Court exposes hidden cameras
Ruling sez news orgs could be liable for secret tapings
The ruling stems from a lawsuit brought against ABC, which aired secret camera tapes of a psychic hotline employee on "Primetime Live." The state's highest court also ordered a lower court to reconsider its decision to throw out a $1.2 million award against ABC.
The court did not rule that such secret tapings are illegal in every case. But it did rule that a news organization must prove that capturing hidden camera footage is necessary for accurate news coverage. It will be easier to defend hidden camera investigations in cases where the workplace is a public setting, said the court.
The footage originally aired on a "Primetime Live" segment about the inner workings of a psychic hotline. After the reporter was hired as a telephone psychic, she showed up for work with microphones and cameras hidden in clothes. Eventually six seconds of tape, which included conversations between two employees, was aired nationally.
