are generally faux to have lost their to privacy by taking up public office or otherwise become public by being involved in a newsworthy act or incident.In distinguishing invasion of privacy among other claims facing the media, unusual situations involving crime victims and witnesses and also photographs of virtually anything visible in a public place do not give rise to actions for publication of private facts. Also facts that give rise to a imitation unused claim ma y support a defamation claim while injury to reputation is not required for a delusive fall down claim. The sullen get by tort aims primarily to protect against emotional distress preferably than to protect ones reputation. ground on First Amendment of the US composing stage businesss, and the similarity between the claims, some states have not been persuaded to recognize the false lighthearted tort. However, public personalities are not protected in most situations, since they have placed themselves already within the public eye, and their activities (even personal and sometimes intimate) are considered newsworthy and are perceived to be of legitimate public interest. Dimensions of Invasion of Privacy ) onset on ones solitude or into ones private affairs includes The Home A persons home gets the highest protection from the courts. Entering a house or apartment without permission of the occupant or, in some circumstances, the police, can be considered as an unlawful onsla ught. Photographs and read Recording victorious photographs of a person or his home in a private place may be an invasion of privacy. Tape recording a person without his comply may also provoke damage awards. ) world disclosure of embarrassing private information such as ain Matters Details about a private persons sexual relationships, the contents of personal letters, private facts about an individual, or other intensely personal matters are off-limits to the news media unless they are considered as absolutely newsworthy. news program Even true accounts are actionable if they contain extremely offensive details which are not of legitimate concern to the public. ) domainity which puts him/her in a false light to the public Fabrication Ascribing quotes or fictionalizing actual events can lead to invasion if a person is portrayed in a false light in the first place the public. Photographs Using photographs or films to illustrate a story that implies falsely that a pers on is involved in a disreputable incident. d) annexation of ones name or picture for personal or mercenaryised advantage such as Advertising The unauthorized use of a persons name or photograph in an advertisement is another commodious subject in nvading peoples privacy. Property Rights This happens when the press offers to give apart unauthorized broadcasts or photographs of a performance. The Supreme Court in the United States has govern that there is a limited constitutive(a) right of privacy based on a number of provisions in the Bill of Rights and subsequent amendments. This includes a right to privacy from media surveillance into an area where a person has a reasonable expectation of privacy and also in matters relating to marriage, procreation, contraception, family relationships, claw rearing and education.However, records held by third parties such as financial records or telephone call records are generally not protected unless a specific federal official law app lies. The court has also recognized a right of anonymity and the right of groups to not have to disclose their members names to media agencies. (www. answers. com) Generally, its been considered that one ought to have a reasonable expectation of privacy, meaning i.A place where a reasonable person would believe that he or she could disrobe in privacy, without being come to that his or her undressing was being photographed or film by another or ii. A place where one may somewhat expect to be safe from passing(a) or hostile intrusion or surveillance. Given the similarity to voyeurism, an adjudicator might convalesce that placing a hidden camera in a certain location may amount to the torts of indignation or deliberate infliction of emotional distress.Invasion of privacy laws are usually broken into cardinal separate categories highlighted earlier including intrusion, annexation, false light and public disclosure of embarrassing facts. Intrusion of Solitude Intrusion of solitude, seclusion or into private affairs is an arm of invasion of privacy done by spy on or intruding upon another person where that person has the expectation of privacy. Places that a person ought to have an expectation of privacy are usually in a home or business setting. Consequently, people who have become public figures do not have the same(p) expectation of privacy.A media practitioner, who intentionally intrudes, physically or otherwise, upon the solitude or seclusion of another or his private affairs or concerns, is subject to liability for invasion of privacy, if the intrusion would be super offensive to a reasonable person. To be liable for intrusion upon seclusion or solitude, the plaintiff mustiness prove the side by side(p) elements Invasion of a secluded place or privacy this happens when the suspect is alleged to have invaded the plaintiffs personal or private space. This could be unflinching by Physical intrusion into a place where the plaintiff has secluded himsel f. ) go for of the defendants senses to eavesdrop or spy in order to oversee or overhear the plaintiffs private affairs or b) roughly other form of investigation or examination into plaintiffs private concerns. Objectionable intrusion this is the type of intrusion that would be highly offensive to the ordinary reasonable person. Invasion of private affairs or matters the interference with the plaintiffs privacy must be firm (however, if the event reported occurs in public, there is no expectation of privacy).Other examples of intrusion upon privacy include placing microphones or cameras in someones bedroom or hacking into their