Blog 4 – Las Vegas Case Study
By: Kathleen Crane
Situational Definition:
On the night of October 1, 2017, concertgoers gathered at the Route 91 Harvest Music festival in Las Vegas, Nevada. This night was cut short when 64-year-old gunman open fired into the crowd of 22,000 from his hotel room. Leaving 58 dead and around 527 injured. This tragedy was blasted all over the news early the next morning. Video footage of the shooting and people running/hiding was released almost immediately along with photos of injured and frightened individuals. This brings into question the issue discussed in class of reporting on graphic stories and the ethics behind violent reporting.
Analysis:
Some could argue that these photos and videos from the shooting were too graphic, which could negatively affect the public, the victims/witnesses, and their families. Many of these photos showed the faces of these individuals. This leads to the question, whether it was ethical or not for these news outlets to share these videos/photos. As a journalist there are couple of questions one should ask themselves when deciding whether to use a photo or not. Questions such as, “is the information something the public needs to know?” (Foreman 246). How much detail is required for viewers to fully understand the situation? Is using this graphic material necessary to tell the story? “Does the publication of the information inflict harm?” (Foreman 246). Lastly the Code of Ethics states, that a journalist should “balance the public’s need for information against potential harm” it could cause. The bigger the event the more acceptable it is to use graphic images because it is more known to the public. Photos help in summing up the events for the public. Photos are also used to help the audience better understand the situation. The Las Vegas shooting was a mass killing that affected many people. Americans and people all over the world wanted to know what happened. It was the responsibility of news outlets to share this information with the public. However, a reporter must be very careful when covering this kind of event so the audience is not placed in harm’s way by the use of these graphic images. Studies done show that victims of shootings exposed to mass amount of news coverage has more traumatic effects (Haravuori, Suomalainen, Berg, Kiviruusu, & Marttunen, 2017).
Thus, journalist should have referenced these questions when deciding what photos and videos should be released from the Las Vegas shooting. When asking myself these questions, I determined that some photos were acceptable to use. In my opinion, photos where the victims face are not recognizable or people running/taking cover, are okay to use. However, photos of dead bodies or bloody individuals are not acceptable. A photo of a man covering a women with his body was a very common photo from the Las Vegas shooting. This photo was shown on many big newspapers, such as the New York Times and Washington Post. This photo could cause some ethical questioning. A viewer can easily identify both individuals in the photo, which could be unsettling to them and their family. However, the photo is not graphic. There is no blood or dead bodies, but the viewer can feel the chaos behind the simple photograph. Considering the decision making questions, I support the journalists decision to post this photo. This helped the public in fully understand the horror of this event. It also showed the public, how in times of disaster people come together. This random man used himself as a shield for this women. This gave the public hope through this tragedy.
Conclusion:
Las Vegas was a horrific event that was widely covered by the media. Videos and photos were published directly after this event. Journalists were on a time crunch to quickly release accurate stories. Thus, they have to make fast, effective and efficient decisions. As a journalist you are required to consider these questions when deciding if it is ethical and appropriate to post graphic photos. It is important that we discuss these issues and continue to ask these questions, to protect the public. News outlets want to share information with the public and keep them informed. However, there is a fine line on determining what pictures/information they should use because they don’t want to cause more harm.
References:
1.) Foreman, G. (2016). The Ethical Journalist: Making Responsible Decisions in the Digital Age. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
2.) Haravuori, H., Suomalainen, L., Berg, N., Kiviruusu, O., & Marttunen, M. (2011, January 25). Effects of media exposure on adolescents traumatized in a school shooting. Retrieved November 15, 2017, from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jts.20605/full
3.) SPJ Code of Ethics. (2014, September 6). Retrieved from https://www.spj.org/ethicscode.asp