Quake reporting raises concerns of media ethics
Updated: 2008-06-11 17:19
"I was furious when I saw the report on TV," says Ma Jianan, who works at an advertising company in Beijing. "The reporter was so insensitive to Jiang's feelings and had little professional ethics."
Later, Jiang was interviewed several more times on television.
Ma says he could not continue watching. "How can these TV stations torture her again and again by making her recount her story so many times?
"Journalists should not ignore the feelings of their subjects just to make a good report."
His thoughts are echoed in hundreds of posts on the Internet. "The media are inhumane. I strongly condemn those terrible reporters who have hurt Jiang Min again and again with their stupid questions!" one post reads.
Television and radio stations, newspapers and magazines sent hundreds of reporters to Sichuan within hours of the earthquake. They filed stories from the front lines of the rescue and relief effort in Sichuan. Television stations broadcast live news programs of rescue work and newspaper and magazines published special copies reporting on the earthquake.
Images of shattered homes, tales of strong-willed survivors and footage of People's Liberation Army soldiers working day and night to rescue survivors have kept the nation abreast of the relief work.
"I have not shed so many tears for a long time," said one post on the Internet in reply to a series of photos from the quake zone.
However, some reporters failed to meet the expectations of their audiences, who were concerned with the progress of relief work.
Xu Na, a reporter with the CCTV, was branded by Chinese Internet users "a deserter" and "unprofessional" after she filed a report from a hotel room in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan, rather than live from the worst-hit city of Dujiangyan, 60 kilometers from Chengdu, where a high school had collapsed, burying more than 300 students and teachers.
Coverage of rescue efforts and the survivors is generally acceptable as long as it does not impede the rescue process or safety, says Prof. Tom Brislin, who teaches media ethics at the University of Hawaii.
"Survivors shouldn't be required to have to recount their stories over and over simply because various media outlets are competitive or want exclusive interviews," Brislin says.
He points out that it is common for US media to "pool" coverage of survivors so they can tell their story only once, and then get on with their lives.
Journalism schools in China do not offer complete courses on journalistic ethics, says Prof. Chen Lidan, of the Renmin University School of Journalism.
He says ethics is touched on in journalism theory courses. "It mainly talks about not fabricating news or not violating laws and regulations."
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