Woodburn Independent Online

Haiti drama causes ethics debate

• By: Rachel Cavanaugh  
• Published: 1/22/2010 5:08:48 PM

Rachel Cavanaugh

The earthquake in Haiti, as with any tragedy that receives global attention, has prompted a number of ethical debates. One such has been the topic of news coverage in the region.
 
On National Public Radio the other day, people were calling in to complain how journalists were let into the disaster zone immediately, even before American Red Cross or other aid workers.
 
Although the question is valid, its tone miffed me a bit. It carried the familiar implication that journalists are somehow out only for blood, eager to jump at the first sign of disaster.
 
Over the last seven years that I’ve covered news, my patience for this sort of sentiment has worn a bit thin. In part, it is because I’ve known so many amazing journalists — truly goodhearted people trying to bring a valuable service to the world.
 
The comments were additionally off-putting because they insinuated, as they often do, that the job journalists do is trivial or unimportant.
 
The fact is, journalism is an indispensable part of civic society.
 
In today’s age, with information arriving six minutes after it occurs, it’s easy to take news for granted. But the truth is journalists work very hard to get reliable information.
 
Without journalists, there would be no effective way to sort out fact from fiction. Sure, news would still trickle home through grapevines or gossip mills, but it would be tainted with personal biases and lack of facts.
 
Just look at the Internet. What a great example of the jumbled and contradictory pile of information that amasses when there is no accountability in place.
 
Aside from accuracy, many people underestimate the scope of the journalists’ social contribution. News reporters and photographers play a vital role in things like exposing corruption, bringing home wars, calling people to political action, raising awareness, soliciting aid and keeping governments in balance.
 
Many risk their lives doing it.
 
The Vietnam War is a great example of the social impact journalists can have, with images like the famous Saigon execution or the girl in napalm credited largely with fueling the protest movement and ending the war sooner.
 
On a personal level, I’ve had countless experiences where I’ve written a story or taken a picture that has somehow prompted social action, giving or charity.
 
As for the common accusation that journalists are cold or uncaring, this too is a false stereotype. Most journalists don’t enjoy covering pain or heartache. None of us are ‘silently cheering’ when tragedies occur.
 
In the course of both my job and my personal life I can tell you I’ve seen death and tragedy up close multiple times, and it is the last thing I ever want to run toward.
 
Yet the fact of the matter is, our jobs sometimes call for it. Unfortunately, many important stories have inherent elements of human suffering. We can’t choose not to cover them based on personal emotion.
 
To avoid covering a situation because it’s painful to report is no better than avoiding the reading of a news story because it’s painful to look at. Some things demand our attention.
It seems at times journalists can’t win. When we jump quickly on a tragedy and expose it, we are labeled exploitative.
 
When we ignore it, we are accused of censorship or sanitizing reality.
 
There have been numerous times over my career I fought back tears behind the camera lens. Once, I watched a young couple kiss before a soldier was deployed to Iraq; another time, I watched a woman die on the road, the victim of a bicycle and semi-truck collision.
 
Although I maintained professionalism, I was nevertheless profoundly affected.
I know I am not alone in these experiences.
 
Although journalists are painted as cool and uncaring, the reality is most of us got into this career because of the opposite: that we care deeply. We care about other people and their stories interest and move us.
 
In the coming weeks, as images and stories continue to emerge from Haiti, let’s not be too quick to judge the journalists involved on the ground. Most of them are decent people like you and me, who are interested in the world and simply trying to make a living by engaging themselves in it.

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