{
  "id": "1995-november-selling-data-to-readers",
  "slug": "1995-november-selling-data-to-readers",
  "url": "https://dwillis.github.io/uplink/article/1995-november-selling-data-to-readers.html",
  "year": 1995,
  "month": "November",
  "monthNum": 11,
  "headline": "Selling data to readers",
  "kicker": "On the NICAR-L listserv",
  "author_name": "Naomi Aoki",
  "author_title": "",
  "affiliation": "Columbia (Mo.) Missourian",
  "summary": "Journalists debate whether selling databases of government records aligns with their mission and ethical standards, with some arguing it's a legitimate way to distribute information while others worry about privacy violations, credibility damage, and compromising journalistic integrity for profit.",
  "keywords": [
    "databases",
    "journalism",
    "privacy"
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Data & Databases",
    "Journalism & Newsroom"
  ],
  "technologies": [],
  "full_text": "In the information age, information itself is one of the hottest commodities. Selling information, of course, is nothing new. That is the business of journalism: But the question facing journalists today is whether to sell databases of government records, made more accessible by journalists, or compiled by reporters. \"There are lots of ways to meet our mission of giving people the information they need to survive in the world,\" said Steve Doig of the Miami Herald during a recent conversation on the NICAR-L listserv. \"We should not be so narrowly focused that the only way to accomplish that mission is on newsprint through a journalist's words.\" Doig argues that as long as the same standards of accuracy and newsworthiness are applied to databases, selling them is no different from selling newspapers. He is not alone. Bob Warner at the Philadelphia Daily News added, \"If people want the information, we should try to make it available, in formats convenient to them, for an amount that covers our out-of-pocket costs but does not exploit our readers.\" Some fear selling databases will inspire a public outcry against invasion of privacy, further damage the media's credibility, and make it harder for reporters to get access to data. Rich Gordon, also of the Miami Herald, believes people's privacy concerns must be weighed in every decision on what to publish. Dan Browning of the St. Paul Pioneer Press agreed, adding that the impossibility of verifying the accuracy of some databases - particularly sensitive ones like driver's license records and criminal records - could hurt a newspaper's credibility. Other reporters believe the profit motive would compromise journalism. Currently, journalists are often charged less for databases than those in other industries. Gregg Leslie, a staff attorney at the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, added, \"Reselling government data - even value-added data and even at break-even rates that subsidize other operations - will not start us down a slippery slope away from the public interest defense; it will banish it.\"",
  "provenance": {
    "extracted_by": "pre-v2",
    "extracted_at": "",
    "verified": true
  },
  "similar": [
    {
      "slug": "2000-december-data-and-privacy",
      "score": 0.224
    },
    {
      "slug": "1994-april-lets-educate-the-public",
      "score": 0.215
    },
    {
      "slug": "2006-january-february-privacy-security-block-access-to-data",
      "score": 0.186
    },
    {
      "slug": "1999-december-drivers-records-access",
      "score": 0.144
    },
    {
      "slug": "1995-december-legal-griefs",
      "score": 0.14
    }
  ],
  "html_url": "https://dwillis.github.io/uplink/article/1995-november-selling-data-to-readers.html",
  "json_url": "https://dwillis.github.io/uplink/article/1995-november-selling-data-to-readers.json"
}