Va. Tech: Media right to broadcast killer's videos
Media isn't moral compass of society
By: Ali Qari
Issue date: 5/4/07 Section: Ed-Op
Originally published: 5/4/07 at 3:02 AM EST
Last update: 5/4/07 at 3:04 AM EST
Originally published: 5/4/07 at 3:02 AM EST
Last update: 5/4/07 at 3:04 AM EST
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In terms of understanding the mental health of our generation, doctors still don't understand the Columbine or Va. Tech, tragedies. No one knows if it really is media violence, technology, gun availability, copycatting, or some other greater cause. Even if researchers and doctors can understand the causes of these tragedies, reversing whatever they may be is obviously not working. NBC's airing of Cho's video helped me to realize that.
On the other hand, the Daily News' choice to plaster their front page with a gun-wielding Cho didn't have the same effect. The only thing it accomplished was a mongering of fear and anger among readers. Of course someone else may draw a completely different conclusion and that is their right to dissect and interpret the facts that the media has placed in front of us.
The responsibility of a true journalist, ethically speaking, is to serve the public with facts. Not a summary or representation of the facts, but the cold, hard information. NBC made the right decision to air Cho's tape because that is an element of a tragic story that can't be ignored. That information can often upset your own moral sensibilities, like when I was first upset with the idea of NBC airing Cho's "manifesto." I wanted the media to focus on the victims and their families because I felt an obligation to serve them and not put the spotlight on a killer, but at the same time, I knew the story would be incomplete if they chose not to air the video.
Whether NBC decided to air that video out of a sense of journalist responsibility, or did it for ratings and a pile of money, we can't really know at this point. That's another question for the future.
Many photojournalists search the Third World for images of poverty, famine and sickness, often coming out with pictures of starving children. Those situations are perilous and dire, and the question will always arise: Should I help? Or should I get the story?
Now I realize, after this terrible tragedy, getting the story is helping. When you publish a photo of starving children, as negative of a response you may get for potentially exploiting a child's pain, you hope to elicit a mass shift in public opinion or policy about poverty and hunger in the world. When NBC released their video of Cho, despite the terrible reaction you may feel, there is a chance that many people will hope to readdress this terrible problem our generation is facing and try to understand its causes.
NBC News President Steve Capus put it well when he said, "Sometimes good journalism is bad public relations."
Journalists are not meant to be a moral compass for society. In fact, if NBC would have chose not to air Cho's tape, there would have been even more of an outcry. It is NBC's duty to present the public with all the factual and first hand information they have. Not doing so would be censorship, a much larger media atrocity.
Ali Qari is a junior majoring in journalism and is the editor-in-chief. He can be reached at ali@thetriangle.org.
On the other hand, the Daily News' choice to plaster their front page with a gun-wielding Cho didn't have the same effect. The only thing it accomplished was a mongering of fear and anger among readers. Of course someone else may draw a completely different conclusion and that is their right to dissect and interpret the facts that the media has placed in front of us.
The responsibility of a true journalist, ethically speaking, is to serve the public with facts. Not a summary or representation of the facts, but the cold, hard information. NBC made the right decision to air Cho's tape because that is an element of a tragic story that can't be ignored. That information can often upset your own moral sensibilities, like when I was first upset with the idea of NBC airing Cho's "manifesto." I wanted the media to focus on the victims and their families because I felt an obligation to serve them and not put the spotlight on a killer, but at the same time, I knew the story would be incomplete if they chose not to air the video.
Whether NBC decided to air that video out of a sense of journalist responsibility, or did it for ratings and a pile of money, we can't really know at this point. That's another question for the future.
Many photojournalists search the Third World for images of poverty, famine and sickness, often coming out with pictures of starving children. Those situations are perilous and dire, and the question will always arise: Should I help? Or should I get the story?
Now I realize, after this terrible tragedy, getting the story is helping. When you publish a photo of starving children, as negative of a response you may get for potentially exploiting a child's pain, you hope to elicit a mass shift in public opinion or policy about poverty and hunger in the world. When NBC released their video of Cho, despite the terrible reaction you may feel, there is a chance that many people will hope to readdress this terrible problem our generation is facing and try to understand its causes.
NBC News President Steve Capus put it well when he said, "Sometimes good journalism is bad public relations."
Journalists are not meant to be a moral compass for society. In fact, if NBC would have chose not to air Cho's tape, there would have been even more of an outcry. It is NBC's duty to present the public with all the factual and first hand information they have. Not doing so would be censorship, a much larger media atrocity.
Ali Qari is a junior majoring in journalism and is the editor-in-chief. He can be reached at ali@thetriangle.org.
tata borres
posted 5/04/07 @ 8:16 PM EST
I totally agree with your journalistic principles. It is indeed right for the media to feed the public, issues of vital concern, be it bad or good as long as the facts arent twisted and suppressed and in accord to media's fair reporting standard and practices. (Continued…)