The case of Max Mosley, the News of the World, and privacy raises issues which need to be carefully considered by the media and by anyone is business or in the public eye.
Firstly the media: for years publications like the News of the World have published stories about figures in the public eye doing things they perhaps wished had not be revealed in the pages of a national newspaper. When they have been challenged about this they raise of issue of public interest. “It is in the public interest,” they say, “that these activities are exposed.”
What the media has been doing is confusing public interest with what is interesting to the public. It is in the public interest to expose crime or serious misdemeanour; it is in the public interest to prevent the public from being misled by some statement or action of an individual or organisation; it is in the public interest to expose corruption, or conflicts of interest by those in power, or hypocritical behavious by those holding high office.
It is interesting the public that a footballer has an affair, or that a film star was drunk in a restaurant, or that a business person enjoyed a sex romp. Interesting maybe, but not in the public interest.
So it is a fine line that editors have to consider – or ought to. What Maxs Mosley did was certainly interesting to the readers of the News of the World and the media which followed the story up. But was it in the public interest?
Now if indeed there had been a ‘Nazi romp’ then that may well have been in the public interest, but the judge found that was not the case and so upheld Mr Mosley’s right to privacy. The judge stressed that his ruling in no way set a precedent, but the media has been sorely vexed by the matter.
However there is a lesson for all people in public office, or in business, or in the public eye in some way, and it is a lesson which has been around for a long time. If you are tempted to do or say something the test is ‘would I want to see this on the front page of a newspaper?’ If the answer is no, don’t do or say it.
Because as sure as eggs is eggs these things will get out. The news pages are littered with the damaged reputations of those who have been unwise enough to ignore this advice.
As a nation we need to grow up a bit. The French don’t care if their political leaders have affairs, so why do we get so bothered?
But the media have to start differentiating public interest and interesting to the public.
Otherwise we may well get a privacy law by the back door.