In the article, “Names in the News, Before They Can Read,” Arthur Brisbane discusses the factors surrounding the unwanted public attention that two toddlers have garnered due to their names being published in numerous publications.
A pair of children was riding their bikes on a Manhattan side walk where they accidentally knocked down an 87-year-old woman, and she needed immediate medical attention. However, three months later the 87-year-old woman died of unrelated causes, and her family sued the children and their mothers for negligence.
This statement sounds quite outrageous but it stands true: children can be sued for negligence in the state of New York.
The children’s full names were then published in the New York Law Journal on October 28th, 2010, and on the same day the New York Times published the story with the Children’s full names. The article that the author refers to is, “4-Year-Old Can Be Sued, Judge Rules in Bike Case,” by Alan Feuer. The story spread like rapid fire as several other media outlets, and publications reported the story as well.
As Philip B. Corbett the standards editor for the New York Times states in Brisbane’s, “Names in the News, Before They Can Read,” “provide information to readers, not withhold it. Any argument that we should hold back information really has to be compelling.”
Fleur did not do anything wrong by providing information to his readers as that is his job as a journalist. However, the speed in which his article and many articles alike were published led to many factual errors which were probably due to the organization’s thirst for wanting to be the first to publish the story and inadequate research. “The boy’s age was reported incorrectly as 4, not 5; Ms. Menagh died three months later, not three weeks; and she died of unrelated causes, a fact that was not stated in the original stories,” stated Brisbane.
The internet has revolutionized our access to information; everyone is “Google-able.” At this age the children may not realize that their names have garnered this much media attention. However, it is discerning to even think that they will grow up, and out of curiosity Google themselves to find out that their pseudo celebrities. This does not include the numerous opportunities thwarted by the simple mention of the children’s names; future colleges, employers can simply Google their names only to subject them to further scrutiny for simply being kids and riding their bikes on the sidewalk.
The New York Times should revise its policies of publishing children’s names in articles to protect them from any public scrutiny. The New York Times should grow to adapt to the ever advancing technology.