Is naming killers really ethical justice or is it simply good investigative journalism?
Today’s ever-growing society focused on instantaneous information, relies on online news and journalism media to inform us of the happenings of the world including massacres and the killers behind them. Why are we as a society so enthralled with the world of killers? In a word, fame. A word that shouldn’t be synonymous with killer however our media has lulled us into an acceptance of this association. Ethical standards in media can be summed up into 5 core principles; truth and accuracy, independence, fairness and impartiality, humanity and accountability. The ethical principles need to be taken into account especially when reporting on massacres. On June 4th 2019, a 45-year-old man went a “shooting rampage” in the Australian city of Darwin killing 4 people and wounding a 5th. The SBS News report going on to identify the suspect of the shootings as Benjamin Hoffman, showing a shirtless photo of the suspect with a digitally blurred face (as so to hide his identity). The report also showing footage and audio of the suspect himself being detained by police and voice over by SBS reporter Hannah Sinclair describing Hoffman as “down, outgunned and arrested”. It could be argued that the use of the footage showing the suspect in a moment of weakness whilst being arrested is expertly implemented to convey his humanity to news consumers. Should we give an involuntary voice to killers and is it ethically just? It is “the nature of journalism and its duty to inform the public as completely as possible about events that affect it” (The Associated Press, 2007). In this sense, times of crisis such as this shooting spree in Darwin require a journalist to convey information accurately and truthfully to the public. Footage is then shown of eye witness accounts describing Hoffman on his shooting spree, portraying the very real emotional trauma of these events as the people as visibly shaken. Is it justice to be naming our killers and providing them fame or is it simply good investigate journalism? The SBS News report keeps to ethical standards of journalism by portraying the real and truthful information however it also provides unneeded media fame for Benjamin Hoffman by naming him.
Associated Press. (2007, December 17) Should media make mass killers ‘famous’? Retrieved from [http://www.nbcnews.com/id/22301897/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/t/should-media-make-mass-killers-famous/#.XPxsGqIza1h]
Besner, L. (2014, February 18). Which Criminals Get to Be Human?. Retrieved from [https://hazlitt.net/feature/which-criminals-get-be-human]
Ethical Journalism Network. (n.d.) Five Principals of Ethical Journalism. Retrieved from [https://ethicaljournalismnetwork.org/who-we-are/5-principles-of-journalism]
Published by Temarah Smith
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