Behavior Most Often Learned In Packs

Michael Hedges December 11, 2015 - Follow on Twitter

Journalism just isn’t what it once was, except it really is. Voyeurism masquerades as public interest and the public is both drawn in and revolted. The accepted model is now staged and titillating. It’s been learned over decades.

Nearly a year and a half ago, at the crash site of Malaysia Airlines flight 17 in eastern Ukraine, UK news channel Sky News reporter Colin Brazier was live on the scene. The story was horrific; Russian sympathizers, allegedly, shot down the Boeing 777 ending the lives of 298 persons. The scene on ground, as he reported, was strewn with all that remained.

In the 90 second report he could be seen picking through the victims personal effects. “We shouldn’t really be doing this, I suppose,” he said during the live shot. Both he and his employer swiftly issued profuse apologies.

“Good journalism takes many things and the empathy I hope they have wrought in me is one of them,” said Mr. Brazier, an award-winning journalist with considerable experience covering tragic events. “But so is understanding the boundaries of decency and taste. And from time to time, we screw up.”

Viewer complaints took the story to UK media regulator Ofcom, challenged to review offensive television behavior. Two months later the matter was closed with a smack on the hands rather than an official censure. "News crews reporting from the crash site found themselves reporting from an unusual and emotionally charged situation,” said Ofcom’s statement. "The editorial decisions taken by reporters were particularly challenging, especially when made in the context of a live report broadcast on a rolling news channel.” Ofcom received 205 complaints about Mr. Brazier’s Sky News report, a fraction of those brought on by antics on reality TV show Big Brother.

Fast forward to last Friday. Reporters and TV news crews assembled at the apartment of the deceased San Bernadino, California, attackers poured through the front door, reportedly with the owner’s permission, and began rifling through personal belongings, absolutely live. Law enforcement officers had removed items of interest to their investigations leaving the apartment fair game for the feral beasts. “American television experienced its nadir in San Bernardino,” wrote German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) (December 6) commenting on the event.

Crews from the major US news channels were "a-pushing and a-shoving,” said MSNBC’s Kerry Sanders, on the scene and competing for the best shots of baby toys and kitchen utensils. Reporters traveling in packs, barking in self-illumination, can be vicious. Yes, but, it was for context, said each and every apology coming hours later from news executives. Shoot first, apologize later.

“Although MSNBC was not the first crew to enter the home, we did have the first live shots from inside,” said a spokesperson adroit with self-promotion, quoted by Hollywood Reporter (December 4). “We regret that we briefly showed images of photographs and identification cards that should not have been aired without review.”

Responding to the flurry of criticism, however brief, the TV networks - CNN and CBS included - shrugged, saying the cops had left, the owner let them in and everybody else was doing it. UK public broadcaster BBC, also rolling live, excused itself, arguing the value of context. “We felt it was an appropriate and relevant part of understanding who the killers ere and the changing nature of Islamic attacks their domestic arrangement may reflect,” said its statement. Al Jazeera America had a crew on the scene but did not broadcast live. The Fox News crew was late showing up.

Lest anybody believe the incident was solely a television event, several newspapers - including the New York Times and LA Times - had reporters and photographers inside the apartment. Social media opened up its reliably wide black hole, reporters inside the apartment and anywhere else offering a torrent of descriptive bits impossible for viewers and readers, not to forget editors, to digest. Taking international irony to the limit, Sunday Times of London reporter Tony Harnden happily reported using a crowbar to pry open the front door.

“If there was any reason to invade the apartment,” wrote Poynter Institute’s Al Tompkins (December 5), “then reporters could have at least organized a press pool to keep the disturbance to a minimum. The alternative was a pack of journalists pawing through personal possessions and looking inside closets and bathrooms live on TV. Furthermore, nobody should have entered until police made it clear that the scene no longer holds evidence and that the landlord had the legal authority to grant such access.”

“Such is the height of the journalists’ misdeeds that they’re sparking concerns for the privacy of the shooters by invading their home and turning a horrific story into a circus,” he concluded.

See also in ftm Knowledge

Television News - Bright Lights, Big Coverage

The global reach of television news has never been greater. The digital age has expanded that reach to satellite channels and the Web but it has also forced television news to mature. This ftm Knowledge file shows the gains and the pains. 99 pages PDF (October 2013)

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