UPDATED! New blog appended below!
Journalists are tasked to report news daily; to deliver news, to inform and to entertain. But what comes out of the newsroom, particularly television, is a rush of who will do this and that. With this kind of environment, always running and hurrying, someone along the way will make a mistake –professionally or ethically –but we [journalists] should always keep in mind that we are supplying information to millions of people and that we need not make mistakes.
Journalists are tasked to report news daily; to deliver news, to inform and to entertain. But what comes out of the newsroom, particularly television, is a rush of who will do this and that. With this kind of environment, always running and hurrying, someone along the way will make a mistake –professionally or ethically –but we [journalists] should always keep in mind that we are supplying information to millions of people and that we need not make mistakes.
I was browsing on YouTube when I came across the ABS-CBN TV Patrol
News published last August 18, 2014 entitled ‘The family of the latest rape victim calls for
justice. A woman in Calumpit, Bulacan was raped then killed’. I thought it was
a simple rape case, and then I found out that yes it was a simple rape case
with an ethical lapse of reporting.
TV Patrol News is aired from 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm when many watchers
are having dinner. And by merely describing how the rape was done, it can
invoke a loss of appetite. Reporter Doland Castro specifically described, “…halinhinang hinalay ng higit sa dalawang
lalaki ang biktima bago tuluyang sinaksak ng screw driver at tinalian pa ang
leeg ng kadena…”
It is always important to present accurate reporting at the same
time upholding truth telling and providing the right basic information. However,
when sensationalism is involve by adding unnecessary details in order to boost
ratings or appeal to the emotion of the people, you become guilty of violating
the journalist’s code of ethics. Whereupon,
“I shall scrupulously report and
interpret the news, taking care not to suppress essential facts nor to distort
the truth by omission or improper emphasis. I recognize the duty to air
the other side and the duty to correct substantive errors promptly.”
In order to avoid
such mistakes, we should always check and recheck news stories, taking care to
omit unnecessary details that will only appeal to the emotion of the people.
When reporting a rape case it is enough to state the who, what, where, when,
why and a little of how. Since rape cases sometimes result to more traumas to
the victims when repeated descriptively, we must refrain from doing so.
2012-69361 (1)
Rape cases are very sensitive subjects to air. So please practice sensitivity. Again, morbidity is relative.
Morbid
Representation of a Rape-Slay Case by ABS CBN
On August 18,
2014, ABS CBN covered a rape-slay case at Calumpit, Bulacan. The images and
descriptions shown in the aired report were the ones that caught my attention.
At first, they
showed pictures of the victim that they got from Facebook. Naturally, I assumed
that the next pictures are the same but I was wrong. They showed the actual
picture of the girl in the actual crime scene without even blurring the
content. She was faced down and her head was submerged in the water. This already
violated Article 24. Sec. 3 (Violence
shall not be encouraged and horror shall be minimized. Morbid and gory details are prohibited.) of the KBP broadcast
code. Yes morbid is relative to people but I did consider that particular
picture as very morbid and a very wrong representation of the victim.
Second,
with the same violation, the way Doland Castro relayed the crime to the public.
Doland:
At dito nga po sa Baranggay Sapangbayan, halinhinang hinalay ng mahigit sa dalawang lalaki ang biktima bago tuluyang
sinaksak gamit and screwdriver at tinalian pa ang leeg ng kadena.
Rape cases are very sensitive subjects to air. So please practice sensitivity. Again, morbidity is relative.
2012-69318
(1)
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