computer. Society does not expect a journalist to place wiretaps on a private individuals telephone without his or her concur. beginning someones mail is also considered to be intrusion of solitude, seclusion or private affairs. The information gathered by this form of intrusion need not be create in order for an invasion of privacy claim to succeed. obtrude is closely related to the intrusion tort and may be claimed simultaneously.Intrusion claims against the media often centre on some aspect of the newsgathering process. This tort may involve the wrongful use of attach recorders, cameras or other intrusive equipment. exceed also can be a form of intrusion. An actionable claim for intrusion may arise whether or not a news story is published or aired. (A lensmans guide to privacy, 2003) Appropriation of Name, Likeness or individuation The annexation of a private persons name, affinity or identity by a person or company for moneymaking(prenominal) gain is prohibited under the invasion of privacy laws.However, this law pertains to a private figure and not a public figure or celebrities, who have fewer and different privacy rights. The Restatement (Second) of Torts Section 652C (1977) defines appropriation of name or likeness as follows One who appropriates to his own use or benefit the name or likeness of another is subject t o liability to the other for invasion of his privacy. (Bussian &038 Levine, 2004) Appropriation of name or likeness occurs when someone uses the name or likeness of another for their own advantage.Action for misappropriation of right of publicity protects against commercial loss caused by appropriation of an individuals spirit for commercial exploitation. It gives the individual exclusive right to control the commercial time value of his or her name and likeness to prevent others from exploiting that value without permission. It is similar to a trademark action with the persons likeness, rather than the trademark, being the subject of the protection. The appropriation category of invasion of privacy prevents others from use a persons name or identity for commercial gain.Ordinarily, the news media do not run afoul of this form of tort. However, manifestly harmless news coverage or advertisements can lead to lawsuits. This law came into creation from a couple of court decisions in the early 1900s where a private persons photograph was being used without concur for advertizing purposes and without them receiving any monetary reward for use their pictures in print. The court recognized that the common law right to privacy including a persons identity had been violated by the unauthorized commercial use.In later cases, a persons voice was also included. worldly concern figures, especially politicians do not have the same right to privacy as regards to appropriation of name, likeness or identity since there is much less expectation of privacy for public figures. Celebrities may sue for the appropriation of name, likeness or identity not on grounds of invasion of privacy, notwithstanding rather on owning their own right to publicity and the monetary rewards (or damages) that come from using their likeness. False kindlingAs cited in Bussian , (2004) The Restatement (Second) of Torts Section 652E (1977) provides that One who gives publicity to a matter conc erning another that places the other originally the public in a false light is subject to liability to the other for invasion of his privacy, if the false light in which the other was placed would be highly offensive to a reasonable person, and the operator had knowledge of or acted in unheeding disregard as to the falsity of the bare matter and the false light in which the other would be placed.Creating a false image for an individual may constitute an invasion of privacy. This is an aspect of invasion of privacy that deals with untruthful publication. In this instance, the offended person is placed in a false light through misleading descriptions, murkiness of the persons identity with another, fictionalization of actual events, or photographs taken out of context. Its features are It gives an individual unreasonable and highly objectionable publicity that attri just nowes false characteristics, conduct or beliefs to him or her.The express material must be published to a thi rd person or publicised to a large audience or to so many an(prenominal) persons that the matter must be regarded as substantially certain to become one of public knowledge. The invasion of privacy tort of false light is upheld in court when the plaintiff can prove that the defendant publicize the plaintiff in such as way that it would be highly offensive to a reasonable person. However, it is apt to note that this tort shares many similarities with smear and many courts have trouble separating the ii.Public Disclosure of Embarrassing secluded Facts Public disclosure of embarrassing private facts becomes an invasion of privacy tort when the disclosure is so despicable that it becomes a matter of public concern and it outrages the public sense of decency. In this invasion of privacy tort, the information may be truthful and yet soundless be considered an invasion if it is not newsworthy, if the event took place in private and there was no consent to reveal the information. The R estatement (Second) of Torts Section 652D (1977) provides that One who gives ublicity to a matter concerning the private life of another is subject to liability to the other for invasion of his privacy, if the matter tell is of a kind that (a) would be highly offensive to a reasonable person, and (b) is not of legitimate concern to the public. (ibid) The media can also be held accountable for damages for truthful publication. It is considered that the antisocial article or broadcast exposes to public view certain highly offensive matters that are not considered newsworthy.In order for an offended plaintiff to prevail, he must prove that the publication was a) highly offensive to a reasonable person, b) And that the matters were not