In sex video case, journalists truthfully left the truth behin

By uppercaise

By going along with “Datuk T” and his controlled screening of CCTV video of an unidentified man and woman having sex, Malaysia’s media houses have allowed themselves to be manipulated, to become part of political theatre, and to discard the essential element of journalism: to discover and report the truth.

They reported truthfully what they saw, what they heard, and what they did. But what was the meaning of what they saw, heard or did? Was anything they saw or heard believable?

What was the truth? The media had become accessories to blackmail.

The reporting of Monday’s video drama left the public with no means to evaluate what was reported. The media were merely the vehicle for delivering Datuk T’s weapon: he is using public exposure of a public figure to secure the departure of that public figure and his wife from political office.

And he was using the basic honesty of Malaysian journalists to deliver a half-story based on half-baked journalism. Malaysian journalists have become accustomed to doing that as a routine, no thanks to dishonest politicians, public servants and policemen.

If the fundamental principle of journalism is to report the truth, it is not enough to say truthfully “this is what happened, this is what we saw, this is what they said”, then throw it into the reader’s lap, lean back and say “we’ve done our job, now you decide”.

It is dishonest, because it is only half the truth. In a completely-controlled situation, totally dependent on what was told to them, with no questions entertained and no other information provided, there was nothing else they could report. Exactly what “Datuk T” wanted.

Read more at: http://uppercaise.wordpress.com/2011/03/22/sex-video-and-half-truth-journalism/