Media Etnics Caas Sludieg Naming Names: Privacy and the Public's Right to Know JOHN B. WEBSTER, Purdue University A fifteen-year-old boy living in an affluent Hitesville neighborhood, considered normal and bright by his teachers, is arrested for sexually abusing his half sister and ten neighborhood children, Through questioning him, police learn that the molestations occured aver a period of four years and that the youth himself had been molested nearly all his life, first by his natural parents and later by his foster father—a welkrespected citizen, The foster futher is also arrested, The daily newspaper (circulation 48,000) chooses not to print the names of offenders or to identify the neighborhood witere the crimes occurred. As a result, numerous readers express concer, some by letter but most by Phone. Says ono reader: “For the past coupe of years th publi has fea on nearly a weekly bass the names of countess molestation arrests, convitins, and sentences inthe Gazette. And if ne reads deals, he or she would have neice thatthe addresses ofthe aolestrs were not inthe aflnet section. So along comes a big case with ich molester a ich vietms involved, anda ofa sudden the Gazette is protecting these young victims” ‘calor says: “Give me his in ose father's) name, What we you potting him for? Ive best he wots or he Gaxette” Another caller sys: “You dn't use the man’s name because he is ane of you best névertises” Sil nother acs “1 5st wat to potet my hire, You'e not doing your job by not printing his ie eenyearold offender's) name inthe paper” ‘The newspaper's editor responds by publishing an editor's mote denying the charges. He adds, “The Gazette hasan tics poliey—and a good one, we belieye—thatproteets innocent victims in the reporting of rapes and cases of incest and child molesting. The policy reads: ‘We will NOT use the name ofa rape or inest viet, We will NOT use the names af any person charged with or convicted of ‘ncest—man or woman. We will NOT run names in morals cases (such as rape, child molesting, indecent exposure) until official ‘charges have been file in court” ‘The editor concludes his column withthe following remark: “Why did we use the details about the affluence ofthe neighborhood and the fact thatthe foster father holds a management position wih a toca corapany? The answer is simply tht it was important to point out the fact chat ehild-molesting and incest ‘cases can happen in all neighborboods and 0 all manner of people: It just doesn’t happen onthe wrong side ofthe tracks, it ‘knows no financial or educational bounds.” In another published commentary by the city editor, he adeits thatthe rationale behind not printing the specific name ofthe neighborhood was & hard question and adds that “alot of soul-searching was involved.” While itis the ob ‘of the newspaper to print the names of criminals so they ean be identified and watched by society, he says, readers should not forget that there aro other vitinss—the children and the families in the neighborhood. Eventually, the father receives & sentence of five years’ supetvised probation for molesting his toenage son alter a judicial hearing that includes testimony fom tie man's wife, letters from counselors, and ettomey's pleas. In crating the sentence, the judge requires thatthe offender submit to random lie-detectr tests during the five years to determine ‘whether he repeais his offense while on probation, ‘The atile docs not name the offender even after the court hearing, eventhough it i pointed out that he plans to remain in the community, continue in hs same job, and to be active in his local church as well as to atend a sexual abuse family program. A policy note follows the article, stating once again thatthe newspaper policy isnot to print the names of child motesters in incest cases in order to proeet the identity ofthe vit. Micro Issues: 1. Most newspapers have policies that would not allow revelation ofthe victimized children’s names, Is that @ Justifiable poliey in this case? 2. Should the newspaper have identified the neighborhood where the molestations took place? 3. Should the teenager have been identified upon arrest? 4, Should the foster father have been identified upon arrest? 5. When the decision of the comt had been made final, should the name of the molester have been printed then’?Middle-range Issues: 1. Do any of the following ei after the tial? (2) The fact that the man now wishes to live in the community; (b) The fact thatthe trial is a matter of public record (©) The fact thatthe man pled guilty. 2. fone of the following were true, would you feel compelled to tell what you know to the parties involved? If so, why? (@) Your neighbor's son has been invited to spend the night with the boy who was the victim/perpetrator in the (b) You have friends who attend church with the molester; (©) You have friends who live on the same block as the molester, 3. Ifthe answer to any of the questions above was yes, how do you justify your newspaper's decision not to tell the entire community at once? uumstanices enter into your decision to publish or not to publish the name of the father Macro Issues: 1. Did the paper open itself to accusations of protection of the affluent establishment and rumors of economic ties to the newspaper when it refused to reveal the specific neighborhood? Did it handle the resulting controversy well? How could the concept of right to know, need to know, want to know have helped the paper explain its decision? 2, List the pros and cons ofa policy naming child molesters when incest is involved.130 Chapier VI CHAPTER VI CASES CASE VI-A Public Grief and the Right to Be Left Alone PHILIP PATTERSON Ollakoma Christian University (One early spring morning, Riverside Press-Enterprise photographer Fred Bauman rushed to the scene of an accident. A wenty-swo-month-old boy had been hit by a car in front of his home. The driver ofthe vehicle was entering the driveway to drop off ‘another child with the babysitter. ‘The mother of the boy, Dawaa Read, rushed to the site and sank to her knees in prayer, covered by the blood of her son, as paramedics attempted to save him. It was at this moment that Bauman shot the photo. According fo Bauinan, wit was also the photo editor atthe time the photograph ran, Lengthy discussion was held inthe newsroom before the decision to publish was ‘mode, Bauman said the detetmiving factor in the decision was the possibility thatthe stark reality of the picture might prevent future accidents through safer deivers ot ‘more watchful parents, “We decided that even if one life was saved, it was worth it,” Bauman suid, In the days to follow, reader response poured in, largely against running the pic~ ‘ure, Bauman sai that no other picture in his three decades withthe Press-Enterprise created the outpouring of emotion that this one did, Among the callers were some ‘who threatened Bouren, Micro Issues: 1, If you had been dispatched to the scene of the secident, would you have photographed the grieving mother? With a telephoto lens? 2, Ifother media (e.g, a competing newspaper, the television stations) were photographing the woman, would that fact enter into your decision? 