Privacy also protects you from retroactive persecution when ideas change. Many people grow more wise over the years but engage in foolish activities when young that have limiting effects later in life.
You might get reprimanded (e.g. not being able to find employment) because you suddenly live in a society that hates cabbage, and one time, years ago, you said something very extreme about cabbage...
This is what most people fail to understand.
Every discussion about "privacy rights" and journalists is unfortunately even more abstract to them, because they never lived in a world where this stuff happens or has any importance to them (i.e. they don't see it).