yeah a country that allows public humiliation of people sure is a healthy democracy 8) wtf???

For non-public figures it's illegal here to publish the names without their consent or before they have been convicted (proven guilty) in a crime, in a matter that would 'cause humiliation on their parts.

it's actually pretty easy

how would it feel to tell people you lost your legs to a TOILET?!?

Man, tbh, I don't know how many people she'd be able to tell. Sitting on the shitter for two years kinda cuts off contact with most people ;/

Thought experiment: if a the press publicly humiliaties people that stray too far off from the mass without being criminals or doing other people harm, does it sound like a Freedom-loving country?

Idk, I thought freedom was all about people living their lives as they wanted without being persecuted by anyone (including the press!!) as long as they're not breaking the law?


And there's tons of shit freely available to anyone willing to look it up (and knowing what to look for). 80% of journalism is filtering out what is interesting and suitable for the general population and printing it. Printing the persons name in this case is clearly not a divine "FREEDOM OF THE PRESS"-act (it's not exactly WATERGATE) but rather about lacking press ethics.

Freedom of Press equals the right to humiliate people then? That's what you're saying?

With freedom comes responsibility (hey cliche) and I'd say humiliating people like that is the complete opposite of responsible journalism, and I'm pretty sure the Franklin brothers would roll in their graves if they knew that's what the press is doing these days.

Freedom of Press equals the right to humiliate people then? That's what you're saying?

With freedom comes responsibility (hey cliche) and I'd say humiliating people like that is the complete opposite of responsible journalism, and I'm pretty sure the Franklin brothers would roll in their graves if they knew that's what the press is doing these days.

Considering the fact that the United States press is under more restrictions than my country I'd say freedom of press is actually pretty INDEPENDENT from whether you are allowed to name people getting negative attention without their consent. The story would be the same if his name was NOT included, wouldn't it? I mean considering 95% of all news stories are anonymous it doesn't really matter for the sake of the story does it!! I mean, fuck, the story is sensationalist bullshit to begin with!

I mean shit, wasn't it long ago some journalist got JAILED for not naming her source in a huge federal case in the US? Wasn't it long ago some blogger got JAILED (again) for not giving up his film from the G8 demonstration? Didn't the US send an Arab journalist to fucking GUANTANAMO over some article that he wrote? Aren't major US corps shitting all over other countries' freedom of press, helping the governments to locate bloggers so they can be jailed/executed?

I mean shit, USA is probably the only western country I can think of that sends people to prison over their journalistic work. Yet, there's no one protecting the privacy of ordinary people from the BEACON OF FIRE THAT IS FREEDOM OF PRESS yet there seems to be a huge fucking glass dome protecting all the politicians. I mean shit, just look at your good-ol' war in Iraq. I remember the papers in Europe read for six months BEFORE the invasion about how US government chose to overlook real, solid information and yet chose to go to war (this was before the news that Bush KNEW there were no nukes tho). And US news sites? All filled up with the nukes in Iraq, I even remembered Norwegian papers had an article on the bullshit articles that ran in the US about how USA HAS FOUND THE NUKES shortly after the invasion which turned out to be a pretty big hoax!!

Now you listen to me, boy, I live in one of the countries that has the farthest-reaching freedom of press of all countries, but we do prize the privacy of our citizens greater than a fucking FUNNY/SCANDAL ARTICLE. Even recently, one of the most notorious criminals in the history of Norway got caught and is being charged (with extremely solid evidence, including 3 DNA traces) about how he sexually abused kids for 30 years, and yet NO NEWS SOURCE SO FAR (3 months since he was caught) has stated his name. Does that stop him from being charged? NO! Does that mean the newspaper won't touch the case and let everyone know what's up with it? NO! Is the information actually readily available for anyone who wants to know? Yes it is, I actually managed to find his identity after 30 minutes of googling and YET WHOA IN A COUNTRY RATED HIGHER WHEN IT COMES TO FREEDOM OF PRESS THAN THE NATION OF FREEDOM USA no public news source has given out his name?

How can that be possible!


American press is a joke. And it becomes an embarrassing joke once people try to stand up for it under the righteous banner of 'freedom'. USA has more skeletons in the closet when it comes to hindering press freedom in modern times than most western countries so... it's like an Iranian blogging on the internet on how his country is tolerant of homosexuals and crying out how RELIGION OF THE PEOPLE is the reason.



edit: I mean shit, consider if press freedom is completely free to survey all people at once and then point out the most ridiculous ones? Isn't that pretty fucking close to a 1984-society? Where the press can do WHATEVER THE FUCK THEY WANT? Is that the American dream?? Shittttttt!!