3, Could the drama of the moment have been told equally welt in some other manner? Mid-range Issues: 1, Is the decision to take the photo a different ethical decision than the decison to ‘run the photo? In other words, what do you think about a shoot firs, decide later policy? 2. If local television station obtained videotape of the incident, would you run it0 Is there a distinction between a still photograph and a video? Would color photograph be more objectionable?—$— Privacy: Looking for Solitude in she Global Village Photo by Fred Bouman, Riverside Press-Enterprise. Used by permission,132 Chapter VI Macro Issues: 1, The rationale used by the editors of the Press-Enterprise to cu the controversial photo in hopes of preventing future accidents isa uilitarian one, In this ease do you think the greatest good to society outweighs the emotional damage done to the woman by running the photo? 2. Is utilitarian ethies « good rationale to apply to these situations? If yes, defend its if no, what moral philosophy would you put in its place? 3. How might the concept of discretion have helped the photographer and his editors explain their choices?‘Taste in Photojournalism: A Question of Bthies or Aesthetics? LOU HODGES: ‘Washington and Lee Un erty Photographer Gany Bryant, in his essay “Ten-Fifty P.1: Emotion and the Photographer's Role,” (1987) says his teaction over the years toa ten-fity pi, call—an secient with personal injury—hed changed from fone of thrill to one of wariness. He atiributes the change to the drama he has witnessed at countless tragedies and the resulting hassles with crows, pe Photos. and the reading public in obtaining and printing the John Hate of the Bakersfield Californian knows the feeling well. So does his editor, the brunt of the public reaction to printing the photo that follows, stys he has rethought sn on publishing photos of personal tragedy. Photographer Harte took the photo after he responded to a call on the police seanner. He arrived at a lake northeast of Bakersfield, Califia, while divers were sill searching for a drowning vietim, After & fow minutes, divers brought the lifeless body of five-year-old Edward Romero to the shore, where the ‘boy's distraught family was gathered. By this time, television erews had arrived on the scene, AS the family members, in public view at the edge of the lake, began to grieve, all of the photojoumalists ond videographers had to decide whether and how they would shoot the story, The television crews opted out, they decided not to film the moment. Harte edges! around the sheriff and, using a 24 mm lens anc! a motor drive, shot eight frames: Managing editor Robert Bentley was called into the offices of tke Bakersfield Californian that Sunday evening to decide whether one of Harte’s gripping photos should run, He was persuaded thet the Photo would serve as a potential warming and help stem the high number of drownings in the county ‘The publication ofthe photo, which was also disuibuted by the Associated Press, generated more then five hundred protest letters and calls from throughout the nation but primarily from BakersCield residents, ‘The paper also lost about forty subscribers over is decision, most af whom returned (Stoin 1986), ‘A week later, Bentley explained his decision in an editorial column, “Some claimed the Califomian showed callous disrespect of the vitim. Others felt the photograph hed forced their visual intrasion om what should fave boon a family’s private time of shock and grief, Most combined the dual protests” (Bentley 1986). Bentley eventually decided that the photo should never have been published, He has said that by publishing the photo, he learned that journalists are seriously out of touch with their readers’ sensibilities ‘The reaction wa too intense and widespread to just shrug it off and say we're just doing our job" (Stein 1986). ‘The picture was nominated for, but did not win, the Pulitze prize Editorial judgments about photographs onnarly hinge on «wo kinds of standards, moral standards and standards of taste, The most commonly recognized moral stanclards are those conceming privacy and those about inflicting additional harm on victims. These were the moral basis of response to Haste's picture, Standards of taste are more difficult fo identify and describe. No photographer or photo editor to my knowledge has identified what exactly we mean by “in bad taste.” The closest they eome is to note that ‘people do not want bloody pictures (mangled bodies, or the uncavered dead, for example) at the breakfast lable, Some find such pictures offensive at any time of day, ‘So what can we say about the ethics of taking and publishing aesthetically offensive photos? First, we are more likely to agree on what is good (ethics) than on wit is beautiful (aesthetics) The philosopters have long known that. Philosophers, whose function is inquiry into the good (ethies), the trae (epistemology), and the beautiful (aesthetics), have been far more successful and helpful in uncovering standards for the true and the good than for the beautiful, Matters of taste seem far more subjective and idiosyncratic than do matters of morality and truth, Some of ws admire Wagner and eschew Elvis. Second, ethical judgments and aesthetic judgments are often closely related, The mushroom cloud from the atomic bomb, for example, bas always appeared beautiful to me ever since I saw pictures of the loud over Hiroshima, Those pictutes led to moral rejoicing that the war was ahout over and that my father ‘would soon be coming home ftom the Navy. For hers the cloud is symbolic of human evil, power, and inhumanity. We tend to like aesthetic symbols ef moral good, and we dislike symbols of moral evil‘Third, the decision (o take news photos (and the decision to publish them) is ultimately moral and not ‘acsthetic. Harte clearly intruded upon the family in Bakersfield, and that was moral choice based! on his pursuit of somebody's good. Bentley's decision to publish was a moral one: he hoped to prevent others fiom drowning by running the picture as a waming. He was willing to risk aesthetic harin for moral gan, Fourth, photo editors sometimes have a moral duty to readars to publish pietures many would regard as in bad taste. Few would object to a warning that saved a life even if the warning was aesthetically objectionable, ‘The occasional moral duty tobe aesthetically offensive rests upon the duty of accuracy, the duty not to deceive. The logic is this: in order to Function inthe world readers need an accurate image of that world, rot one sanitized by welhmeaning but misguided journalists. Where the world is bloody i s dishonest and deceptive to hide blood fiom readers. Aesthetically alarming pictures of starving ehildten in Somalia brought action precisely because they showed ugly reality Fifth, photo editors have a moral duty not to publish aesthetically offensive pictures exoept when a significant moral purpose demands publication, The reason is that pictures ean plant images in our minis tat genuinely harm us, They can be haunting images that we eannot escape. Morals and taste intertelate in interesting ways, The moral standard for photojournalism also seems clear: we have a moral obligation to others not o publish aesthetically offensive pictures except when publication is reasonably likely to advance some greater public good, Peshaps you can refine and improve that standard through yout ow critical analysis, Micro Issues: 1, Who made the correct ethical decision al the scene, the television crews or Flats? 