This weekend Americans will be celebrating Independence Day and all the perks that come with having a country run by the people, for the people. One of those perks is the first amendment, guaranteeing freedom of speech and freedom of the press.

One member of the press took his freedom too far, according to his former employer, the Cincinnati Enquirer. Mike Gallagher wrote a series on the Chiquita banana company accusing it of improper land dealings overseas, involvement in a bribery scheme in Colombia and putting public health at risk with pesticide use on Central American banana farms.

The public has a right to know scandalous information that may effect the people, but do reporters have the right to get such information any way they can?

Gallagher acquired his information from Chiquita Brands International by illegally obtaining voice mail messages and deceived his editors about how he found the information.

The Enquirer fired Gallagher and will pay more than $10 million to settle any claims by Chiquita and avoid a lawsuit.

Is this one situation where the ends justified the means? Sometimes breaking the law may seem like a small sacrifice to a reporter in the name of informing the public. Sometimes it’s not for the right reasons.

Gallagher is one reporter who went too far and contributed to the bad name given to journalists. Even though he did the public a service, he did it the wrong way.

Part of a journalist’s responsibility is to gain the trust of the public. It is an act of hypocrisy to break the law in order to write a story about an illegal activity.

The truth is that journalists love big news even if it’s bad news, and many in the profession try to crack the big story to further their careers rather than find the truth purely for the benefit of the public.

Those noble journalists tend to go about finding the truth the right way, whereas the sneaky, deceptive journalists like Gallagher probably just like to see their by-lines on the front page above a really juicy story.

Journalists have a bad reputation as deceptive and conniving people; unfortunately, it is brought on by themselves. A clich‚ comes to mind in this situation: One bad apple spoils the bunch.

Even though the first amendment gives the press the right to say anything, it does not give the press the right to do everything imaginable to say it. Journalists need to remember their primary function is to alert the people of important issues while not breaking the law in the process.