AKU-14-0002.0 Are there instances in which the media is justified in breaking the law? By mid-1992, the apartheid system of racial segregation in South Africa was coming apart. Part A of this case describes a tip to the Weekly Mail national newspaper of regular meetings by right-wing extremists, who perhaps were planning illegal activities. Thenewspaper’s leadership, including Editor Anton Harber, was torn. If they bugged the meetings, that was illegal. On the other hand, if eavesdropping could forestall violence, that was a public service. Harber had to decide—should the Weekly Mail bug Burger’s meetings or not?

Part B is short and can be handed out in class. It describes how the Weekly Mail was caught red-handed. A team of editors and lawyers has to decide how to plead. If the paper pled guilty, the case would remain a trivial instance of law-breaking. But if it pled not guilty on the grounds of acting in the public interest and as a last resort to obtain information essential for the public to know, it could possibly strengthen the media’s right to pursue the public interest—a concept newly emerging in the post-apartheid legal system.

Reporting information the public has a right to know is one of journalism’s most basic principles. What if that information can be obtained only by breaking the law? The question is even harder in the context of a democratic transition, when many laws are relics of a former regime but new ones protecting press freedoms have not yet—and may never—be put in place. Under such circumstances, how can journalists best serve the public good?

Use this case to start discussions about investigative reporting tactics; whether breaking the law in the name of the public interest is ever justified; the relationship between law and ethics in journalism; and the role of the press in a new democracy. Students might also consider the rights of the individual to privacy against the public’s right to know. As Harber questions: is an illegal act always unethical?

Use this case in a course/class on journalism ethics, international media,  journalism   and the law, or investigative reporting.

Credits:

This case was written by R. Chandrasekhar for the Aga Khan University Graduate School of Media and Communications. GSMC was a member of the Case Consortium @ Columbia, which coordinated production of the case. (0114)

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