Absence of Malice

Cynicism is the mark of both journalists and government agencies in this film, and actions are guided by this attitude. Each of these groups has the underlying attitude that it is on the side of the angels and that whatever it has to do to control crime and report the facts is acceptable. Legality and ethical behavior are confused in the thinking of many in this film. The newspaper, and especially its lawyer, takes the attitude that so long as the law is satisfied, actions taken are ethical. The lawyer says that he does not care if the story is true or not, only that the newspaper believe it is true at the time and that the newspaper cannot be blamed if the story is later found not to be true. Outwardly, journalists claim to be reporting the facts and to celebrate truth, but as the speech of this lawyer indicates, in practice what is important is some form of plausible deniability. The legal issue would be malice--if the paper knew the story was false and printed it anyway out of malice, it would be liable. If the p

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iew of the paper, the story only says Gallagher is a suspect, yet Gallagher's business suffers because of the story. People read the story and believe it means he is guilty, which in truth is an ethical lapse on the part of the public at large but one that is extremely difficult to control. The newspaper takes the view that people can make up their own mind, but they only have the information they are given on which to base any point of view. Since the paper has presented a one-sided picture, that becomes the only picture people have. The even greater tragedy occurs when Gallagher's friend Teresa Perrone comes to Carter and tells her why Gallagher is innocent, that he was with her in Atlanta while she was having an abortion. She begs Carter not to print the story. She is Catholic and would be ashamed for her friends and parents to know. Carter here displays one of the key underlying reasons for her own ethical lapses--she judges all matters in terms of how she views the world, not in how others do. She tells Teresa this is 1981 and no one will think less of her for having an abortion. This is Carter's way of seeing such matters, of course, and not at all a true assessment of the way other people might react. She is als
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Teresa Perrone, Sydney Pollack, Megan Carter, Gallagher Carter, Gallagher Rosen, Rosen Quinn, Rosen Gallagher, Rosen Carter, Bob Waddell, Attorney Wells, gallagher rosen, carter tells, paper story, carter tells gallagher, told editor, story true, people own, raises questions, district attorney, true newspaper, letting people decide, lawyer takes attitude, government agents film, takes attitude,
Approximate Word count = 1961
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page)

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