Schadenfreude or Journalism?

This morning I learned something new about something old. New words, even foreign ones, if they can be used in an English sentence, are enjoyable. I learned the word "schadenfreude" this morning from Martin Marty's Sightings.

Marty, University of Chicago Divinity School, writes "Considering Ted Haggard's Plight." He says reporters find this discovery "....an occasion for enjoying Schadenfreude among those less friendly to him -- many of whom regard themselves as wounded by him, and oppose him now as a front-rank motivator to "get out the troops" to vote on Election Day for measures focused on by the Christian Right."

"...expressions of Schadenfreude don't go well in the week when Democrats are embarrassed by Senator Kerry's blunder...."

SIGHTINGS :Under the editorship of Jeremy Biles, and the sponsorship of the Martin Marty Center, reports and comments on the role of religion in public life via e-mail twice a week to a readership of over 5,000. Through the eyes, ears, and keyboards of a diverse group of writers—academics, clergyman, laypeople, and students—Sightings displays the kaleidoscope of religious activity: a reflection of how religious currents are shaping and being shaped in the world.

From the Catechism of the Catholic Church: 2497 By the very nature of their profession, journalists have an obligation to serve the truth and not offend against charity in disseminating information. They should strive to respect, with equal care, the nature of the facts and the limits of critical judgment concerning individuals. They should not stoop to defamation.

The long thin line between reporting the facts and Schadenfruede emerge when a public person says something or commits an act defaming himself or herself and is the tightrope the media has to navigate. Does it only seem that the difference between print and broadcast divide the situation? The act of telling and listening makes Schadenfreude all the juicier.