PressEthic

This week the Australian Federal government refused to restrict fast food advertising to children. Meanwhile in California Government Schwarzenegger bans the sale of junk food in schools.

In New Zealand limits on broadcast political campaign budgets are done to give all parties a ‘fair opportunity convey their policies to the public.’ However these limits are only ostensibly fair and could provide opportunities for private individuals to outspend political parties on broadcast advertising.

Although this may be the prevalent adage in mainstream media today, does this mean it should continue? The commercial imperative of news organizations is shaping the news, at the expense of the audience and victims of tragedy.

The use of photographs of dead people in the news media cannot be justified. Such photographs add very little to how an audience understands the facts of the story, and only serve to heighten the suffering of the family and friends of the subject.