Defede (pictured) broke the existing law and was fired. Defede knew he was breaking the law when he did it. I don't condone skirting the law for whatever reason.
Posted on 07/29/2005 11:42:02 AM PDT by summer
NEW YORK The firing of a Miami Herald columnist for secretly taping a phone conversation with a county commissioner minutes before the public official's suicide in the newspaper's lobby has raised questions about whether his actions constitute a fireable offense.
Although Florida law prohibits the taping of anyone's phone conversation without their consent, legal experts differ over how that might apply to a reporter. Herald staffers, meanwhile, have expressed concern that the columnist, Jim DeFede, might have been fired too quickly by editors who were responding under duress from the suicide.
Strictly interpreted, the law seems to indicate that DeFede committed an illegal act. "All parties must consent to the recording or the disclosure of the contents of any wire, oral, or electronic communication in Florida," reads a copy of the Florida statute provided by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. "Recording or disclosing without the consent of all parties is a felony," unless it is a first offense, in which case it is a misdemeanor.
Lucy Dalglish, executive director of the Reporters Committee, noted that Florida is one of only about a dozen states that require two-party consent. Still, she stressed that the law is clear and, if a paper's policy bars such taping, it is a fireable offense. "In a lot of newsrooms, this is the norm," she said about the firing for an illegal act.
But Sandy Baron, an attorney and executive director of the Media Law Resource Center in New York, said the fact that the taping was part of an interview could be a partial defense for the reporter. "A public official who knowingly talks to a reporter on the record has no reasonable expectation of privacy," she said. "It may be different if a public official says he is off the record or has said he does not want to be taped. But, people who talk to reporters are not having a private conversation."
The Florida statute includes a provision that says, "consent is not required for the taping" of someone "who does not have a reasonable expectation of privacy."
Speculation about the law has been raised by the Wednesday firing of DeFede, who lost his job during one of the most tragic and bizarre days in the paper's history. The incidents began when former county commissioner Arthur E. Teele, Jr., shot himself to death in the newspaper's lobby, shortly after speaking with DeFede in a telephone interview.
Teele's suicide came just days after he had been arraigned on corruption charges and on the same day a scathing report in the alternative weekly Miami New Times was published outlining lewd details of Teele's alleged interaction with male prostitutes.
Following the suicide, DeFede told editors he had been interviewing Teele earlier in the day and had recorded part of the conversation without his consent, the Herald reported.
"As Teele was becoming unglued [on the phone], I turned on a tape recorder because I could tell that he was distraught and bouncing off the walls," DeFede was quoted in the Herald as saying. "I made an illegal tape and the company decided to fire me."
DeFede later issued a statement that said, "In a tense situation I made a mistake. The Miami Herald executives only learned about it because I came to them and admitted it. I told them I was willing to accept a suspension and apologize both to the newsroom and our readers. Unfortunately, the Herald decided on the death penalty instead."
Al Tompkins, an instructor at the Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Fla., agreed that reporters should be disciplined for breaking the law. But he pointed out that the paper should have a clear policy on such issues. "This is an issue that newsrooms talk about or should talk about a lot," he told E&P. "Where and how we record when the other person doesn't know."
Tompkins stressed that no policy should absolutely prohibit taping without consent. But, he said, it is important to make clear what the rules are and how they are interpreted. "There may be reasons for newsrooms to use deception," he said. "There will be circumstances when a story is of overwhelming importance that there may be no other way. I would not recommend that a newsroom say, 'we don't tape.'"
It is not known what, if any, policy the Herald follows regarding telephone recordings. Executive Editor Tom Fiedler and Publisher Jesus Diaz did not return calls seeking comment.
Fielder issued a statement Wednesday on the firing, which said in part, "I am personally heartsick about this. But we must hold ourselves to the highest standard of integrity if we are to maintain the trust of our readers and those with whom we deal."
Newsroom staffers declined to comment on the record, but several who spoke on the condition of anonymity said they were surprised that DeFede was fired so abruptly.