2. Dos the irl exceptional nature ofthe photo change your reasoning? 3. Would an interview without a photo have besn any less intrusive? Should the print joumaliss present have decided not to write a story? ‘Where would you run the photo? How big? Should the funeral be covered? Is the funeral newsworthy’? Middle-range Issues: 1. Isthe rationale that the picture would serve as a warning a compelling one? 2, Should newspapers outside the Bakersfield arca have published the photo? 3. Could the photo have been cropped in uch a way as to avold some of the problems? 4, In cases like this, i there distinction between a single newspaper photograph and thirty seconds of videotape? Macro Issues: 1. Do the potential prosocial benefits resulting from publishing the photo justify taking if? Running i? 2. Should the profession stop rewarding photos of wagedy’? 3, Haye the newspapers’ actions made the family newsworthy figures? Does the existence of a dramatic photo change the newsworthy elements of he story? Should i€? 4. What is the velationship of aesthetics to ethics inthis particular instance of photojournalism?136 Chapter vi CASE VI-C Culture, Law, and Privacy: Should Ethics Change in a Cultural Context? LEE WILKINS University of Missouri~Columbia ‘On May 27, 1998, the head of Jun Hase, 11, was found outside a middle school in Kobo, Japan, with a note stuffed in the victim's mouth saying, “Stop me if you ean.” The rest of the boy's corpse was found later the same day at a television re- lay station on a wooded hill not far from where his head was discovered, ‘Amilkman and an employec told reporters that they saw a middle-agod man ccamying a black garbage bag near the front gate of the school where Hase’s sev= ‘ered bead had been found, Other journalists interviewing Jocal residents printed and broadcast stories that those living nearby had spotted an unfamiliar black sedan ot a white station wagon near the school, and that the driver was a man who appeared to be in his early titties or forties, ‘One month later, on June 28, a fourteen-year-old boy was atrested in connec- tion with the murder, He also was charged with assaults on four other children, one ‘of whom also had died, Prior to his arrest, he was detained at a police station for thirteen days, then twenty-eight days as other charges wero added to the original ‘ones. He confessed to the murders and was sentenced to a juvenile facility. Potential criminal activity involving juveniles in Japan falls under what is called the Juvenile Law, first instituted in 1949, Under that statuto, minots under sixteen cannot be punished. They are instead sent (o a reformatory ot put on pro- bation. This decision is made by a family court, not a criminal one, and @ prose- ccutor is not present. Before the tial begins, police investigators send the judge all the evidenes they have collected during their investigation, including the results of questioning a suspect. According to another section of the law, information on children suspected of crimes should not be made public; trials under the Juvenile Law are closed to the public, including the news media, ‘The law was introduced to help children who have committed a erime rebuild their lives. Infact, from 1950 to the year of the murder, the number of erimes com mitted by Japanese juveniles had declined steadily Soon after the suspect was arrested, the magazine Focus, owned by publish- ing house Shinchosha, posted on its Web site a photo—but not the name—of the iniddle school student suspect. The posting prompted other users to diselose the boy's name and family background on bulletin boards, The paper version of the {600,000-circulation periodical also carried a black-and-white picture of the sus~ pect wearing a blazer and tie. A second magazine owned by the same publishing house also ran a photograph of the boy. Both publications sold owt. Other news organizations, ineluding many major newspapers, refused to run an advertisement for Focus that included the suspect's picture. Many convenience stores and kiosks also refused! to sell the magazines.ao Privacy: Looking for Solitude inthe Global Village 137 ‘Two days after publication of the photo, the Justice Ministry admonished Shin- chosha to recall the magazines in which the photo appeared, It was the first-ever ap- peal for a recall ofthe publication and the tenth time the ministry had responded to a media violation, However, the ministry's request was non-binding and the publishing firm refused, Others, including writer Kenjiro Hiaitani, asked the publication to acknowledge ithad made a mistake, “Iti a grave violation of the boy's human rights as guaran teed by the Juvenile Law,” Haitani said in an essay that also was printed in Focus, ‘The chairman of Japan's Federation of Bar Associations issued a statement say- ing that the publication of the photo “tramples on the spirit of the Juvenile Law and is inexcusable.” “T have observed a number of cases in which irreparable damage has been done to people's lives and reputations by an overzealous press convinced that law en- forcement is one of its duties,” wrote Kenichi Asano, a former reporter for Kyodo [News Service and now a director of Japan’s Liaison Commitee on Human Rights and ‘Mass Media Conduct. “In fact, historically, the Japanese news media have tended to function as a support, rather than a counterbalance, to offical authority,” Shinchosha dismissed the criticisms, saying the crime was so heinous that the boy did not deserve the law's protection and that seeing his face would help people understand the nature ofthe ctime, “This unilateral decision to withdraw the maga- zines interferes with freedom of (the) press and expression, and we will not accept this recommendation,” said Teruo Kosuge, deputy editor of Shukan Shincho. ‘News accounts of the murder slso generated coverage of other issues, among themn the efficacy of Japan's Juvenile Law and whether te increasingly serious 1:i- ture of some juvenile offenses merited its protection, News articles also explored the nature of Japanese culture and its historic tradition of ritual suicide. Other groups ia Japan called for a crackdown on violent videos and video games, assexting that they had influenced the young murderer, About one year after the murder took place, the parents ofthe elementary school child who hacl been killed sued the murderer and his parents for damages, arguing that the killer's parents knew that their son showed abnormal behavior but filed to 2d- dress it, Micro Issues: 1. Should the journalists have published the “eyewitness” accounts, which turned ‘out to be grossly inaccurate, before an arrest was made? 2, Does the publication of the photo, without further identification, proteet the privacy ofthe accused? 3. Should the fact that the accused murderer, and his victim, are both juveniles influence news decisions about when and how they should be identified? 