A civil media

Last Thursday, The Beacon, the student newspaper for Florida International University, was confiscated by university officials. The newspaper had released the name of an 18-year-old sexual assault victim while reporting on the trial's opening arguments.\nThe officials were acting to uphold a 1994 Florida law, but that law had been subsequently declared unconstitutional. The officials later apologized, and the papers were soon returned, but by that point, it was too late to distribute them. \nI tend to oppose all government attempts to regulate the press. Because the press serves to check the government itself, government interference is always questionable, even when it has good intentions. As history has shown, there is always the possibility that someone might someday come along and subvert a good law to bad ends.\nThat said, the press has a responsibility to report in an ethical manner. Just because something is legal doesn't make it right. There's nothing to be accomplished by printing the name of a sexual assault victim, and the identified woman was effectively victimized a second time (her identity was disclosed publicly in an online version of the paper. It has since been removed.) \nMost daily newspapers have a self-imposed policy that prevents the naming of sexual assault victims. Until this incident, The Beacon did not.\nTom Julin, The Beacon's lawyer, told the Student Press Law Center the paper is "inadvertently raising a great question as to whether it makes sense to self-censor when the parties involved have made no effort to protect their identities." \nOuch.\nI'd like to think most journalist don't feel hindered by self-censorship when it comes to protecting victims. Basically, The Beacon acted thoughtlessly and unethically; as the paper's editor in chief said, "we didn't think about it." \nThat should be the end of the story -- apologies all around, a learning experience for the employees of the paper and hope that the woman's name was forgotten with the next big story.\nHowever, it seems that the paper's unscrupulous lawyer wants to make a name for himself in the midst of this unfortunate situation. Although he claims it's unlikely the paper will press charges, he seems to be spouting off fighting words.\nAccording to Julin, the fault lies with the parents and attorneys of the victim.\n"If there was a feeling on the part of the parents that the victim's identity should be confidential, they could have sought an order that would have protected the identity of the victim," he said.\nHe might have a point legally speaking, but it's ridiculous from a common sense standpoint. Asking a victim to actively seek his or her own protection in the midst of other legal responsibilities is sickening, and the implicit agreement between the media and the government to do the right thing without being asked is the best way to maintain a free and civil society.\nI'm not sure if I support the university officials for pulling the paper, but unlike The Beacon, at least their hearts were in the right place.