Podcasting: Keeping It Legal

http://www.technewsworld.com/story/MTPgxJ4A9sA9MG/Podcasting-Keeping-It-Legal.xhtml

This article discusses legal issues surrounding podcasters and their content. Podcasts are a way to spread information, such as news, through audio and video content on the internet. They feature interviews and other such opinions expressed by the podcasters themselves and Third Parties. However, sometimes information that are stated as facts may later be found to be false through new developments and discoveries. If the podcasters keep older podcasts available in their archives, does this mean that they are responsible for this false information? Or more importantly, if they are aware of the new information or not?

If an interviewee states something as a fact, the interview is published, and then months down the road new research has discovered that what we believed to be true is now false, who is responsible? Is anyone? If the interviewee deliberately states false information, but the podcaster does not know and publishes the interview, are they at fault? Some argue that because the interview containing false information is published by the podcaster, the podcaster is held liable as if those words came right from their mouth. If the information is later proved to be false, it is the podcasters responsibility to keep up to date with researching all of the content that they publish, so if there are any changes in the subject matter they are to edit the content or get rid of the interview. However, what about news broadcasters such as CNN who cannot withdrawal a television broadcast a month later because of new developments? It's said and done and no turning back time. But they are not held responsible for those that they interview who provided false information.

This is a very important issue for designers as well because many times we are provided information by other companies whom we do advertising for. What if it's a public service announcement and the information we are giving are later found to be false, even a year later? Does this mean that just the company is held responsible? Or will we have to deal with the consequences even though the words didn't come from our mouths. We are just the messenger? I feel this is a very scary issue dealing with copywrite laws, fact and fiction, because as designers working in the advertising world, we may have to deal with this almost every job we work on.