4, Should the juvenile’s family become part of the news story? Ifs0, in what way?138 Chapter VE Mid-range Issues: 1. About the same time this case was occurring, U.S -based media outlets were printing and broadcasting the name of the fourteen-year-old who murdered schoolmates in West Paducah, Kentucky. Which decision is appropriate? Why? 2, Japanese journalists function without an Ametican-style First Amendment. Assume you are @ Japanese journalist. How would you criticize or commend the actions taken by the Japanese media? 3. Should the sales of the two magazines in question be considered an indication of public sentiment on the Juvenile Law? How would you respond to a reader if you refused to publish such a photo? To a stockholder in the publishing house? Macro Issues: 1. Should the United States consider adopting either informal guidelines or mandatory legal requirements governing the news media that are similar 19 those of Japan's Juvenile Law? Why or why not’? 2. Your text discusses the notion that privacy is an essential element of our humanity, ard as such does not vary from culture to culture, Ifyou accept this argument, how do you explain the cultural variation in interpretation ofthis ethical concept? 3. The Japanese Juvenile Law assigns responsibility forthe nurture of children to many groups in socity, including the news media, What ethical theory supports such a view? Could this view be transferred from Japanese culture to other cultures? Why or why not?iil Information Ethics: A Profession Secks the Truth 41 CASE I-D Columbine: News and Community—A Balancing Act LEE WILKINS University of Missouri According o police, there was very litle specific warning about the shootings that would occur on April 20, 1999, a Colutbine High Schoo! in Litleton, Colorado. Certainly, there was no warning the day of the event in newsrooms across Denver, ‘where the big story ofthe day was the latest developments in the ongoing JonBenet Ramsey case. But the events of April 20, 1999, would disrupt life not only in ‘Columbine, but across the nation as wel ‘The psychological inner workings of killers Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold with probably never be completely understood. A videotape released months after the shooting revealed two students who had viewed themselves es complete outsiders in & high school scene dominated by athletes, papular teens, and minority students whom, they believed, received some sort of special teatsnent. In short, life at Columbine High Schoo! was not very different from life at many successful, subur- ban high schools where most students go onto college and whee parents are gener- ally economically comfortable At about 11:20 At, the scanners in newsrooms throughout the Denver met- ‘opotitan area picked up a transmission about a “kid ata school with a gun.” Suh reports are all too common in metropolitan areas, as are bomb thveats. In many ‘newsrooms, the general policy isto downplay the report to prevent the spread of rumors and to avoid copycat ects. However, journalists soon realized this report was not routine, By just before noon, every newsroom in Denver was serambling to get pictues and reports about what would become the worst school shooting in history. ALIISS5 A., KUSA, the NBC affiliate, removed the talk show *Leeza” from. the air to golive continuously. Other stations soon follawed. Meanwhite, newsroom phones were busier than anyone could remember. Not only were communi dents calling about the story, but aleady the national media were demanding infor. mation for their own special reports. Shomly after n00n, the KUSA satellite truck began alive video feed. "The firs time ns doctor Pati Desmis sew images of children on stretcher, she reacted as a par- ent, nota journalist, “No tight shots” she told field erews, "I don't want (o see any faces, 13 not appropriate, Too many parents are wondering whats happening, don't think its right to show anyone injured seriously. That compromises ther privacy.” A aliostcxaclly the same time, the sheriff's command post asked permission fora deputy to ly over in the helicopter of KMGHL-TV (another Denver alate) 10 _get an aerial view of the school, The station agreed. ‘Almost simultancously, the station received a eal from Columbine student Jonathan Ladd who was outside the school. After a brief vetting, KMGH put him on the ait. A few minutes Tater the station aired information from another student ‘who called from the school, He was breathing hard and sounded seared, One ofthe ea> 42 Chapter I co-anchors encouraged the student 19 call 911; the student called back about thirty ‘minutes later (0 report that the police lines were jammed and that the two gunmen, whom he had seen, appeared to be dressed in black, At 1:00 rt, @ third student — this one hiding in the school—called the station, He was also told to call 911, but about en minutes later he called back reporting that police lines were jammed and that students were running up and down the balls screaming, Meanwhile, at Columbine police and ambulances descended on the area, Police cordoned off streets near the school. One camer crew was temporatly prevented from retuming to is satellite wuck, which had inadvertently been roped off within the crime scene boundaties, Other journalists abandoned their ears blocks from the school and sprinted on foot fo the scene. ‘They shouted questions to police, who said very little. About 1:00 rat. students—some of them wounded—bogan escaping from thc high school. These shots were captured and seat out live, Cals from students com tinued to pour in to the local stations. AL about this time, the sherifl’s office also asked the news media for help, #e- ‘questing that the stations decline 10 ar live footage of SWAT team activity for fear it ‘would provide information to the gunmen, whom police believed were stil inside the school. By 2:00 Px. journalists covering the story were speculating much less about specitie actions taken by the police and about the aetivities—and casualties —i the school, However, at about 3:00 rt. one station inadvertently revealed a death through live coverage. The station aired footage of an obviously dead body being, ragged from the school. Seconds afterward, the station cut sway from the live footage. The ot-air anchor noted, “I’m very reluctant (o characterize what that was,” At about 4:00 ra. the Jefferson County Sheriff's office held its fist press con ference and announced an unknown number of casualties, including some teachers and students, and that the departinent believed the suspects had been found dead side the building ‘The initia reports ftom the sheriff's department greatly exaggerated the number ‘of dead, saying as many as (wenty-five had died in the attack. As it turned out, the eventual death toll was twelve. (In the ensuing months, one other student who was at the school atthe time commited suicide.) However, the wrong information was part of the initial national broadeasts of the event, Also at the scene was a KUSA reporter who summed up the situation: “Bleed- ing, Screaming, I needed to talk to some kids to see whal they saw or heaed. But you «didn't know how to approach them, [tried t be really sensitive and understanding, 1 meticulously approached