In a previous post, a 202er raised the issue of still images being posted of a girl abused in an explicit video. The victim has been found and is safe. Here's a link to the developing story. I remain interested in your thoughts on the decision by AP, CNN and other news organizations to show the girl's picture to aid in locating her.
Friday, September 28, 2007
Update on tape story
Posted by Katy Culver at 8:02 PM
Labels: AP, media ethics, milwaukee journal sentinel
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4 comments:
If it were my kid, I'd be more concerned about her safety than her vanity.
The child was found and photos are no longer being published, although they probably exist all over the web. Still, the fact that her picture was published led to her being found and a suspect being named.
Obviously, in this instance publishing the picture could do no harm. The girl was missing and needed to be found. The potential harm to this girl would be now, after she's returned to her family and will forever have captured on film this horrid memory. I'm sure the editors at AP battled for a long time over the ethics of their decision and probably came to the same conclusion; let's do everything possible to find this girl and bring her home safe; if we can do that, then let's worry about consequences.
I agree that publishing this image needed to be done so that people knew who to look for. I think it would be unethical to continue using footage from the tape now that she is found.
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