OrlandoRising
Well-Known Member
Or what if the site that can’t be named do have a way into their documents system to leak stuff? maybe it was actually stolen? I mean, regardless I think these sites that are quite popular shouldn’t take stolen property from potential disgruntled employees either... you’d think Disney would have some legal power here, and these sites could form some code of ethics.
I can't resist jumping in whenever the ethics of theme park reporting are being discussed.
I'm just a reporter, not an expert in media law, but the question of whether to publish leaked documents or concept art is largely an editorial one. There's not a direct precedent for someone posting potentially stolen theme park concept art, but in cases where news organizations have published leaked information -- even when it was unlawfully obtained by someone other than the publisher -- courts have said that's still protected by freedom of the press. The closest example I can think of is when Sony threatened to sue media outlets covering their email hack in 2014: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...he-media-from-publishing-details-of-the-hack/
Disney could threaten legal action, and there's a good chance a site with limited legal resources would comply out of fear, but that doesn't mean Disney's claim would win in the courts in the end.
As for a code of ethics? Sure, each news site should have ethical standards. I certainly do and I think the theme park world needs more of that. But that's different than not publishing something newsworthy because Disney wouldn't like it.
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