PressEthic

No one can deny what a horrible man Saddam Hussein is. His heinous acts against humanity have destroyed thousands of lives, and he deserves the punishment he most likely will receive. Nonetheless, he is still a man on trial, and many news outlets disregard this when they cover court proceedings. Rather than focusing on the moving testimonies atrocities by the witnesses, much coverage has been devoted to Hussein's outrageous behavior. Take for example this article in the Guardian,

When Judge Amin, who won praise for his handling of a truculent Saddam during the opening session, said he would he tell the guards not to let it happen again, Saddam rebuked him. "You do not tell them. You order them. You are an Iraqi, they are conquerors and occupiers," he said.

While these tidbits of Saddam's actions in court are interesting, it takes away from the important issues at stake. Why don't we here more about the eye-witness accounts given in court by the families of those families that were tortured to death? We owe them the acknowledgment that their loved ones deaths are not in vain.

In the end, shouldn't the world have a record of this former dictator's savage reign to prevent it from happening again? Or should we pass on this "tabloidish" disservice?