Prof. Kirtley Quoted by ThinkProgress on Reporting on Bruce Jenner

Professor Jane Kirtley discussed the legal and ethical issues surrounding news reporting involving Olympic athlete Bruce Jenner, who described his transgender transition in an interview with Diane Sawyer on ABC. Kirtley explained the legal standards for publication of private facts, pointing out that even highly offensive and intimate personal information may be legally disclosed if it is truly newsworthy—"but not just 'interesting to the public.'" She compared Jenner's situation with that of Arthur Ashe, the tennis star who contracted AIDS in the 1990s, and was "outed" by a USA Today reporter who claimed Ashe's condition was a matter of public concern. But Kirtley also pointed out that "celebrities who grant very broad-ranging interviews to advance their careers" can find it difficult to "turn off" that access.