Brokaw Discovers 'Privacy'
Back to the Media's Behavior Page
NewsMax.com
Saturday, Oct. 13, 2001 2:21 p.m. EDT
When is the news not newsworthy?
When it happens to a member of the news media.
On Friday, NBC News announced that a member of its staff had been infected with anthrax.
In its anouncement on its website, msnbc.com, the victim is identified only as "a 38-year-old woman."
NBC News President Andrew Lack and NBC Evening News Anchor Tom Brokaw both declined to name the woman, citing "concern for her privacy."
Aren't these members of the same media that publish names, addresses, ages, and pictures of victims and suspects?
Don't the same media personalities shove a microphone into the faces of grieving family members to get their reactions to tragedies? Haven't we all seen videos of grieving families leaving funerals on NBC Nightly News? It seems that this "concern for privacy" only extends to other members of the media.
Perhaps NBC is right.
Perhaps the victim's name should be withheld to respect her privacy. Let's hope that the media learn to extend this respect for privacy to those outside its own group.
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