ABSTRACT
To explore how the mutually constituted dialectics of technology and economics are rewriting some media rules, this chapter explains the concepts of “ethico-legal paradox,” and the “techno-legal” and “techno-ethical” “time-gaps.” The Fourth Estate is predicated on a series of ethical and legal principles that have stood the test of time, despite the failings of this model of journalism in practice. These principles are given form in Codes of Ethics and an understanding that journalists and editors will abide by the “laws of the land.” Social journalism relies on strong and meaningful interactions between reporters—whether employed professionals, freelancers, or unpaid hobbyists and activists—and their audiences. Privacy is an issue squarely in the frame of the techno-legal and techno-ethical time-gap dilemma, but there is an added complexity. Journalists should proceed using similar methods and so too should news consumers and those seeking to work in social journalism as reporters or curators.
