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THE PENDULUM
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Opinion
Consequences of interference
Questioning the heart ofjoui^cf^™
Marlena Chertock
Columnist
A journalist covering a story about
an insane asylum witnesses a male
patient escape. Should he stop him?
A fundamental rule of journalism
prohibits interference.
journalists are taught to keep a
separation from sources, to not befriend
them or become emotionally attached to
those they cover.
This constitutes
a conflict of
interest. Physically
intervening in a
story is also strictly
off-limits.
When Anderson
Cooper came to
visit Elon last
year, no one could
predict he would be
traveling to Haiti
in 2010 to cover a
devastating earthquake, reporting in the
throes of looting and dangerous riots.
During a video shooting for CNN on
Jan. 18, a looting began in the streets,
and one boy was hit by a concrete block
and thrown off the roof. Cooper dropped
his video camera and rushed to pull the
boy away from the chaos. Away from the
looting and violence, Cooper and medical
personnel laid the boy down to stop the
blood flow.
Response to Cooper’s act has been
mixed. Some call his actions heroic,
while others claim he disregarded
journalistic principles.
David Douglas, Elon alumnus (’05)
and television reporter in Wisconsin,
cites the number one rule in television
reporting: “You (the reporter) are not the
story.” , „ .
In 1993, photojournalist Kevin Carter
snapped a photograph of a severely
malnourished child in Sudan crawling
to a nearby UN food camp. A vulture
was watching nearby, waiting to eat him.
After the photograph was taken. Carter
moved on quickly to cover other stories
and pictures in Sudan.
The picture won the Pulitzer Prize
in 1994, and Carter committed suicide
soon after winning the award. Carter
had done a journalist’s job. He had not
interfered in the story, perhaps to the
Sudanese boy’s demise. It is not known
what became of the boy.
Journalists are human, even though
they are constantly held accountable
for remaining objective and free of
bias. Cooper’s sense of justice and
morality came into play in his situation.
There comes a point in any job when a
person’s humanity is called upon. If it is
for the good and well-being of another
person, an action should not not be
reprimanded.
But, there is a fine line between
altruism and acting to get higher ratings.
Michael Skube, Elon Communications
professor, said, "My impression is that
CNN’s Haiti coverage as a whole, even
with Wolf Blitzer, has gone a little
overboard in (the emotional aspect).”
Skube does not think that Cooper was
in the wrong for wanting to help the hurt
child. In fact, he expressed sympathies.
“But, for God’s sake, do it off the air,”
Skube said. “When it’s part of the on-air
coverage, the subject becomes Cooper s
compassion more than the child s
misfortune. AC360 bears witness. This is
transparently disingenuous.
Television is first about ratings and
second about journalism, Skube said.
“Cooper gets good ratings, and that
is something CNN sorely needs these
days. He gets them, in part, because
he conveys the image of the on-air
counselor at large,” he said.
But insincerity in the name of ratings
poses an incredible threat to the craft of
broadcast journalism. It is the story that
should provide the emotional pull, and
news of the earthquake involves enough
emotional quality on its own without the
distracting qualities of Cooper’s heroic
actions.
Communications professor janna
Anderson describes Anderson Cooper
as an international humanitarian first
and a journalist second. Anderson
encourages students to observe and
report “unless there are lives in the
balance,” she said. “Journalists should
not step in when others who are more
capable can do the job of saving lives
and making that difference.”
In the case of human rights and
extreme situations such as Cooper’s,
these essential journalistic rules can be
broken a bit. The focus of a piece should
never be solely on ratings, but if it is
the case of saving a life or remaining
objectively behind the camera, saving
others trumps one’s journalistic
obligations.
Individual choices aid to halt sexual violence on campus
Every September, freshman college
students begin to discover the personal
decision-making processes involved with
their social lives. But when issues arise
within those areas, the consequences
can be dire. Conflicts between the
aforementioned aspects often result in
sexual violence cases.
Smith Jackson’s recent e-mail
pertaining to the young woman
assaulted on College Avenue raises a
significant amount of alarm. While
walking in the darkness alone that
evening, she could have been abducted,
raped or worse. Though it is common
knowledge that this world is inhabited
by innocent and sinister characters
alike, it is devastating that private
campuses have become settings where
corrupt deeds take place.
There is a line between chance
encounters with strangers in remote
off-campus locations and the sexual
violence that occurs in the context of
social outings on campus. The latter
often occurs when alcohol is present and
in the possession of underaged drinkers.
In a study conducted in 2009 by the
Journal of American College Health
by four major universities, results
indicated 20 percent of undergraduate
women experience sexual assault in
college.
Most of the assaults occured after the
women has consumed alcohol and could
not give their consent.
Our generation — despite the
intrinsic value of messages sent
by American media and the lack of
alcohol education and tolerance within
American culture — has proven time
and time again that it can’t handle the
substance responsibly.
Though people who consume alcohol
in moderation are completely capable
of making decent decisions, there are
those who are not cognizant of what
moderation is. Situational evidence
continues to prove that alcohol
perpetuates the instance of danger
involved in basic human interaction.
With an increased sense of self-
control comes thorough, quality
decision-making, neither of which are
present in alcohol-saturated scenarios.
To attempt a solution to an issue,
primary dialogue must be facilitated
among those directly affected. It seems
the first steps towards resolution are
beginning to take form.
Sophomore Jonathan Conner is the
founder of the Facebook group ‘Sexual
Violence on College Campuses’ and
has this to say about his motivation
to engage the Elon community in
public dialogue about the subject: “I
feel as though this Facebook page was
necessary because it’s just like any
problem in the U.S. today — people
recognize it as a problem but do nothing
to help solve it."
Connor capitalized on the popularity
of Facebook to stimulate what he views
is much-needed conversation.
“1 felt as though sexual violence on
college campuses was a problem that
needed to be talked about... especially
within the community that it is
affecting (i.e. college students).”
Sophomore Sophie Marie Nielsen-
Kolding joined the group to include her
viewpoints on the topic.
“1 think that we need to do
something to change people’s opinions
about drunken sex being acceptable.
I think it’s an issue that people are
uncomfortable discussing, but it should
be discussed more on campus, not just
with the incoming freshmen."
Of decision-making while under the
influence, she added, “If you wouldn’t
do it if you were sober, don't do it when
you’re drunk.”
After posting a YouTube link of Asher
Roth’s “I Love College" music video,
Conner asked if students saw a cultural
link between the subject matter and
the images and lyrics presented. Even
on Elon’s campus, the debate about
pop culture fueling present-day social
concerns presses on. .
Elon provides multiple forums to
discuss sexual violence; the “Consent is
Sexy” campaign does much to enliven
Elon students to participate in the non
violent cause. Additionally, the Facebook
rapport that has begun is helping to
promote discussion. Still, individual
choices will greatly impact the way this
issue is handled by our generation in the
future.
http://www.elon.edu/pendulum/
After legen(jary terms
and remarkable
accomplishments made by
former Sen. Ted Kennedy,
Sen. Scott Brown has
huge shoes to fill.
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