Public figures, private lives, amorphous standards, and indeterminate laws

Reuters held a Newsmaker Event in New York recently it would have been interesting to attend; but for it being on an inconvenient coast I gladly would have gone:

PUBLIC FIGURES, PRIVATE LIVES -
A panel of experts debate how far the media should delve into the private lives of public figures
*Do celebrities and politicians have a right to private lives?
*Where does the public interest argument stop?
*Are families fair game?
*Why are we fascinated by the famous?
Panel:
Floyd Abrams, noted First Amendment lawyer
Bonnie Fuller, Chief Editorial Director, American Media, Inc.
Hilary B. Rosen, CNBC/MSNBC, Media Industry Consultant
Gary Morgan, CEO, Splash News/Paparazzi
Jacob Weisberg, Editor-in-Chief, Slate.com
moderator: Paul Holmes, Reuters

Coverage from Reuters, Culture Kitchen, BC Beat, and Jossip indicates there was much discussion but little consensus concerning standards in the online and offline/old media and new media arenas, and "quite of bit of talk about First Amendment/copyright/privacy issues and how they apply to old and new media." 

Meanwhile, Jason Lee Miller discusses how courts have shown their willingness to apply defamation laws in all applicable contexts. 

And just last night in San Francisco, bloggers, podcasters, and journalists converged for a Social Media Club Roundtable "on what is the right thing to do to properly disclose interests and conflicts of interest."  Here's pre-event discussion from Chris Heuer and Mike Arrington, and Chris' post-event recap.