Book Review: Law and Ethics for Today’s Journalist: A Concise Guide, by Joe Mathewson

Abstract

Joe Mathewson Law and Ethics for Today's Journalist: A Concise Guide. Armonk: M.E. Sharpe, 2014. 198 pp.In the preface Law and Ethics for Today's Journalist, the author states that the book's purpose is to help the working journalist recognize legal and ethical issues and provide guidance in making those decisions (p. xi). This is a short book, only 198 pages, and is not designed be a comprehensive study of journalism law or of jour- nalism ethics. Rather, the author directs this text the working journalist and as a supplemental book for use in college-level journalism courses.Joe Mathewson draws on his experience as the former Supreme Court reporter for the Wall Street Journal fashion a very general overview of most of the traditional legal issues and concerns facing journalists today. As might be expected from one with Mathewson's credentials, his writing is clear, concise, and compelling. The author breaks very little new ground, but visits the cases and situations that make up the foun- dation of issues such as prior restraint, defamation, invasion of privacy, free press/fair trial, journalist's privilege, copyright, and access information. He purposely limits material pertaining broadcast regulation and obscenity. The former is omitted because it has little effect on the practice of journalism, and the latter because it has no First Amendment protection (p. xii).Also included is a chapter on the Citizens United1 case. The rationale behind includ- ing material about the Supreme Court ruling that gives corporations the same First Amendment rights as individuals is as follows: . . . in these days of big-money elec- tions, the huge political donations and expenditures can make good stories in and of themselves (p. 191). The author also suggests that following the campaign finance trail can help the practicing journalist connect the dots between money spent by inter- est groups and the actual vote.Missing from this book is any reference WikiLeaks and how the existence of this organization has affected journalism. There are at least two chapters that would be stron- ger if material on WikiLeaks were included. Chapter 3 discusses prior restraint, the Pentagon Papers, and the role of Daniel Ellsberg in obtaining these documents. It seems that this material would flow naturally into a discussion of WikiLeaks, Bradley Manning, and the Obama administration's reaction the publication of this information.2The WikiLeaks case also had an impact on the federal shield law debate, especially in determining who is a journalist and who would be covered under such a law. …