the kids asking nicely, ‘Do you mind if Task you some {questions Surprisingly, most of them agreed.” ‘Her camera operator faced equally difficult decisions. “When we pulled up, 1 saw kids lying on the grass; I saw blood on the driveway, I went to the truck, pulled cut my wipod and knew that 1 alto stay back from the people, I stayed away from the families and vietims, What was important to me as a member of the commu was to stay away from becoming a part of the story and just capture what was happening—as opposed to putting my camera on my shoulder and walking into it, As sensitive as the camera operator tried to be, the national media took some decision-making power out of his hands, The camera operator had shot some ~$- \LInformation Buhics: A Profession Seeks the Truth 43 close-ups ofthe kids, thinking the footage might air later, when emotions weren't so raw. However, the footage was being fed into the newsroom, where CNN had access to it. When CNN got the footage, the local affiliate lost all control, It aired nationally the same day, The same thing continued throughout the remainder ofthat first day, At cone point ABC's 20/20 aired the same footage of an obviously dazed student falling ‘out ofthe second floor of the school building four dimes within ewenty minutes. Journalists who covered the story that initial day had enormous emotional reso ‘ions, Several reported getting home and beginning to ery and not being able to stop. Others said tears came later, One Denver newsman admitted on the air cht, after Columbine, he was treated for depression. Managers noted that an essential part of the job for many became taking care of the emotional and imental lcalth ofthe vati- ‘ous newsroom staffers, Micro Issues: 1, Should the Denver media have gone live atthe scene? Were there other alter- natives? 2. How should the news media have handled what became the incorrect reports from the sherif's department? 43. Should other programming have been shelved during the event? What about during the hours when there was litle new to report? 4, How should the stations have handled the calls from students outside the school? Inside the school? Mid-range Issues: 1. Is the role ofthe national media different from that ofthe local media in sto- ties such as Columbine? Critique the actions of CNN in airing the footage meant (0 be aired later, 2. Should the stations have cooperated with police atthe scene? 3, When would it be appropriate to air comments critical of the emergency re- sponse or other official activities at Columbine? 4, Ts Columbine a story a year later? Why? Macro Issues 1, How would you respond to a viewer who asserts that coverage such as this only promotes more school violence? 2. What is the news media's overall responsibility in combating societal prob- Jems such as the violence at Columbine? What are the sorts of stories thot ‘might be a patt of this response? 3, Which ethical theory would support the decisions made by the various joural- ists. Which do you find to present the most ethically compelling arguments? as 7)~e ‘The Mass Media in a Democratic Society: Keeping a Promise 169 CASE VIL-D ‘The David Duke Candidacy: Fairness and the Klansman KEITH WOODS ‘The Poynter Institute for Media Studies In the fal of 1991 David Duke, a former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard, made a run for the Louisiana govemor's mansion He had sat forthe past year in the state legislature, an ineffective representative from a small Republican district in the New Orleans suburbs. He had not pasced a single piece of legislation, was routinely heekled when he took the House floo, and found that many of his colleagues would avoid standing close to him lest they get cap- tured in the samne photograph or te same video frame, “The media had alternately ignored him and held him up to publie seewiny and ertieisi, Though he had repeatedly disavowed any recent connection to the Klan, Dake was discovered selling white supremacist materials from his lgislative office, ‘The evidence was compelling thatthe only difference between the old Dulee and the new Dake was minor cosmetic surgery, a haircut and the stamp of approval from voters in Metairo's District 81. ‘Then he ran for governor. His primary opponents were formidable: incumbent Gov, Buddy Rocmer, a Democratturved-Republican held in generally high regard by the media beeause of his reformist ideals; former Gov. Edwin Edwards, a populist Detnocrat with enough charisma to withstand (wo federal indictments in his previous ‘twelve years in office; and Republican Congressman Clyde Holloway, conservative whose legitimacy with votes would surely siphon votes from Duke. For most of the eampaign, Duke was given very little chance of even making a runoff, When the yoles were counted on October 19, he had come within thre per- centage points of finishing frst in the primary. He would face primary leader Edwards inthe runoff, and Louisiana voters would face the unpleasant tsk of choosing between a former Klansman and a proven scoundrel ‘The New Orleans Times-Picayune had underestimated Duke twice before: ‘when he ran an impressive, though osing, campaign forthe U.S. Senate agains! pow- erful incurobent J, Bennett Johnston and when he socked the newspaper and tnany voters by copturing District 81. Having witnessed Duke's statewide popularity yet gain, the newspaper took decisive and controversial steps to help defeat hiro. ‘Two days after the election, the newspaper's top editors and editorial writers gath- «ered around a newsroom conference table fora meeting that would greatly influence ‘everything from the paper’ editorial direction to the focus of its daily coverage. ‘The unusual meeting, fruit of an election-night brainstorming session between editor Jim Amoss and then-metro editor Peler Kovacs, produced this plan: the nowspaper would eimploy ics best editors to research and write a series of five ceditorials—twice as long as the standard edtorial—that would make a fact-based, ‘methodical argument against Duke's candidacy. Rach editorial would be promoted on the front page. “ i170 Chapter Vit APEWIDE WORLD PHOTOS, ‘The decision t0 use key newsroom editors to write the editorials including the capitol bureau chief in charge of siate goverment coverage, pushed the Picayune newsroom across the line of objectivity at the outset af its runol coverage, Amoss ‘characterized the four weeks that followed as no less than a batle for the soul of the electorate. In those four weeks, the newspaper focused the attention of more than forty staffers on the election, with mnuch of the focus falling upon the Mews and fallacies af Duke's candidacy, As themes developed in the campaign and in the newsroom— Duke's recent sacist und anti-Semitic musings, his dubious religious conversion, his {ies to bigots, his political immaturity —the newspaper hammered away on the front page and editorial page. Sometimes the editorials were on the front page. ‘Many readers howled with displeasure, Most were Duke supporters who blasted the newspaper's obvious bias, Some were Bdwards supporters worried that the Picayune would provoke a groundswell of sympathy support for Duke, ‘The news- paper began running full pages of letters