of legitimate concern to the public. The latter fatality may give the news media what might be called the newsworthiness defence. Though, the legal concern of the public in a matter is not presumed by the matters publication. Thus, a plaintiff may prove that an article is scatty in newsworthiness despite its publication. to a lower place is a good example sequel study Publication of Embarrassing Private Facts Nollywood actress and 2005 Gulder Ultimate Search star, Anita Hogan, was reported to have lost a three-month-old pregnancy following the dishonor caused by the publication of her nude sculpture pictures in Daily Sun, an evening newspaper in 2006. Anita, according to her lawyer, was engaged to be married to a white man whose nude pictures were published along with hers in the Friday, August 11th edition of the newspaper. guard detectives in Lagos eventually arrested one Emeka Nwankwo, a computer engineer who allegedly circulated the horrible pictures to the media, after the actress rebuffed his alleged bid to force and extort money from her over the lurid shots. The actress through her counsel explained that the computer where the arguable photos were saved developed a breaking and had to be taken for repairs, from wh ere they were allegedly stolen. The shots were said to have been taken by Anitas groom-to-be and stored on her personal computer.Emeka allegedly approached her to pay him N500, 000 or risk acquire her pornographic pictures with the white man published in newspapers. The actress was said to have dark down the request, which she regarded as influence, and Emeka allegedly went onwards with his threat to circulate the pictures to media houses. A implore written by Anitas lawyer, Mr Tony Dania of Dania and Associates, to the proxy Commissioner of Police SCID, Lagos, real admitted that the pictures in circulation were those of the actress but stressed that they were Anitas private pictures with her fiance, stolen and doctored to suit the purpose of blackmail. The aforesaid publication is a criminal invasion of our clients privacy. From the story the suspects published, it was obvious that there was blackmail and attempts to extort money from our client. They stole some of our clien ts pictures, used the computer to improvise and lay over further images on them, called our client and demanded for money. The white man in the published pictures is a true resemblance of Anitas fiance who works in a very decent organisation. In fact, they have done the pre-marriage formal introduction.Anita, who lost her dad recently, was actually carrying the baby of the white man, but the shock of the aforesaid inglorious publications made her to lose her pregnancy between Saturday/Sunday, August, 12, 13, 2006, the petition alleged. thorough PROVISIONS Misappropriation There are canons that govern the right of publicity. These laws have two purposes 1) To protect ordinary individuals from the mental anguish that may accompany the undesired commercial use of their name or image, and 2) To protect the property interest that celebrities develop in their identities.Under these laws the use of a relevant picture to illustrate a newsworthy article will generally not lead to liabilit y. The unauthorized use of a celebritys picture in an advertisement often will. False Light A photograph or videotape by itself will rarely place a subject in a false light. Rather, the accompanying text, caption, or voice-over could be misleading and portray the person in a false context. However, an accurate flick of a person in a publication the person finds offensive does not, in itself, state a false light claim. Private Facts The private facts tort presents unsettling scenario in which media practitioners may be iable for money damages for reporting the truth. In several cases the US Supreme Court has held that where a newspaper publishes truthful information which it has lawfully obtained, punishment may lawfully be imposed, if at all, only when narrowly tailored to a state interest of the highest order. Florida Star v. B. J. F. , 491 U. S. 524, 541 (1989) as cited in Bussian &038 Levine 2004. Although the Supreme Court has prevented states from punishing journalists who p ublished legally obtained names of juvenile offenders and rape victims, the Court has not absolutely rejected the private facts tort in this context.Although crimes such as rape are newsworthy not all courts have agreed that the identity of a rape victim is newsworthy. Intrusion Intrusion always comes into play through the process of gathering information. Here, the subsequent publication of the information is not required. Actions that may violate this privacy right include trespass onto private property, hidden surveillance, and the fraudulent entry into private areas. consume that invades privacy may also violate the criminal law. In general, courts have held that journalists must obey generally applicable laws.Trespass is the illegal entry onto private property. If the owner or person in charge of private property orders a photographer to leave, the photographer should leave or be prepared to face a trespass charge. Photographers who accompany police onto private property are not necessarily immune from liability. Camera operators should also be certain of federal and state laws that govern the tapeline of oral examination communications. The federal wiretap statute prohibits the interception of oral communications unless one ships company such as the journalist consents to the recording.And there have been instances where barring the taping of oral communications exist unless all parties consent to the taping. Privacy and the Internet The US Congress and its state legislatures across the nation have considered or are considering scores of bills aimed at reducing public concern about the ability of Internet users to protect their private lives as they surf the World unsubtle Web. (Pember &038 Calvert, 2006). Despite the positive usage of the internet, the have been growing concern among users