As you all know, and for God's sake I hope you all do know, that Muammar Gaddafi was killed October 20, 2011. He was killed by revolutionaries. Libya is now free from a horrendous dictatorship of nearly 40 years. Libya now says they are going to run their country according to the religion of Islam. When I saw the news I was happy and relieved that now Libya could finally be free from the reigns of a man who almost replicated the Holocaust. Kare 11's news anchorwoman began to talk about how they were not going to show photographs of his dead beaten bloodied body. Then they let the question rest on us, the viewers: Do you want to see photographs or video of Gaddafi's body? My first reaction was "You've got to be fucking kidding me? Are they serious?" I was appalled and disgusted that any broadcast news would show photographs or footage of his death. Kare 11 then took a poll on Facebook and people replied back things such as, "Yes I want to see the body!" or "I need proof!" or "You can't believe what you see or read in the news." The last quote disturbs me the most because as viewers we should be able to believe what we see and read in the news. The news should be reporting strictly facts. But to see the horrific photos of Gaddafi's body? Seriously people? Why do we need proof of that? Why can't we believe what the news says or writes?
This is the problem with journalism these days: believability. How do we know what journalists are reporting is true? I have the answer to that folks, do your research. Research as many newspapers or online websites as you can to get the facts. That is what we are after, correct? If the news said Gaddafi is dead then we should believe them. Their job is tell us the facts and news...things we believe are important and newsworthy to us. The problem with people today is that they don't do their research on things. We think that just because one news cast or newspaper said one thing that we should believe them. As I said, do your research. Find the cold hard facts.
As for seeing the photos and video of Gaddafi's dead body I don't care to see it. NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams released the photos on their broadcast and I shook my head in disbelief. When other people are shot and killed do we show photos of their body? No, we don't because it is out of RESPECT for their family. And before you go off on me about respect in regards to Gaddafi, he deserves no respect but to publicly post pictures of him bloodied and shot in the face is unnecessary. What is it justifying to us? That we can see the bastard dead and laugh about it with friends? I think any reasonable person would be disgusted by it. Imagine reading the newspaper in a coffee shop with Gaddafi's beaten and shot ridden head on the front page. How do you think other people around you would feel seeing that? What about children?
To solve this problem of people not believing the press I think that the press should: address issues that are newsworthy to the people and be as honest, truthful, and factworthy as possible. Writing celebrity news and broadcasting it is not newsworthy. Coughcough That's you Kare 11 (Hey Kare 11, no one gives a shit if Kim Kardashian is getting divorced. Mkay?!) Is it interesting? Yes to some people but for the most part we want news that will be affecting us and other people around us.
So here is my question to readers: Do you need to see photos or footage of Gaddafi's body? Why?
I say no I do not want to have footage or see photos of him dead. You could post a portrait of him from when he was alive for us visual people, but I don't want to see someone who's actually dead. I don't want or need that visual in my mind. Why would someone really want to see that? If their reasoning was for clarification, then I agree with you Red, they should research it then to make sure it's accurate. If that someone is too lazy to research, then obviously, they don't care enough about the topic to spend an extra 5-10 minutes tops. What does it matter then.
ReplyDeleteAlso, just to get my two cents across, I feel that our media has a huge disconnect between what is truly important news and what's not. The whole Kim Kardashian getting divorced example, who really cares. If I get divorced, am I going to be on national news? I don't think so, why should her? It doesn't affect our country or anything, I mean she's not Obama or Spanish Prince Felipe. It doesn't affect us locally, nationally, or internationally. That irritates me, and I wanted to vent. But basically, I agree with you and what you say.
One of the biggest things about the news I can't stand is how they let their opinions get in the way of their job of informing the people. It's all to political. I agree that the news should be based on facts but people in some way, especially those in power, are going to twist those facts in their favor. This is disrespect for the audience with which they inform. That same disrespect they showed when they showed photographs of Gaddafi's body. It's so sad how people have lost their humanity towards others.
ReplyDeleteSo, no, I don't want to see his body, what would I gain from it besides another nightmarish image of death in my head.
Susan and Chandra you both provide compelling arguments. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteChandra, I understand your frustration with how journalists get their opinions in the way of the facts. This is so true today. I must agree with you BUT as a writer, I want to state my opinion as well which is why I started this blog. The reason why people feel that they must state their opinion is the Two Cent Rule. The Two Cent Rule is a rule based on that everyone must get their two cents. Why? Because we feel that what we are saying is valid and important. Many people such as Bill Gates or President Obama have it easy to get their two cents in. They are huge icons and can pay someone for prime time spots on tv. As for us, the people, we are forced to start blogs and post videos. That is OUR way of getting our two cents in. Journalists should just strictly state the facts when writing for a newspaper, magazines, or scholarly article, but when it comes to anything else I feel that they have every right to express their opinion....and that's just my two cents. ;)
Journalists are people who have inherent values and beliefs that will color their reporting. Journalism does not occur in a vacuum. The act of deciding which facts to report can lead to some bias. The facts that a journalist reports will reflect what they believe the reader/viewer should know and is based on their values and beliefs. So although reporters/journalists should be as unbiased as possible, it is up to the reader/viewer to reflect on who is presenting the information and what his or her bias may be. :)
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