“I must further confess that I had not researched the incident beyond the one or two fairly superficial articles in the Times. I do admit to not reading local, New Jersey newspapers, rather more for the reason that I am so pressed for time and the Times requires so much attention than any feeling of indifference to my local surroundings.”-Joyce Carol Oates (as printed in the Signal)
Almost a month after Oate’s fiction story, “Landfill” was first read in the New Yorker, the author finally issues and apology. While the authors regrets were made clear, the apology was also filled with excuses which only portray Oates as more of a ‘spacey’ character than anything else.
With her apology and the generic apology that the New Yorker issued as well it seems that the issue has been resolved. Or has it? Does it stop here? Can anything else be done? Apology or not, could “Landfill” be considered libelous? And what would happen if action was actually taken?
From what I have learned thus far in my Media Law class, if any action was taken, either by John Fiocco’s family or friends, most likely they would be the people the jury would be most sympathetic towards. In front of a local jury, Oates most likely not get any sympathy at all, because of the fact of her being seemingly oblivious to a big news story going on only 10 minutes away from hometown of Princeton. In all likeliness, Oates would probably lose the libel case in a trial by jury.
In an Appeals court however, the verdict would most likely turn into Oate’s favor. So what does that mean for writers in general?
It’s unfortunate that writers are able to write something, put the title of ‘Fiction’ on it and expect that no one will be affected by it. It’s even more unfortunate that at present time, there’s nothing that a writer’s victim can do about it. As a journalism student, its instances like this that make me question my profession of choice. However, it’s important to remember that the term ‘ethics’ mean something to some people as well, and it’s just a matter of what kind of journalist you choose to be.
February 17, 2007 at 7:23 pm
Never let the weakness of others interfere with your focus. Don’t lose sight of your dreams. You have had this dream since you were what, twelve. Realize it Kristen. You have too much potential, work too hard and overcome too many obstacles. Life will throw many objects at you. You are strong. Journalism is fun, challenging, creative. Make it what you will. Try other sites as well to spread your journalistic talents. Search the web for other sites to explore your writing talents. Don’t compare yourself to anyone. Live up to your own standards. People are irresponsible in all fields. Learn from it. Use it to your advantage. If you want to be a journalist write everyday. Make up things to write about. Write a news release about the mundane. Write about what happened to you today. What happened in the dorm or the kitchen or to a friend. It doesn’t matter. Just write! Get it out. No matter how long. You can do it. Don’t tell yourself otherwise. Tell yourself you are already a writer. It’s the first step.