to the editor, most opposing Duke, some praising the newspaper, It was e break from the Picayune's uadition of refusing let ters that support political candidates, « break the nevispaper explained to its readers inn editorial page blurb,~$- The Mass Media tn a Democratic Society: Keeping a Promise im When the unprecedented editorial series “The Choice of Our Lives” had! run its ‘course, the Picayure mailed out reprints of the series to newspapers across the state, encouraging them to quote the editorials at will, Several staffers wrote op-ed pieces before the election, giving readers a glimpse into an angst-tora newsroom where the prospect of Duke becoming governor brought ‘some to ears and kept emotions on edge. ‘The angst found its most profound expression in an internal debate about the fate of a story dubbed “The Duke Voters.” Aware that Duke's supporters were regarded as racist extremists, perticularly by those in the newsroom, the newspaper sought to show the faces znd hear the voices ofthe ordinary voters who supported such a con- twoversial politician ‘Once writen, the story became the center of unusual attention, Several editors visited Amoss in his office in the days before the story was to run, pleading with him not fo ptint it. Some suid that by showing the Duke supporters in all heir simple hu- :manity 80 close to the election, the newspaper was giving comfort to racists and en ccomaging their votes. Amoss listened, but the story ran as weitten on the front page ‘of the Sunday edition one week before the election, ‘Though Duke received 671,009 votes, he was soundly beaten in the runoff, with Rawards taking 60 percent of the vote. Duke blamed his defeat on a lot of negative press, the Picayune and its sources, Micro Issues: 1, What is the reporter's responsibility to objectivity when covering a person 80 widely believed to be a social pariah? 2. Isl possible for the reporters to be fair to Duke without being objective? 43. Did the Times-Pieayaie owe equal loyally to readers who supported Duke and to those who opposed him? Mid-range Tssu 1. Should newsroom editors, who assign and help shape the bulk of the day's ‘news stories, ever be allowed to write editorials related to those stories? If yes, under what circumstances? 2. What effect, if any, do you think the publication of staf op-ed pieces eritical of ‘Duke might have had om the newspaper's image and exedibility in the community? 3. Isit possible for a newspaper in such a situation to be as aggressive with its editorial push—inclucing publication and dissemination of the editorial seties—without unduly influencing the news coverage? 4, What are the cballenges to a reporter trying to reflect the views and wishes of a community so polarized, particularly when polities andl prejudice are so ‘entoestied”? Io172 Chapter VEE Macro Issues: 1. Are there circumstances under which & news organization can 0 clearly idontfy a harmful politcal choice the itis justified in campaigning against a candidate? I s0, when? 2, ‘Whore woukd such line be drawn in this ease? At membership in the Klon? At associations with Klan members? Wha ifthe candidate held racist vies but nover disclosed them publicly? 3, How does a news organization fairly cover a candidate whose notoriety becomes such a huge part ofthe story? 4, Editor Jim Amoss said that ifthe paper had taken a less aggressive tack ancl Duke had won, he knew the paper would be held culpable to some extent. Is that a legitimate concern for & newspaper or its editor?Terrorist Use of the News Media; News Media Use of Terrorists JACK LULE Lehigh University ‘Americans die abroad every death occurs by an act of pol approaches saturation coverage. ‘Terrorism existed long before the news media, And to this day, most terorism—by states, groups, and individuals—receives no media attention. So what qualifies a very few terrorist incidents for saturation coverage? Journalists must consider not only how terrorists use the news media—but, conversely, how the news media use terrorists ‘Many joumalists and media critics argue that the news media “legitimize” and thus encourage terrorists by giving thom coverage. Some have called for voluntary or even mandatory guidelines for terrorism coverage. Yet others have argued that more coverage of terrorism is desirable, suggesting thatthe media can provide an important outlet for the expression of public concern and thus reduce political violence, ‘These issues were raised dramatically in one memorable case—the 1985 hijacking of TWA 847, On June 14, 1985, two members of the Shiite Moslem group the islamic Holy War commandeered the jetliner with more than 150 people aboard, The gunmen forced the plane to make repeated flights between Athens, Beirut, and Algiers, sotling finaly in Bairut, Then, a passenger, U.S. Navy diver Robert Dean Stelhem, was severely beaten and killed, and shot inthe head. iis body was then pushed from the plane onto the runway. Holding American passengers as hostages, the hijackers demanded the release of soven hundred Shiite Mosiems jailed or detained by Isrcl Immediately, the incident commanded intense news coverage. The story dominated newspaper front pages and magazine covers. More than half of each evening newscast was devoted to the hijacking, Regular programming was repeatedly interrupted by special reports, a service the media were happy to provide since terrorism plays well in America From the beginning, reporters were forced to confront a number of ethical questions, For example, onthe first day, a3 the plane satin Algiers, networks and newspapers decided to roport that an elite U.S. commando squad had bec dispatched to the Mideast for a possible rescue mission. Within hours the hijackers arranged forthe jet to be flown back. to the relatively more secure site of Beirut, There, hostages were taken off the plane and held captive inthe city, making ‘rescue mission much more difficult. By the second day, the original hijackers had been joined by members of the Shiite Amal movement. As negotiations stalled, reporters sccmed to become arbiters between the Amal movement and U.S. officials, Nabih Beri, a leader of the Amal, especially was given much media time and space, Often, Berri was permitted to give live, unedited statements about the negotiations, Reporters also agreed to “interview” the hostages in custody of the Amel, Gathered around the jetliner, reporters ‘questioned the jet pilot Captain John Testrake—wio spoke with a gun at his head, Not surprisingly, the pilot echoed the hijackers’ statements. and advised authorities not to attempt a rescue mission. Similarly, the next day, five of the hostages gave a “news conference” at the airport. Surrounded by Shiite gunmen, they talked with sympathy of the hijackers and their cause, ‘At home in the States, reporters were faced with a more common ethical decision—whether to interview the hostages” families. Reporters for many news outlets contacted the families of hostages. Posing with photographs of a hhosiage, family members wopt and prayed on camera that loved ones be returned, Extensive national coverage was sven to the family of Robert Dean Stethem, the slain Navy diver As the hijacking drew to a close, reporters in Beirut