The First Amendment bubble : how privacy and paparazzi threaten a free press /

The advent of new communications technologies has triggered a seismic shift in journalism. It is not merely the case that new technologies have allowed anyone--not just a professional reporter--to function as a journalist. Perhaps more importantly, the rise of the citizen-journalist has in turn led to a wholesale challenge to the professional standards and ethics that once governed the institutional press. In this provocative and accessible study, written by an experienced journalist who is now a law professor, Gajda (Tulane Univ.) questions whether this trend is just consumer-driven voyeurism run amok or a calculated establishment of a new paradigm for privacy and the media. By combining historical accounts with assessments of present-day controversies, Gajda demonstrates that it is not merely that aggressive proto-journalists are claiming the right to invade privacy in the name of "news"; it is also that American courts are confirming and legitimating those claims. Ultimately, Gajda raises the possibility that the current shifts in the journalistic landscape represent an abandonment of core principles within the journalism profession and within the American society as a whole. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduate, graduate, and research collections. --Steven B. Lichtman, Shippensburg University

Former journalist Gajda's (law, Tulane Univ.; The Trials of Academe) timely book addresses threats to freedom of the press in the age of blogging and digital news sources. Chapter 1 examines the courts' relationship with the press at the turn of the 20th century through the 1960s and 1970s. Succeeding chapters examine the rise of the Internet and its impact on traditional media. As alternative media sources have increased financial pressures on media companies and the definition of journalism and the concept of privacy have become looser, the public has become more wary of the press and the courts have also begun to treat the media with more scrutiny. Gajda argues that the press should take responsibility for its ethics, while courts must safeguard free speech. Each section uses recent court cases and anecdotes to explore the balance between free speech and privacy and the importance of each of these rights. VERDICT Journalism students and those who study digital media will be most drawn to this book that tackles a complex subject in a compelling way.-Becky Kennedy, Atlanta-Fulton P.L. (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

A lawyerly look at what threatens journalistic free speech liberties. As a former journalist, Gajda (Law/Tulane Univ.; The Trials of Academe: The New Era of Campus Litigation, 2009) critiques and advises on matters of privacy and free speech with a keen journalistic eye. She explores the ways public scrutiny by news media (while protected under the guise of "newsworthiness") tarnishes the notion of public privacy. As First Amendment constitutional protections for the press continue to expand, the "balance between privacy rights and public interests" becomes increasingly skewed. The author cites the current wave of ubiquitous social media, where personal information is willingly and willfully disseminated, as a prime instigator fueling the privacy rights debate. But at what point do First Amendment rights trump personal privacy rights? Her thoughtful discussion includes chapters juxtaposing journalism's former golden age with the lax media standards of today's paparazzi and shock reporters, where "push-the-envelope behavior has elevated privacy concerns to new levels." Writing in concise, authoritative language, Gajda reiterates the significance of free speech, freedom of the press and the preservation of personal liberties within a complex debate that has become frustratingly blurred by legal ambiguities and loopholes. Fully utilizing (if overly reliant upon) pivotal court cases, she also highlights ruthless vigilante programs like To Catch a Predator and stories of misbehaving celebrities who have been scrutinized for wrongdoings by exploitative websites infamous for straddling ethical boundaries. Ultimately, Gajda writes, this is subject matter that will fester for decades as digital and social media erode the protective facade of personal privacy and evaporate the guidelines of what is considered newsworthy. She concludes with an appeal for change in how the law appropriates the First Amendment framework in both the private sector and within news media circles. An eye-opening, relevant and cautionary book. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.