Crossing the Line? Media and The Public's Right to Know

Mudville Gazette ^ | April 9, 2005 | Greyhawk

[yoe]

For those who might as yet be unaware, a CBS cameraman has been wounded and captured by US forces in Iraq, and is suspected of working for the "insurgency."

CBS:

In a statement released Friday, CBS News said the man had worked as a freelancer for CBS for three months and that he was videotaping for the network when he was shot.
Televised reports indicated the suspect's camera contained at least four different videos of roadside bombings.

Robin Burk:

It’s beginning to look as if that means that the news networks may in fact not just be reporting the news but are also aligning themselves with one side in an armed conflict. And in this case, that side appears to be the side that is blowing up schools and shops, killing Iraqi police and attacking U.S. soldiers. I'd go a step further. It seems likely that CBS and perhaps other organizations are paying those with close access to terrorists in Iraq to obtain video of terrorist activities. (Those who are squeamish on such issues, by all means substitute "insurgents" for "terrorist" throughout this post.) In CBS-speak: "It is common practice in Iraq for Western news organizations to hire local cameramen in places considered too dangerous for Westerners to work effectively. The very nature of their work often puts them in the middle of very volatile situations". With that in mind, I re-pose several questions from Mudville's recent post on the Pulitzer Prize-winning AP photographs - an eerily similar story. Let's substitute 'CBS' for 'AP', and 'video' for 'photos':

How much would exclusive photos of "insurgents" beheading an aid worker be worth to the AP?

How about a series where the "insurgents" plant a roadside bomb, wait for an American food convoy, and detonate it? Maybe with an ensuing gun battle as bonus. How much for photos of that?

Everything has a price, as they say. Would pictures like the ones I've described be worth more or less than those of Muslims killing Muslims?

How about a planned "demonstration" at a polling place on election day in Baghdad? If that same photographer was invited by the same group to a "demonstration" there, how much would he "earn" for his pictures?

The media defense of their actions generally takes some form of the argument that the public has a right to know all sides of the story. Here at Mudville we couldn't agree more with that sentiment. We don't shy away from covering all aspects of the War on Terror. With that in mind, we believe the public has the right to know:

How much does CBS pay it's cameraman? Do they pay a set salary or per video provided? Or only if the video is usable by CBS?

Were any American soldiers or Iraqi citizens hurt or killed in any of the attacks videotaped by CBS' cameraman?

Does he in turn pay the terrorists - or is he simply one of them? If so, how do the surviving family members feel about CBS funding the attacks on their sons, daughters, husbands, or wives?

If not, how do the surviving family members feel about CBS paying for video of attacks on their sons, daughters, husbands, or wives?

How do CBS' advertisers feel about their money supporting this effort?

Let's hope we get some answers.

[mdittmar]

Bump!

[duck duck goose]

HUGE CAN OF WORMS... Anyone have a pole?? This make take a while.

[Jack Deth]

G.I. Joe: "Well, you see, Sarge. I saw someone hangin' with a bunch o' Bad Guys. Look like he had some sorta Laser Designator on his shoulder. So I shot 'im"

Sarge: "That "Laser Designator" was a television camera. And you only wounded 'im, Private."

G.I. Joe: "Dang. He musta moved...My bad!"

Jack.