In a photograph that first surfaced on the Drudge Report on February 25, Barack Obama is shown dressed in the tribal robes and headdress of a Somali elder in Wajir, a majority ethnic Muslim region of Kenya. According to both the Drudge Report and the Obama campaign, the picture was sent to the website by Clinton's staff. Clinton and her campaign team have since denied any responsibility for circulating the e-mail. Regardless of whether or not Clinton and her campaign team had anything to do with this particular smear tactic, I think that it was very unethical for the Drudge Report to reproduce this picture without providing any background information for the image.
I find it very difficult to believe that the Drudge Report did not anticipate the anti-Obama backlash that this picture would produce by provoking readers to make a connection between Obama and Islam, a religion that has elicited powerful emotions in the wake of the September 11 attacks. By omitting background information elucidating the presidential candidate's choice of clothing, the journalists at the Drudge Report misled their readership into believing that Obama's clothing was an expression of his personal faith. The fact that Obama has had to defend himself repeatedly against false claims made by right-wing bloggers that he is Muslim and attended a madrassa, or religious school, makes this omission particularly irresponsible.
Although photographs have been taken of George W. Bush and Bill and Hillary Clinton donning the traditional garb of civilizations that they have visited as a token of respect, there was little risk of audiences drawing false conclusions from these images. In the case of Obama, journalists should have taken the necessary measures to keep their readers fully informed. According to the Code of Ethics subscribed to by the Society of Professional Journalists, journalists have a responsibility to provide a fair and comprehensive account of events and issues. By not providing readers with the full story surrounding the picture, the Drudge Report deflected the focus from Obama's diplomatic efforts onto false claims about the candidate's identity and personal life and violated the journalistic standards of accuracy and balance in the process.
3 comments:
I think you emphasize the importance of context in the debate about ethical journalism. Often there is more of a gray area in the ethical dilemma but here???? Not so much.
I agree with a lot of the concerns you raised. Honestly, I think this was a perfect example of the role the news media has been placed in terms of having an impact on the electoral process.
Ethical journalism, as Letia has elluded, requires context in order to be both effective and moral. Sadly, I think the tendency among news media outlets (like Fox News) to emphasize their lack of objectivity as a strength signifying their sincerity - is going to be around for a lot longer.
I think this has a lot to do with our focus on the news as entertainment. The Drudge Report has an opinionated slant, just as The Daily Show or The Colbert Report. What happened to the unbiased news?
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