In the two cases from France here described, the conflict is arising within the same person, portrayed as a responsible journalist on the one hand and found guilty of corruption on the other hand. Deception takes place when a journalists tricks his informants or the public when gathering information. The German case about precondemnation gives a glimpse on this, when a politician is publicly confronted with unproved accusations by accident . Deception can happen by stating a different purpose for an interview than really intended, but it can also take place by fabricating material, as is shown in the first case from France. Most people want it, some people will never have it, as news about them sell just too many copies.
Ethical problems concerning privacy can take all kinds of shapes.
Journalists live of them, but courts are at times desperate for them as well. Information sources are the very life-line of journalism, their protection the journalists key to credibility, as shown in a case from Russia. The following two cases from Germany throw a light on the range of those journalistic activities that are condoned and those which are not. The authors Hard copies of this textbook are available against cost price.