Guess you might call this a man-bites-dog story. Although I presume it’s happened before, I can’t recall another case where a journalist has sued the subject of his or her coverage (subjects trying to bite journalists happens every day). This morning’s New York Times has the details and it’s reporters are among those taking legal action:
David E. McCraw, a lawyer for The New York Times, said Hewlett-Packard’s spying operations were “designed to interfere with our journalism and, ultimately, to deprive our readers of information of importance to them.”
He added that the newspaper was not looking for financial gain, but a settlement with the money donated to a worthy cause.
“The New York Times Company appreciates the steps that H.P. has taken to remedy the situation,” Mr. McCraw said, “but we believe H.P. can and should do more to acknowledge the harm that was done and to demonstrate to other companies that may be tempted to engage in similar conduct that this is not an offense that carries no consequences.”
While we may be part of the most litigious society on the planet, believe me when I tell you that suing a story subject is something that a journalist would do only under the most extreme provocation and only after a good deal of sober reflection. It’s just not a cost-free career move, as several of the journalists are learning as they are now prohibited from covering HP, as you might expect.
But the journalists do have extreme provocation in this case. Not only were their own phone records essentially stolen by private investigators hired by HP, those investigators also targeted members of the journalists’ families. The executives involved have paid little price to date, although the company agreed to cough up $14.5 million to settle a civil suit filed by California’s attorney general.
The FCC has recently taken action to help ensure that this type of thing doesn’t happen again – to not only journalists but anybody.
A successful lawsuit will help reinforce that message.