"People were stunned and wondered why he had to be fired," said one reporter. Another noted that the mix of the suicide and firing created an atmosphere of anger and concern. "I think there is a level of distress with the speed [of the firing] and people haven't figured out whether the punishment fit the crime."
One Herald editor who requested anonymity said many questions about the suicide and DeFede's firing remained unanswered Thursday. "The classic question is, 'we understand the crime, but is the punishment just?'" the editor said. "People are puzzled and feeling surprised that they wouldn't back this guy up."
Someone has even created a Web site aimed at defending the fired scribe, www.journalistsfordefede. The site includes an open letter to Diaz and asks supporters to add their names.
DeFede had a long-running relationship with Teele, according to the Herald. He even wrote a column that defended the troubled politician last year after Teele was charged with threatening
And the Nazis made all the trains run on time.
Here's a great piece of "work", lies and all, by a real piece of work, Defede:
Jokes about putting Elian to death and says Lincoln Marti school is anti-Jewish and anti-gay. Funny how Lincoln Marti is named after Lincoln and Jose Marti whose advisor was Jewish.
Actually DeFede fits right in with the Miami Herald cabal, but they had to make him their fall guy.
I can see how you are seeing it. I'm not sure if I see it that way at this point. But, this was a tragedy all the way around; I would certainly agree with that.
The article I posted in my post #15 is a great one. Sorry. I can't agree with your assessment of him!
Just being in Florida should be enough - resident or not.
Why the crap would it ever be against the law to tape a conversation? I'll tape any damn conversation I want to. They're already taped in my brain. Are they going to make me forget what I heard?
(Anyone who's a journalist, that is!)
The husband of a friend of ours in FL was abusing his kids. The mother wanted to bust him (this was during a divorce). The private eye said he could plant a video camera in the living room, but the microphone had to be turned off because of the FL law.
Defede (pictured) broke the existing law and was fired. Defede knew he was breaking the law when he did it. I don't condone skirting the law for whatever reason.
I'm sorry to hear about those kids being abused!
But, see post #7 for another view.
I've always opposed 2-party consent laws, since before Linda Tripp was almost prosecuted on one.
You can in most states. Just not in FL. Or Maryland. In MD Linda Tripp got in legal trouble for recording Monica Lewinsky's phone calls to her about Monica's encounters with Bill Clinton. Tripp plead ignorance but it's not a defense in MD (IIRC).
Does the law specify that consent can't be inferred or implied, that it has to asked for and given? If so, the journo is toast and deservedly so.
Doesn't make sense to me in the other states. What if someone calls you and threatens to burn down your home or kill you? You take that into the police station and they arrest you?
It's mike moore's brother!
The subject of whether journalists should be treated the same as everyone else under the law has come up a lot lately. Many people think that journalists should be treated differently. I disagree. Who is a journalist? Which laws are they exempt from? If the law itself doesn't answer these questions, then any exemption for anyone means that there is, in effect, no law. Should Dan Rather enjoy privileges not enjoyed by FR's Buckhead? Which privileges? Those specified by Dan Rather? Nonsense!
See, but I don't think this matter really involves the "journalist" as much as it involves this particular public official, under investigation. What if Defede thought Teele wanted to make some kind of public statement in response to these charges? That would make sense as to why Defede was taping Teele. I just think the fact Teele later committed suicide, is, almost irrelevant in this narrow circumstance of thep hone call, because how was Defede to know Teele's state of mind?
In fact, Defede said Teele did not display any sign that would lead one to think Teele was about to committ suicide...so, here's a reporter talking on the phone to an official who is being charged with a long list of crimes. Well, maybe the official wants to speak, and Defede wants to be accurate in reporting what Teele says. I'm not sure the Miami Herald could defend this firing in a court of law based on what I've read. I think the Miami Herald just got scared and dunped Defede because the Miami Herald didn't want the deal with any potential lawsuit from Teele's survivors.
the deal = to deal
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