The freedom of the press debate has re-ignited as The Journalist magazine has lost its libel case brought by Vice President Annette Lu (
Can this trial be a sacred and holy crusade, as the defendants declare? Let's look into the free press ideal from the viewpoints of law and journalism.
As constitutional interpretation No.509 says, journalists can publish with impunity an article that eventually turns out to be false if the court decides that the journalists believed the statements they made were true. But this freedom applies only to criminal trials, and is meant to protect journalists from a so-called "chilling effect" by minimizing the punishments they would face under criminal law.
A civil trial, which is the central legal process in this case, should have a different set of standards. When a journalist hurts some individual's reputation without obvious vindication, he or she should persuade the court with more solid evidence or pay punitive damages to the victim. Press freedom doesn't have to sacrifice the people's right to be free from groundless accusations. This imperative was epitomized by Manchester Guardian editor C.P. Scott's rule that "Comment is free but facts are sacred."
Take another look at this case from the perspective of journalism. Journalism theory holds that the press is the watchdog that digs out the truth and presents it to the public. Therefore freedom of the press isn't gospel, but rather an authority which is given by civic society. A magazine like The Journalist that has little credibility thanks to its use of false information has little right to proclaim its innocence and say it represents the forces of freedom, for it already has abandoned and betrayed the public's expectations and its own duties.
In 18th-century Europe, a journalist defied authority to reveal truth to the public, and in doing so broke the law. He accepted the criminal charge willingly and went to prison without complaint. He said, "The public's right to know is exercised, and so is the country's authority and the social order."
Today we might want to consider this question: "Is our society being protected by press freedom, or being harmed by it?"
Iap Hong Sum
Taipei
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