continued to interview hostages in enstody. On June 28, the fhostages were taken to a luxury hotel for what was seen as a farewell banquet before their eventual release. As at some Hollywood premiere, hostages were interviewed upon thet arrival, and microphones were thrust in their faces as they ‘were driven away. ‘Aftor soventeen days in captivity, the hostages were freed. They were flown from Lebanon and then to Syria, where they were convinced to give & press conference for the hordes of reporters. Some in the news media aranged to get ‘more detailed accounts; NBC flew the families of four hostages overseas and paid hotel accommodations in exchange for exclusive intorviews on its news shows. y; they die of illness, auto accidents, murder, drowning, and other reasons, But when | violence, commonly called terrorism, news reporting intensifies and occasionally 18Micro Issues: 1. Did U.S. news media, especially network television, use proper news judgment in the extended, special coverage given to TWA 8477 Were stories hyped by such coverage? Did the media help create a crisis to attract an audience tothe drama? 2, Should reporters have interviewed the terrorists and their hostages while the situation was still unfolding? What should have been the proper relationship between the networks and the terrorists? 3. Were stories about the hostage families exploitive? What was the news value of repeated stories on hostage families? Was it acceptable to pey the families? Middle-range Issues: 1. Whats the distinction, in terms of manipolation, between White House photo oppor terrorist press conferences? 2. Do the news media legitimize and thus encourage terorsts by giving them international status airing thle ddomands and oxplainingthoir motives? Should there be voluntary media guidelines? How would they read? 4, Should the media be prevented from making public certain information, such as military moven ‘options that might be usefl to terrorists? ies/press conferences and 's or policy Macro Issues: 1, Is the kidnapping or killing of an American on foreign soil worthy of national news coverage? What are the distinctions between the killing of an American during a robbery in Paris and the killing of an American by terrorists in Beirut? 2. What are the benefits for the U.S. news media of ongoing terrorist incidents? To what extent do those benefits influence news coverage? 3. Does the technology of instant picture transmission of terrorist events alte ethical decision making? Does, compelling video dominate news coverage of the terrorist events over the issues that give rise to them? 4Too Many Bodies, Too Much Blood: A Case Study of the Family Sensitive Newscast Movement BILL SILCOCK, University of Missouri ‘Thirty minutes before deadline the KIVI-TV reporter took a phone eal inthe video editing booth. “This is the Idaho Fish aod Game department. The radio says your TV station’s helicopter discovered the body of our officer, Conley Elms, floating naked, upside down in the Owyhee River. Will we see that on the 6 Pv news? I's, we want to wara his wife." ‘Twenty-four hours before, in a remote part of Idaho's wilderness, Elms, and fellow officer Bill Pogue, sustained gunshots to the chest and back of the head, Claude Dallas, ¢ fur tappet who portrayed himself as 4 self-styled mountain man, enraged over the game wardens’ inspection of his camp, ambushed them, Dallas dumped Elms? body inthe river and buried Pogue's 40 miles away in the desert sand, “Wel,” the reporter replied to the phone inquiry, “yes, we did shoot Mr. Elms’ body fiom the al, ‘Some of it will be shown,” A news staff debate broke out in the crowded editing booth, The reporter, his pphotographerfeditor, chief photographer, news ditector, and even the newscast anchor, all offered opinions ‘the ethical dilemma of how much video of Elms" boly to eit during dinnertime, ‘Any amount was too much for Elms? wie, Sheri, Writer ck Olsen would deseribe her reaction to that Jamary 1981 newscast in his itu crime book, Give a Boy a Gun, ‘Sheri lms friends hd stayed wit her all day, She refsod to aocept tha! Conley was deal. Missi, yes. In trouble, maybe. But dcod? Dead was impossible, The evening newseast showed astked body swinging inthe ‘arent Just ike Coney, the man had thick upper torso and spiral of fine Wak air down is bac, She rushed fut the door and banged her leat against the side ofthe houte. Then she ran down eset. She didn't want to bo ome. (Olsen 1985, 139) ‘The story would generate owe books, a Raling Stone article and « made-fortelevision movie. This ‘author experienced the above case in 1981 asa fresh-from-college KIVI reporter, Later that year, the Idaho Press Club would award a First Place in Television Spot News Award for our coverage. While launching ‘one new reporter's career, the broadcast embedded forever a jagged, painful image for at Jeast one member of the audience, Sheri Elms, the vitin's wife. The impact of that image on one individual played a minor influence in decision making by the news team that night. More prominently debated was the exclusivity of their station's video. The story not only led the newscast but was slotted aditiona rime beyond the typical 1.30 television news package story length. Fourteen years later, a tend labeled “family sensitive” news was born. The January 1994 brainehild belonged to Joha Lansing, news director of WCCO-TV in Minneapolis. Encouraging it was Lansing’s news consultant, Fa Bewely, of Audience Research and Development in Dallas. Lansing’s news staff conducted 100 foous groups and round tables and then decided to promote WCCO"s 5 P.M, newscast as “family sensitive.” The movement's intent was (0 clean up the depletion of rime coverage for newscasts sired during the dinner hout. This time period, 4 P.M to 7 P.M, és when young children and family ‘viewership ates high, hence the movement's Inbel as “family sensitive.” Micro Issues: (The News Workers) 1, Should a neve reporter have been assigned to such a high-profile case? Would a more experienced reporter and photographer argued for airing more of loss ofthe graphic video? 2, Should the editorial gatekeepers (news directo, chief photographer) beve anticipated the potential for ‘controversial video earlier and raised the issue of how to handle the graphic but truthful video much carlir in the news cycle? Middle-range Issues: (The Community Standard) |. What responsibility do television newsinakers have forthe innocent victims, frends and especially amily caught up in a sensational case of violenes?2, What bearing does an outside phone call from an intoresed party have on how a story with sensitive video is treated? 3, Should the station edit the video in aditterent way, allowing for more detailed footage forthe fate evening 10 Ps. newscast? 4. What impact should ratings and competitive pressure have on the decision of how much to aie since only KIVI-TV’s helicopter ad the video of Ehns?boxiy? 5. Did radio news reports of the body's “discovery” by the KIVE chopper, aired et 5 p.m, bring pressure of performance by their journalism peers in the decision making of how much exclusive 6PM? Macro Issues: (Industry Standard) 1, Does any uniform code of ethies (RTNDA or SP4) provide guidelines on handling such video? 