In late January, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder announced that prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty for Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. As people far removed from the tragedy debate over computer screens about the punishment he should receive, the media continues to report on Tsarnaev’s trial and potential sentence. Likewise, the death of Philip Seymour Hoffman has inspired articles and debates over the exact nature of his passing. The media has selfishly invaded his grieving family’s space during a time of mourning.
These are not isolated reports. With each new mass murder, celebrity death or high-profile suicide, the media sensationalizes brutality and invades the privacy of the bereaved. Months after the bombing, journalists excitedly ask, “Is he getting the death sentence? A life sentence with no hope of parole?” With celebrity deaths and suicides, the media scrambles to learn about all the events leading up to the time of death and psychoanalyzes everything that could have gone wrong. For example, Hoffman’s friend David Bar Katz told CNN last week that the media sensationalized accounts of the events that occurred before his overdose.
People should consider the family members and the lives that were forever changed. The media should be respectful of their space and sensitive to their trauma.
Human nature is prone to morbid curiosity, a selfish act that values the observer’s entertainment over victims’ and families’ pain. Despite the industry’s good intentions, news outlets are still businesses with one ultimate purpose — to make a profit. And the easiest, basest way to make a profit when something like the Boston bombing happens or when a high-profile person (or family member) dies is to sensationalize the tragedy. The murderer’s name and photo are plastered on every screen, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Front pages show sobbing, helpless loved ones asking, “How could this happen?”
So it goes until national attention drifts elsewhere. Facts, predictions and analyses are repeated far past any purpose that they may serve. While the people involved are shocked and traumatized, reporters hound them, asking for this interview and that photo so that their grief can be displayed for all to see.
This is not the way to handle a tragedy. Pandering is easy, but the news media needs to rise above such behavior and consider the lives of those involved. Some reporters, like Anderson Cooper, have realized this and have pledged to do so. After the shooting in Aurora, Colo., Cooper tweeted, “We’ll tell all we know of suspect, but I’ll try not to use his name much. History should remember those who died, not their killer.”
More media outlets should follow Cooper’s lead by instituting rules limiting the exposure of the killer’s identity. Likewise, journalists should respect the families of celebrities who have died or committed suicide and acknowledge the intrusiveness of their inquiries. The Society of Professional Journalists has an ethics code that deals with how to act in these situations, and people should take greater care in following these guidelines.
Yet suggestions and guidelines for individual newscasters or media outlets are not enough. One responsible voice cannot overcome 100 irresponsible shouts. Law enforcement agencies should not release the killer’s identification unless he or she is at large and should only release facts that are pertinent to public knowledge as decided by the officials dealing with the case. Likewise, reporting on a killer should not go on indefinitely and should cease once he or she is safely in custody.
The nation does not need to be reminded of Tsarnaev’s heinous act months later, so that uninvolved parties can gossip and debate about his sentence. When a celebrity dies, the focus should be on remembering his or her life and respecting the deceased’s family, especially when that death is a suicide. When a celebrity’s family member or friend has committed suicide, reporters should be even more respectful about privacy, since their lives were not lived on the public stage. Give priority to the victims and their families, and handle these stories in a way that respects them. As Cooper wisely and kindly said, theirs are the names that we should remember.
