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2007年03月06日
Media's Ethics
I saw O.J. Simpson's name somewhere online several days ago, and ended up doing a little research.
On Nov. 20, 2006, News Corporation cancelled the TV special and a book publication, which was scheduled on Nov. 30. This book "If I Did, Here's How It Happened" was authored by O.J. Simpson, an American former college and professional football player. It discusses how he would have carried out the 1994 murders of his wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman, if he had done it. This cancellation will bring a huge loss for Fox since it was the ratings period, when Nielsen closely watches the ratings and tabulates future and rates based on those numbers. If the TV special was aired, the company could expect curiosity to drive viewers to the program in huge numbers. The loss of the publisher, ReganBooks, will be great as well. The Simpson's book, "If I Did," had once ranked the top 20 of Amazon.com but by the time its cancellation was announced, it had fallen dramatically. This decision must have been hard for all financially involved.
The public reaction toward the project was negative. "Don't watch the show. Don't buy the book. Send a message loud and clear," Fred Goldman, Goldman's father, stated. Nicole Simpson's sister, Denise Brown, said, "It's unfortunate that Simpson has decided to reawaken a nightmare that we...worked so hard to move beyond..." She accused Simpson for not being respectful for survivors. She also showed her anger against the publisher, Judith Regan, and required her to take full accountability for abetting and promoting the wrongdoing of criminals. Harry Papas said on the Fox News Channel about News Corp. that "Principle was finally established over profit." Yet, some, including the National Enquirer, point out that Simpson had already made $3.5 million in advance for his book. Laurence J. Kirshbaum and other media agents label Regan as "total publisher," "slimy publisher," "foul-mouthed tyrant," or "enfant terrible of American publishing." For those people, it is unethical for Fox to publish the book and achieve a primary goal of gaining world wide attention as well as for Simpson to profit from the 1994 murders.
On the other hand, Regan insists that she did not pay Simpson. She said that she contracted through a third party and was told that the money would go to his children. According to broadcasters directing Fox-affiliated stations, including Papas' Mike Angellos, their company feels very strongly that there is "no beneficial interest in the airing of this program except to O.J. Simpson" and they have "no desire to benefit O.J. Simpson." Regan emphasized after silence that she wanted Simpson's "confession" because she herself was once a victim of abuse.
This is a case of journalists putting their own thoughts into their work. As Regan herself revealed, her own experience of being a victim because the conclusive reason for releasing the book. Some might say that Regan was obsessed with ending abuse, and forgot her profession to decide what to publish depending on the public's interests and needs. The Simpson's book illustrates the absurdity of contemporary media content. Interestingly, even though Simpson is familiar to the world, it appears that much of the condemnation is directed at Fox and Regan. We can conclude from this news that the public demands media or its agents to take greater responsibility, and often it is hard for the latter to make ethical decisions.
sources:
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6393289.html
http://www.Washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15754428
投稿者 maiko : 2007年03月06日 15:49
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