April 19, 2009
Homework Post #10: United States v. Matthews
The Internet
Post #10
April 19, 2009
United States v. Matthews
Exercise #1
Unfortunately for reporter Larry Matthews, the ruling in United States v. Matthews was fair.
Some background on the case: Matthews worked for National Public Radio. In 1996 he was working on a freelance article about Internet child pornograhy. Throughout his research he sent and received images of ‘kiddie porn’.
Matthews was arrested on two counts of trafficking child pornography.
His defense was that he was working on a story. However, he did not have any notes, story drafts, or evidence of interviews.
A federal judge would not allow Matthews to use the First Amendment as an excuse for his charges. He was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison.
This precedent case teaches reporters to always keep excellent notes when working on a story, because you never know when they might come in handy. You might have discovered something useful in another story or you may even have the evidence to save yourself if your actions are called into question.
If the pornography in Matthew’s case were void of children, then he most likely would not have been charged with any crimes. As an adult he has the right to look at pornography. He does not have the right to make pornography available to individuals that are not legally allowed to view the material. This would not have been a case if the pornography featured adults.
Investigative journalism can be difficult because sometimes the reporter must get involved with illegal activity to get the story. However, the journalist should have clearance from a supervisor and evidence that they are working on the story. If the story is freelance, then the reporter should inform someone of the story they are working on.
If you are reporting on a story, you take notes or record interviews. You do not store everything in your mind and then hope it comes out correctly when you are writing.
In my opinion it was obvious that Matthews was engaging in illegal behavior and it does not matter that he did not have a history of sexual issues. Sometimes the least likely people are the culprits, especially before the Internet became so popular and it became easier to track an individual’s interests. Regardless of his respected veteran journalist status, he committed a crime and was punished.