about the engineering considering the ease with which third parties can collect data bout users and what the data collectors can do with the material they hav e gathered. However, the Nigerian Government have not woken from its eternal sleep towards the direction of giving adequate protection to its citizens, properties and of course, rights. Defences available to Privacy Suits Several defences are available to photographers and news organizations accused of invasion of privacy Legitimate concern defendant in a disclosure can challenge the plaintiffs proof of the basic elements of intrusion.For example, the defendant may be able to show that the facts that the defendant disclosed were matters of legitimate public concern. If a person is involved in a matter of legitimate public concern, a newsworthy event, the person becomes a public figure with respect to that event, no matter of the persons intentions or desires. If a person is a public official or public figure, his or her reasonable expectations of privacy are dramatically reduced. As a practical matter, a public official or public figure cannot successfully sue unless the invasion o f privacy is outrageous or done with actual malice. fancy it is a voluntary agreement to a publication or permission to enter a private place to gather information. It could be expressed or implied. Allis (2009) opines that a person who accepts money or other considerations in exchange for the invasion of privacy is said to have sold his or her rights. Though some defendants, such as prosecutors and government officials do have resistor if they are acting within the scope of their authority. Anything to be used in a commercial context, whether it is a photo taken in public or in private, must have consent, usually in the form of a model release. bear must be obtained from someone who can validly give it. Consent to enter a home may not be consent to photograph it. Consent exceeded can be the same as no consent at all. Although oral consent may protect the press from liability for invasion of privacy, written consent is more likely to foreclose the chess opening of a lawsuit. Howe ver, a subjects subsequent withdrawal of consent does not bar the publication of the photograph. It simply means that the journalist may not assert consent as a defence if the subject later files suit.Cornwell (2008) sums it by expression the more explicit the consent, the better the protection for the press. Newsworthiness Is generally defined as what the public is interested in. According to Wulfemeyer (2003), if a story that includes legally obtained private information that is embarrassing to the plaintiff but the subject matter is of public concern, it would be difficult for the plaintiff to win the law suit because courts give wide latitude to the newsworthiness defence. Photographs taken in public places generally are not actionable.Photographs of crimes, arrests and accidents usually are considered newsworthy and immune from privacy claims. Public places if an event occurs in public view, they are almost always considered public and not private. Though public places defenc e have been considered not absolute. Public proceedings reading obtained during public meetings, hearings or trials can be reported by a news organization. Public records if information has been obtained from a papers that is of a public record, it can not be deemed private.ETHICAL OBLIGATION Momoh (2004) opines that as a rule a journalist should respect the privacy of individuals and their families unless it affects public interest in the following ways knowledge on the private life of an individual or his family should only be published if it impinges on public interest, Publishing of such information about an individual as mentioned above should be deemed justifiable only if it is directed at 1. Exposing crime or serious misdemeanour 2. Exposing anti social conduct 3.Protecting public health, morals and safety 4. Preventing the public from being misled by some statement or action of the individual touch. SUMMING UP The Right of Privacy is a good measure to fracture media practitioners on inappropriate media content so a news medium while carrying out its function must at all time be concerned with the welfare of its consumer. A media practitioner must ensure the accuracy of his or her information and must be ready to make corrections and clarifications when necessary after publication or broadcasting untrue information.A media practitioner must at all time uphold the dignity of his or her profession comply with his or her master copy codes and respect the human rights. A media unspoiled must also recognise that gathering and reporting information may sometimes cause discomfort, so must anticipate ways to minimise the hurt. (Kayode, 2009). REFERENCES Allis. (2009). Invasion of Privacy&8212Appropriation. Retrieved kinfolk 19, 2009, from Lexis-Nexis database. Bussian &038 Levine. (2004). Invasion of Privacy The Right to be left alone Retieved phratry 18, 2009, from Lexis-Nexis database. Cornwell, C.N. (2008). Freedom of the Press Rights and liber ties under the law. Retrieved September 18, 2009, from http//www. abc. clio. com Expectation of privacy (2002). Retrieved September 18, 2009, From http//www. wikipedia. com Folarin , B. (2005). Theories of push-down stack Communication An Introductory Text. Abeokuta Bakinfol Publication Invasion of Privacy (2003). Retrieved September 18, 2009, From http//www. winningnewsmedia. com/privacy Kayode, J. (2009). moral philosophy and professional practise Record .Lagos. Malemi, E. (2002). Mass Media lawfulness Cases and materials Lagos Grace Publishing Incorporation Momoh, T . (2004). Nigerian Media Laws &038 Ethics Lagos Efua Media Associates. Pember &038 Calvert. (2006). Mass Media Law Boston McGraw Hill. Phtographers giude to Privacy (2003), Retrieved September 18, 2009, From http//www. rcfp. org Wulfemeyer, K. T. (2003). tuner &038 TV Newswriting A workbook Retrieved September 19, 2009, from Lexis-Nexis database.