PressEthic

The Chicago Independent Media Center recently published the last words and mission statement of a man who burned himself alive to make a political statement about peace. In an age where war and protest are becoming more and more prevalent, how should such politically-charged subjects be tackled by journalists?

Here's how Chicago Indymedia did it:

Last Friday, a man approached the "Millenium Flame" sculpture on the Kennedy Expressway near the Ohio Exit, and set himself aflame, leaving a not stating: "Thou Shalt Not Kill." The local media just wrote this off as another unfortunate case of mental illness.

I found no such news outlet that "wrote this off as another unfortunate case of mental illness." In fact, the Chicago Sun-Times wrote:

One admirer of Ritscher sent me an e-mail with the Subject Header: "It was Martrydom, Not Mental Illness."

The Chicago Indymedia certainly made a political statement and took a stance on the incident by overtly saying:

But it wasn't mental illness. It was an anti-war protest. Malachi Ritscher was a martyr for peace. Here is his testament:

Not to say that Chicago Indymedia purports to be objective, but is this part of the job description of an objective journalist? I definitely believe that the Chicago Indymedia agrees with Ritscher's political beliefs and had an agenda in writing this story and publishing the entire mission statement. Their politically-charged and angry language certainly lends itself to Ritscher's cause.

In my own biased opinion, I think that Ritscher's political statement should have been pushed by the media. That is exactly why he killed himself:

Many people will think that I should not be able to choose the time and manner of my own death. My position is that I only get one death, I want it to be a good one.

However, I am stuck in this middle place between the Chicago Indymedia's harsh tone and political bias and the overall lack of coverage of this story in the mainstream. I believe Ritscher's story should have been heard because it was newsworthy, and no one can deny that. It was a chance for media to show how real people feel about war without putting out its own opinions. This was a very valuable opportunity, and not many news outlets picked up on it.