2, Television newsrooms are nomadic cutuces where staff members move frequently. How mach does “other market experience” verses “what i the comect choice for this community” bear on the decision? Does the acceptable amount of graphic video vary from Boise to Boston? 3, What role does the “thirst for awards” play in a reporter and a news department's decision in how to handle coverage of sensational video? eyWhose Abuse of Power: The Seattle Times and Brock Adams. LEE WILKINS University of Missour—Columbia (On March 1, 1992, Brock Adams, Washington state's liberal Democratic senator, abandoned his U.S. Senate re- election campaign, Adams quit, he seid, because he had been destroyed by “hypothetical comments by hypothetical people.” ‘The “hypothetical people” involved were actually eight women who had been quoted in the Sunday, March 1 ‘dition of the Seattle Times. In that page-one story, the women claimed to have been the victims of Adams’ sexual harassment for most of his twenty-year career that included a term in President Carter's eabinet, The Times had published their accounts afte three years of digging. The revelations eame weeks into a re-clection campaign that ‘Adams was likely to win, While the story itself was controversial, the Times! reporting methods were equally unorthodox: the paper had allowed the women to remain anonymous in its accounts, The editors reached this decision only after serious and protracted discussions. Political reporter David Boardman began work on the story in 1988 when rumors of Adams" behavior surfaced. ‘At that time, one of the Women, Kari Tupper, former Congressional aide and Adams” family friend, claimed Adams had first drugged and then molested her. The Washington D.C, police, where the complaint was filed, exonerated ‘Adams. Boardman wrote a single story about the allegations. During the next three years, Boardman says, he and other reporters atthe Times began receiving calls and tips that other women had encountered similar experiences with Adams. Slowly, tho Times began to build a file on ‘Adams, often checking with the women, their frends and acquaintances, for any possible way to verify situations that had always occurred in private. No reporter worked fulltime on the story, and the paper was unable to convince ‘ayone other than Tupper to go on the recor. By mid-1990, thelist of Adams? accusers had grown to eight. Even though the women themselves remained anonymous, the Times had checked their stories in every way it could. Most of the women did not know each other; those who were acquainted were unaware that others were making similar charges. All were respacted members of the community, and most were active in state and city polities. Furthermore, their accounts revealed a pattern, Boardman believed then. However, the paper and its staff were reluctant to publish the charges without sources willing to go on the record, Begianing in mid+1990, when the actual ceporting on the case bevan to consume more staf time, tine paper tried to convince the women to go on the record. Eventually, seven of the eight women signed a statement swearing that what they were saying was true and acknowledging that chey would be asked to testify openly in court if Adanis sued the newspaper: The Times published its story on March |. While only Tupper was named in the story, the Times provided thumbnail skeiches of the others, including ther job titles, employment histories, or work relationships to Adams. Boordman has stated that, based on what the newspaper printed, it was impossible for Adams not to have known the specific identities of his accusers even without the names. In front-page column explaining why the paper had printed the story, Executive Editor Michael R. Fancher said the women were eredible people with no reason to lie about Adams. The editorial continued: “The alleged incidents described were not consensual love affairs or ‘womanizing,’ but abuses of power and of women, As they raise questions about Adams elaracter, both personal an! political, that we believe voters should have an ‘opportunity to evaluate.” The Times” use of anonymous sources in the Adams story has been widely discussed. Some have suggested thatthe paper should have held the story util it had sources willing to go on the record, regardless of the impending election, Others saw the publication asthe inevitable outcome of so much expenditure ofthe Times resources. ‘Thomas L, Shaffer, a visiting professor of law at Boston College of Law, represented this view when he wrote: rch, ‘A news organization's sitting on theo years of diligent investigation, by four exeative news people, i lke the leadors of a fully equipped army of millions wondering i the army should go to war. A clentcyed placer of bets wil ive you odds on ubliation inthe one case, war in the other, This is nat to aocuse the Times people of eynielsm but anly to notice thatthe ‘eal decision in the Adams case wes made in 198, when the Times decided to significantly invest inthe story.Micro Issues: 1. At what point should the Times have considered running a story about the allegations? (2) When one other victim had a similar story to Tupper's? (b) When multiple vitims had a similar story to Tupper’s? (©) Notat all? 2, Adams was informed of the story before it went to press. He refused to comment. Do you include that in your report? Middle-range Issues: 1. In the neighboring state of Orezon, Senator Bob Packwood was accused of a pattern of sexual harassment over his career, a story that broke late in 1992. Yet the Portland Oregonian did not run the story until after the November 1992 election. Did the Oregonian show too much restraint? Did the Times show too little? 2. Also in Seattle, a judge committed suicide on the eve before a story ran in the rival Seattle Post-Intelligencer accusing him of sexual misconduct with several boys who came before his court, As the rumors circulated during the months-long investigation by the paper, he had announced that he was not seeking re-election and ‘was moving out of town. The newspaper ran the story anyway. When the issue is abuse of power, is the story ‘moot when the accused is no longer powerful? If Adams had decided to retire before the stories ran, does that Kal the story or do you run it anyway? 3. Critique the quote by Shaffer thatthe real decision occurred when the newspaper decided to pursue the story in 1988, 4, What should a news organization's policy be about using, (@) anonymous sources? (b) leaks? (©) off-the-record information? Macro Issues: 1. The Times worked on the story for three years. During that time did it have a responsibility to Adams’ associates 10 tell what was suspected? What is the role of the newspaper in informing its readership about alleged but not convicted sexual offenders? 2, What rights does the accused have in cases such as this? 3. Fancher claims in his front-page editorial that the allegations about Adams went beyond “womanizing” and spoke to the issues of his personal and political character, Do you agree or disagree? Why? 4, Is the media a proper institution to judge character? 5. On issues such as sexual harassment, can the media afford to be abjective? ie)