I am always amazed by our high society in Hollywood. It is really fascinating how these people get chased after by paparazzi or other people just to get a story for a gossip paper. In this case the invasion into privacy went way too far. The article 'Hollywood hacker apologises for spying on stars' reveals all the rumours that have been going around the news and web for weeks now. The 26 year-old-actress Scarlett Johansson was one of the victims who has had private nude photos leaked online. The 35 year-old-computer hacker, Christopher Chaney deeply apologised for his behaviour but he could face up to 121 years of jail.
The story as such is a 'follow-up' on old coverage so some parts of the article are sort of redundant. Nevertheless, there is a section on the right side of the article with 'related coverage' to give the reader more background information which can be quite helpful if the reader doesn't know anything about the story yet. I really liked that there is actual quotes of the accused man Chaney throughout the story. It definitely adds value onto the article. The only thing downside is the image. Although the image shows the victim it doesn't really relate to the story. Instead they could maybe have used an image of the computer hacker. Also clicking on the picture would link to the same picture again just bigger. Since the story has a really newsworthy angle it is quite nice how ABC news layed it out - short and simple.
The story as such is a 'follow-up' on old coverage so some parts of the article are sort of redundant. Nevertheless, there is a section on the right side of the article with 'related coverage' to give the reader more background information which can be quite helpful if the reader doesn't know anything about the story yet. I really liked that there is actual quotes of the accused man Chaney throughout the story. It definitely adds value onto the article. The only thing downside is the image. Although the image shows the victim it doesn't really relate to the story. Instead they could maybe have used an image of the computer hacker. Also clicking on the picture would link to the same picture again just bigger. Since the story has a really newsworthy angle it is quite nice how ABC news layed it out - short and simple.
Because the World Wide Web today is so fast-paced and in constant development people manage to figure out ways to outsmart the computer systems. We all know that security settings in our social media accounts for example, are there for a reason. And ones put on the internet your entered data like pictures, emails, and comments etc. will be in the electronic world forever - like a Tattoo. Electronical hijacking is probably quite easy if you are a tech-savvy and maybe extremely curious person but it does not give anyone the right to invade someones privacy. And it doesn't matter if this person is a celebrity or just a common person.
So how can this possibly still happen over and over again? I guess it all comes from the media landscape's big shift from traditional media to new media. Today's electronical world is all about iPhones, iPads, Mac Books, or any other portable device that can do several tasks at the same time via the internet. According to that journalistic practices can pretty much be carried out by ordinary people, also referred to as 'citizen journalism'. But where are the boundaries? How far is too far when gathering news?
When Chaney was infiltrating the email accounts of Hollywood stars he probably felt a little bit like one of the really famous renegade cyber-journalist, Matt Drudge who ones said: "anyone can report anything" and "The people have a right to know, not the editors who think they know better. You should let people know as much as you know when you know". The emphasis here clearly lies on 'WHEN you know'. Chaney obviously used illegal methods to get to his information. In contrast, Matt Drudge just overheard rumours while working in a CBS television station.
Citizen journalism also takes credibility and accountability, just like a normal news agency. With new technology tools in hand the temptation of becoming a citizen journalist is quite big ... but also risky, as we saw it in this case.
Online news article and references:
Allan, S. (2009). Histories of citizen journalism, in Stuart, A. & Thorsen, E. (eds). Citizen journalism: Global perspectives. New York: Peter Lang, pp. 17-32.
