No Opposition Supporters CAS hands down guilty verdict - Players appealing - Dank shot - no opposition - (cont in pt.2)

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Pweter

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Journo's don't have to name sources. It's a good thing.

We can question Robbo's ethics in taking the names to print, but ultimately, his right to do so must be protected.

That said, the leaker on the other hand, does not deserve said protections.
Is it different if said source broke a federal law in providing the information?
 

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efcboy

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Nice one Pav:thumbsu: & it's about time the AFL showed some backbone on this
"So, without labouring the point, taking any further unnecessary action or holding grudges, let's all take stock, reflect on how we would like to be treated both individually and collectively, and work together to continue to showcase the game, its players and its stories in a fair and respectable manner."
Pavlich has shown more class and professionalism then anyone including the blokes getting paid millions a year to ruin our game..
 

cymarak

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and herein lies the issue. people throughout this (and society more broadly) are interested in doing what serves their interests, not what is right/just/fair.
It's a bit like politics, in that many journalists are just doing what they think we think is important, to try to please 'us'.

If these journalists thought that we - in general - cared about right/just/fair, it would be in their best interests to also care about right/just/fair. But we - in general - don't care (we keep on buying their papers, clicking on their articles, watching them on TV, etc.), so neither do they.

It's also like politics in that the #1 rule is to protect your position/job at all costs - following ethical standards are a consideration only if it doesn't get in the way of keeping your position/job.

Put simply, many journalists are just hired guns, and the most important thing to them is getting paid, not who their gun is pointed at when they pull the trigger.
 

efcboy

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There was plenty of public interest in the Corby family benefiting financially as a result of a crime. The herald sun appear to also be benefitting financially by publishing articles courtesy of a crime being committed. That crime being the source breaching privacy acts.
 

The Prosecutor

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Bruno, no one is disputing that the club have exposed the players to it. It's our mess ultimately.

That still doesn't excuse, however, the complete breach of the players' right to privacy. That it's our fault for the players being in this position in the first place is irrelevant. That the names would have ultimately come out anyway is also irrelevant.
It's basically trying to argue that two wrongs make a right.
 

BrunoV

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Is it different if said source broke a federal law in providing the information?


Can't remember how it works but you'd think that the first questions asked before publishing would be along the lines of whether the publication is illegal and whether the source will remain protected. I don't see how the story gets printed if those questions are answered in the negative.


Also need to work out what laws have been broken and criminal offense committed by leaking the information. My guess is that the secrecy of the information is supposed to be guarded but that there is no actual crime involved in revealing the information in the interim report. I've not read much which suggests that it is illegal.


It doesn't mean that confidence hasn't been breached or defamation committed.
 

cymarak

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The official arguments for printing the names seem to be:
1. They're a fact (I wonder how much Robbo would like it if factual details of his personal life were printed, such as private medical records of treatments he may have required or be requiring ?)
2. Any other media would have done it (also known as the 'all the media are scum, not just us' defence)
3. They're of interest to Herald Sun readers (see argument #1)
 

Walesy

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There was plenty of public interest in the Corby family benefiting financially as a result of a crime. The herald sun appear to also be benefitting financially by publishing articles courtesy of a crime being committed. That crime being the source breaching privacy acts.
Pretty sure that the HUN made money in the reporting of the Corby story as well. And Mokbels crimes, and whatever other crime they've ever reported on. :)

You can't financially benefit from a crime that you commit.
 

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Pweter

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Can't remember how it works but you'd think that the first questions asked before publishing would be along the lines of whether the publication is illegal and whether the source will remain protected. I don't see how the story gets printed if those questions are answered in the negative.


Also need to work out what laws have been broken and criminal offense committed by leaking the information. My guess is that the secrecy of the information is supposed to be guarded but that there is no actual crime involved in revealing the information in the interim report. I've not read much which suggests that it is illegal.


It doesn't mean that confidence hasn't been breached or defamation committed.
Whether it's illegal or not I don't know hence my question. In my view Robbo receiving classified information and printing it is like me knowingly purchasing stolen goods and using them.
 
