Media hit for blow-by-blow coverage of hostage drama*
In an analysis of the drama that has shocked the world, academicians and a journalists’ group on Tuesday agreed that the broadcast of sensitive incidents provoked Rolando Mendoza into shooting his mostly Chinese hostages.
“I think the airing of the arrest of the brother was careless because they didn’t know what it can trigger to the hostage-taker. Terrible,” UP Journalism Prof. Luis Teodoro said in an interview.
Police had supposedly requested TV networks not to air sensitive portions of the negotiations and police operations because Mendoza was monitoring the live coverage on the bus TV.
Teodoro observed that the media broke standard protocol when they aired sensitive footage of the stand-off, forgetting that these would reach the hostage-taker who was not in his right frame of mind.
“You assume that anything can trigger violence on the part of the hostage- taker. So I think the media forgot about that protocol. The main thing there is not to make things worse,” he said.
Burgos, Inquirer correspondent in Iloilo, acknowledged that the media violated rules and procedures in the coverage of a crisis situation like Monday’s hostage drama.
He said the blow-by-blow coverage not only “telegraphed” the actions of the Special Weapons and Tactics assault team, but triggered the rampage of the hostage-taker.
“The footage of his brother being restrained and handcuffed, that really triggered the rampage. There were calls not to cover this. But the TV and radio networks were trying to outdo each other to get a scoop,” Burgos said by phone. “It’s lamentable that in a life-and-death situation, many of our colleagues were going for a scoop to be on top of the ratings game.”
“In this particular case, the fact that the (eight) hostages were killed, that’s really horrible for the Philippines. We’re being blackballed by Hong Kong, and I’m sure other countries will follow. They will tell their citizens not to come to the Philippines. That’s one of the impact of what happened. And it’s possible to argue that the media contributed to that.”
Even without a request from the police not to air sensitive portions of the stand-off and police operation, Burgos said it was prudent for the media to have acted with self-restraint.
If the reporters crossed the line in their reportage, Teodoro said their news managers should have quickly called their attention with the warning: “Back off.”
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WHO THE FCK CARES ABOUT YOUR RATINGS ANYWAY? JUST YOU AND YOUR COMPETITORS, RIGHT?
*some parts have been removed.
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