What do ‘public’ and ‘private’ mean? And does the media have a duty to ‘tell it how it is’?

This information is based on the presentation I gave in class...

Hanson – states that the private sphere has emerged from the public.

Everybody needs their own private space and private life, and we also need a public space where we can come together to discuss common issues.

There is an uncertain boundary between the public’s right to information and the individual's right to privacy.

The terms ‘private’ and ‘public’ seem to be self evident.

Private - adjective 1 for or belonging to one particular person or group only. 3 (of thoughts, feelings, etc.) not to be shared or revealed. 4 (of a person) not choosing to share their thoughts and feelings.

Public -   • adjective 1 of, concerning, or available to the people as a whole. 3 done, perceived, or existing in open view.
• noun 1 (the public) treated as sing. or pl. ordinary people in general; the community. 2 (one’s public) the people who watch or are interested in an artist, writer, or performer.
- PHRASES go public 2 reveal details about a previously private concern. in public in view of other people; when others are present. the public eye the state of being known or of interest to people in general, especially through the media.


Over the past three decades, a host of issues once seen as personal of private – from domestic violence and childcare arrangements to sexual preference – have been brought into the public sphere by the media as well as by the demands of political groups. This broadening of what constitutes a matter of public interest isn’t just something that affects the news, it has also affected the kind of material many Australian magazines cover. (Catharine Lumby, 309) Contemporary blurring of the spheres could be due to ongoing democratisation of political life in Western cultures.

The public sphere has been defined as:
“an arena, independent of government...and also enjoying autonomy from partisan economic forces, which is dedicated to rational debate...and which is both accessible to entry and open to inspection by the citizenry. It is here...that public opinion is formed” (Habermas, 1991)

It aims to allow a greater accessibility to information, but in contemporary times there has been an accusation of a tabloidisation of our public sphere.

Notions of Privacy:
Australians are protected by the Privacy Act, but there are exemptions for reporting providing journalists subscribe to the specific industry codes of practice
Australians have rights to privacy which include:
*The right to be left alone
*The right to control unwanted publicity about one’s affairs
*The right to withhold any and all information that one does not want to be made public
*The right to personal autonomy
*The right to determine for yourself when, where, how and to what extent information about you can be communicated to others
*‘the condition of not having undocumented personal knowledge about one possessed by others’

Four key dimensions covered by Australian law, on privacy, include:
*Physical;
*Informational;
*Dignity (personal and social); and
*Property dimensions ;

The Australian Privacy Foundation categorises privacy into four classes:
*Privacy of a person;
*Privacy of personal behaviour;
*Privacy of personal communication; and
*Privacy of personal data

Privacy “as a series of zones radiating outwards from the individual: privacy of the body; privacy of personal space and place; freedom from eavesdropping, surveillance and spying and information privacy” Chadwick and Mullaly.
This approach sees privacy as individualistic, but it also needs to take account of cultural contexts and collective rights, such as aboriginal traditions which condemn the publication of photographs of the dead.

Public and Private Figures:
Celebrity and societies preoccupation with them – does the publics interest in disclosing personal information outweigh a person’s reasonable expectation of privacy?
Taxonomy of fame:
*Fame by election or appointment
*Fame by achievement
*Fame by chance
*Fame by association
*Royal fame

This led to the question:
Celebrity and societies preoccupation with them – does the publics interest in disclosing personal information outweigh a person’s reasonable expectation of privacy?

There was much class discussion and debate on this, with no definitive answer being resolved. What do you think?


The Media's Role and Duty is also up for debate when talking privacy.
Generally, the media is known as;
*A watchdog on democracy
*Notion of the greater good

McKee states that the tabloidisation of the media and that "by focusing on bodies, sex and similarly trivial issues means the public sphere is functioning exactly as it should do – allowing public discussion about issues that are of concern, and that underlie the social organisation of our entire society (McKee, 62)

Should such things be unimportant to our society or is it important that our society should discuss them in order to understand the individual basis on which it is built?

Should they act in the best interest:
of those they interview?
their bosses and publication?
the public?

I personally believe that it is not only what kinds of topics but also how these topics are discussed in the public sphere that should be of concern.

What do you think of the moral minefield that is privacy?