The movie gives insights about the aftermaths of unlimited freedom of press. If reporters are not accountable for what they write or nobody can sue them about the allegations in the story, more people can get harm with the false stories.
The reporters should have freedom about absolute information. But if a reporter will print something that can be false, “the absence of malice” will make the reporter to think about the consequences of the story.
In the movie, Megan Carter makes some major faults as a reporter. First, she does not give Michael Gallagher a chance to talk about the story before the publication. If Gallagher had knowledge about the story, he could defend himself or tell his side of the story.
The other fault is that she does not consider the consequences of the stories she writes. She is irrelevant to her sources’ concerns. Even Carter has an opportunity not to reveal the names of the resources; she publishes the name of the woman, who tries to prove that Gallagher was not involved in the crime. The woman commits suicide after the publication of the story about her abortion. Gallagher loses his workers and shuts down his business due to the story.
She also does not confirm the information she gets with other sources. She never questioned the reason of the leakage about a hidden investigation before publication. She always publishes the information she gets with a rush.
I think you make an important point in which she does always seem rushed in her reports. She should have questioned as to why the file had been left for her to look through, but she never gave it any thought. She should have made more of an effort to seek the motive behind why the file was being leaked to her.
Christina