The ethics of images : media coverage of the Reina Nightclub, westminster and nice terror attacks

Abstract

In recent years, terrorist attacks have become more widespread and spectacular. Thus, traditional news media must find a balance between ethics and the truth to better inform and protect the public from the harm that both sensationalist media coverage and terrorism might cause. But in reporting the destructive effects of terrorism, journalists should be careful not to appeal to emotions and not to present terrorists as heroes. This research shows that it is possible for the media to use codes of ethics to report the truth in the coverage of terror acts. It studies the coverage of three sensational terror attacks, the Reina nightclub in Istanbul, the Westminster in London, and the Promenade des Anglais attack in Nice, France, and shows how television networks in Lebanon, the U.K. and France utilized, or failed to utilize codes of ethics in their coverages. Six schools of thoughts were used to analyze the coverage of the networks. Aristotle's Golden Mean proved to be the most adequate to guide a responsible and accurate coverage of terror attacks. The research was conducted qualitatively. Two foreign and four local journalists participated in a focus group session. Then, in-depth interviews were conducted with the minister of information, three editors-in chief, one correspondent and a lawyer. Analysis of the discussions showed differences in the coverages of terror attacks under study. Lebanese media lack serious codes of ethics and media practice should be monitored by officials to guarantee that values and ethics are respected and applied. United Kingdom media, proved to be more committed to codes of ethics. French media institutions practice according to charters and codes of ethics, but when they break the rules, they are sanctioned.