Time spent worrying about courtroom battles is time away from running the newsroom and telling stories. There is a direct, significant connection between the legal and ethical issues involved in using hidden cameras and microphones. Although jurors are instructed to make decisions based on the application of law, it is not unreasonable to expect that as human beings they may, in their deliberations, turn to their impressions about the ethics of the journalists. The legal issues of fraud speak to the ethical principle of honesty. Intentional infliction of emotional distress is the legal cousin of an ethical failure to show compassion.
Intrusion is the legal breakdown of an ethical responsibility to respect a person's privacy.
Thus, even though jurors may be casting ballots about fraud, intrusion and trespass, their views are bound to be affected by matters of journalistic fairness, balance, honesty and professionalism. In fact, some jurors in the Food Lion case said they were not offended by the use of the hidden cameras to document the problems that existed in a Food Lion meat department. Using this powerful tool in an irresponsible, unprofessional way is what many people find offensive. They should object when hidden camera stories offer thin, anecdotal slices of evidence of misdeeds and ignore the complexity and layers of the larger story. That objection, rooted in concerns of fairness, is what underpins public distrust of the news media.