Businesses big and small will always try to defend their reputations and protect their property. It’s why hyperlocalists moderate their readers’ comments and copyright their work. And it’s why Apple is unleashing its corporate fury on Gizmodo editor Jason Chen after he acquired and then reviewed a stolen product prototype.
Apple is so intent on learning how Chen got his hands on the iPhone prototype that it may have prompted San Mateo County (Calif.) police to seize two computers from Chen’s home office. For his part, Chen admits to buying the prototype for $5,000 from a guy who “found” it in a bar. Now there are questions of whether the investigation violated Chen’s rights under federal and state shield laws, The New York Times reported Tuesday. Who knows.
This kind of reaction from business — arguably harassment — can hit hyperlocalists hard, even if the reaction is on a far smaller scale. It’s at least a distraction from a media outlet’s true function and can be detrimental to business relationships if the harassment escalates to libel or slander.
For instance, I once reviewed a local coffee house for my former hyperlocal website. Admittedly, I tore the place to shreds but wrote nothing that was beyond my rights as a journalist. I understood (and expected) the business’s ire, but I was surprised at how much energy they afforded to shutting me up.
First, they berated me for not supporting a small, locally owned business. (For the record, the company made millions selling its products in retail stores and Costco. I was the sole proprietor of a one-person newsroom operating off my dining table.) Then they threatened a local nonprofit via email with withholding financial support if it didn’t dump my publication as its official media partner. The nonprofit succumbed to the duress.
I also received an email from someone threatening to sue me for taking unauthorized photographs of the people who worked in the coffee shop. Knowing my rights as a journalist quashed that issue quickly, but it was still frustrating and time consuming to explain this to the email’s author.
In the end, the review remained posted on the internet, I remained unapologetic, and the company relocated its coffee house to a neighboring town.
The take-home lesson to all of this: Hyperlocalists should know their rights as journalists and publishers. That’s what they are to their communities, and they should exercise their rights under existing media and shield laws to defend the service they provide. Knowing these rights can protect an outlet’s business from frivolous lawsuits and defend it from libel.
It doesn’t matter whether that knock on the door is Steve Jobs or Juan Valdez. Be prepared to answer it.
Photo courtesy of Flickr user ryoichitanaka.
Those all sound like good experiences. I wish mine went like that. In my neighborhood, I get threats like “I’ll break your leg!” and “You fuck me? I FUCK YOU!” (Both are exact quotes). And these are credible threats…
Fun stuff.
Ah, Brooklyn! Ya gotta love it!
I’ve always worried about threats of bodily harm, but I’d think those are easier to remedy (restraining order) than cases of perceived libel or slander. Not saying they’re more acceptable, just easier to prove in a court of law, especially if the threat is in print or email.