Situation Definition
One of the top news articles accompanied with a video published on the website of The New York Times on April 7, 2015 was about the state charges of a South Carolina officer, Michael T. Slager, who shot at an unarmed African American man who was fleeing away from him. The officer claimed that he was on concerning of his own safety because the black man,Walter L. Scott had taken his stun gun while scuffling after a traffic stop. However, in the video Scott was apparently running away from the police officer and had no intention to attack on him but was still fired eight times. The video also showed that officer Slager dropped something beside Mr. Scott’s body, and some viewers suspected that what he dropped was his stun gun. The New York Times posted the video of Mr. Scott being shot on their website, as well as a clip of the mayor of South Carolina and the lawyer of the Scott family giving their remarks (Schmidt & Apuzzo, 2015).
Analysis
One ethical concern involved in this case is whether showing a man being killed is too graphic for the public to see, that is, the taste. The video showed audience a men being killed, which could be offensive if rendered inappropriately. For that the visual images are always more powerful than the spoken word that they affect more of the emotional aspect, journalists should pay much attention and be cautious when publishing graphic images as well as videos (Keith, Schwalbe & Silcock, 2006). They should always think of alternative ways to tell the story if necessary (RTNDA, 2006). Nevertheless, the video was shot with a low definition equipment and thus all the details are hardly seen, and the video was recorded at a distance that audience could only hear the sound of firing. The wounds are not visible and the audience cannot see him bleeding. As a result personally I consider it a decent reporting regarding what was disclosed to the public.
Another ethical issue concerns the impact of the article on the family and the friends of Mr. Scott. Although for many people a image of a stranger being shot in a distance could be easily forgotten like other pictures we see everyday, this particular image could mean so many things for Scott’s family. It is somehow cruel for the victim family to see their beloveds being killed again on the Internet. Thus journalists should also make decisions based on the potential impact the reporting could have on this small but crucial population. However, if I were the editor, I would still post the video because according to the follow-up story four days later, the family of Mr. Scott are willing to let the media show what really happened and draw people’s attention again to the issue of racism in the United States (Robles & Blinder, 2015). Indeed, without the video people could be deceived by the words of the police officer that it was Mr. Scott who started the attack. In this case, the news value overweighs the potential harm, so it is necessary to publish the video.
Conclusion
It is always the responsibility for journalists to decide whether to publish a graphic image or video or not, but in the case of Mr. Scott, the New York Times did a fair job on the reporting process. I like the way they added text to the video so that it explained the event more completely. Since race has always been a sensitive topic in the U.S., journalists should be even more cautious and make deliberate decision when the content belongs to this area. Also, the illustrations such as circles and marks added to the video are supposed to be moderate for that they may also influence how audience perceive the event.
Reference
Keith, S., Schwalbe, C. B., & Silcock, B. W. (2006). Images in Ethics Codes in an Era of Violence and Tragedy. Journal Of Mass Media Ethics, 21(4), 245-264.
Newsroom Ethics: Decision-Making for Quality Coverage, 4th edn. (Washington, DC: Radio Television News Directors Foundation, 2006), 86-7
Robles, F., Blinder, A. (2015, April 11). Hundreds Gather at Walter Scott’s Funeral One Week After Police Shooting. New York Times
Schmidt, M., Apuzzo, M. (2015, April 7). South Carolina Officer Is Charged With Murder of Walter Scott. New York Times