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The official arguments for printing the names seem to be:
1. They're a fact (I wonder how much Robbo would like it if factual details of his personal life were printed, such as private medical records of treatments he may have required or be requiring ?)
2. Any other media would have done it (also known as the 'all the media are scum, not just us' defence)
3. They're of interest to Herald Sun readers (see argument #1)
What most journalists seem to forget.
 

Jobe Watson

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Funny to see posters on a board that shall not be named turning on each other over the naming players issue, and one player in particular. :D
 
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BrunoV

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Bruno, no one is disputing that the club have exposed the players to it. It's our mess ultimately.

That still doesn't excuse, however, the complete breach of the players' right to privacy. That it's our fault for the players being in this position in the first place is irrelevant. That the names would have ultimately come out anyway is also irrelevant.

I think it does. The players have no protections and the journalists are entitled to print. I would have though that the number of times a story as popular as this which can be published with no apparent consequences would not have been published out of good will to some people who will get hurt by it could be counted on one hand.

It is kind of like the Sun has done this to prove the point.

I should add the disclaimer that I am thinking like a journalist and that I have very little time for journalism these days on the basis that it does little to none of the work that justified it being given the powers it has (i.e. a fourth estate to keep watch on governments).
 
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DonsRule

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I think it does. The players have no protections and the journalists are entitled to print.

It is kind of like the Sun has done this to prove the point.

The players are protected by the NAD scheme.

Robbo's ability to print is probably fair, down to his choice, but who ever provided him with the information broke confidentiality agreements the players had with ASADA under the NAD scheme, but Robbo was not subject to that. If that makes sense.
 

yaco55

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That is a really good point. Let's drag through the mud the names of players as yet to be found guilty of anything (and may never), to the HUN's benefit. The names of the ones actually illegally releasing the names? Nah, let's look after them, again to the HUN's benefit.

I might have Fox Footy at home, but it will be getting less and less airtime in my house this season as I simply cannot stand the AFL media for the most part. Scum.
Hey - It will be the end of journalism if journalists give up their sources - All the great and important stories over the years would never have seen the light of the day. The names were widely known in the media industry and it was a matter of time before the names were released. And there is no point potting journalists - You should be potting editors and those further up the chain - They are the ones's who decide whether to print.
 

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I think it does. The players have no protections the journalists are entitled to print. It is kind of like the Sun has done this to prove the point.
Two wrongs don't make a right.

I'm all for journalistic freedom, but I'm also for the greater good. There are times when using their position of pre-eminence in shaping people's perceptions needs to be exercised wisely. They have now cemented, prematurely, the perception among regular Johns and Janes that these players are cheats. Before the investigation that is meant to establish or debunk that very fact is released.

What 'greater good' does publishing the names achieve? Trying to prove a point and using players as pawns to do so seems incredibly childish. And what point are they even proving?

Just let the process take care of itself. The player names would ultimately have likely been released with the full report anyway. There was no need to jump the gun like this.
 

yaco55

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The AFL go to great lengths with the 3 strikes drug policy to ensure players aren't named in the media, and here we have a scenario where no strikes have been incurred, players have been named, and the AFL don't appear give a rat's toss bag.
But for some reason EFC or the AFL didn't take out an injunction - The opportunity was there - No idea why it wasn't taken up.
 

cymarak

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I think it does. The players have no protections and the journalists are entitled to print.
Yes, they appear legally entitled to print.

In the same way, I'm legally entitled to cheat on my wife, fart in lifts, eat smelly food at my work desk and call anyone who wears a hat a filthy moron to their face - not right, but definitely legal.
 

BrunoV

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The players are protected by the NAD scheme.

Robbo's ability to print is probably fair, down to his choice, but who ever provided him with the information broke confidentiality agreements the players had with ASADA under the NAD scheme, but Robbo was not subject to that. If that makes sense.


What is the value of the protection under the NAD scheme if it can't be extended to preventing publication following a leak?
 
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