Monday, April 20, 2015
People who tuned into CBS’s
60 Minutes on Sunday night watched “the most disturbing footage in its 47-year history,”
according to the network.
The footage was part of a segment presented by
Scott Pelley, the anchor and managing editor of
CBS Evening News. The segment focused on a 2013 sarin gas attack near the Syrian city of Damascus. The U.S. estimates that the attack killed an estimated 1,429 civilians. About a third of the deaths were children, according to CBS.
I often highlight journalism missteps on this blog, but – in this case – I’d like to applaud CBS for explaining why it decided to show such graphic footage, which included images of seizures, vomiting and respiratory failure.
“We just wanted to stop and show it to the world so that people can understand the hideousness of this weapon,” Pelley says
in an article explaining the decision to air the footage.
While it’s not an often cited principle, the
Society’s Code of Ethics says ethical journalists should “explain ethical choices and processes to audiences. Encourage a civil dialogue with the public about journalistic practices, coverage and news content.”
In fact, the Code elevates the idea under the tenet of “be accountable and transparent,” which explains that “ethical journalism means taking responsibility for one’s work and explaining one’s decisions to the public.”
By explaining its choice to the public, CBS shows that it put thought into what viewers would be exposed to during the broadcast.
The Poynter Institute‘s
Al Tompkins has a detailed explanation of CBS’s decision here:
http://bit.ly/1Ixjf8N