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Ethical Reporting on Drug Violence
Aug 25, 2024
Lecture Notes on Drug War Coverage
Introduction
The lecture discusses the challenges and ethical considerations of covering drug-related violence.
Personal Experience
The speaker shares personal experiences from the field, particularly:
Receiving calls late at night about incidents (e.g., around 11:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m.).
Feelings of guilt for documenting tragic events.
Ethical Dilemmas in Journalism
Critical Viewpoints:
Conflict arises between the need to report and the moral implications of covering violence.
The speaker expresses a preference for "killing drugs, not people" in the context of the drug war.
The Nature of Crime Scenes
Documentation Importance:
Emphasizes the necessity of documenting incidents to avoid reducing tragedies to mere statistics.
Discusses being labeled as "vultures" when reporting on crime scenes.
Emotional Impact:
Discusses the emotional toll of witnessing and reporting on violent acts:
Initial numbness when finding a dead body.
Later feeling compassion when hearing the victims' stories and the impact on their families.
Reporting Challenges
Access to Information:
Challenges in getting good pictures or reports due to police cordons.
Need for Quick Response:
Journalists must get to the scene quickly to capture events as they unfold.
Personal Reflections
Inner Conflict:
The speaker reflects on feelings of anger and heartbreak after hearing the stories of victims' families:
Emphasizes the importance of humanizing the stories behind the statistics.
Commitment to the Job:
Despite emotional struggles, the speaker remains committed to their role as a journalist.
Acknowledges the necessity of continuing to work in such challenging environments.
Conclusion
The speaker concludes with a strong commitment to their journalistic duty, aiming to help by telling the stories of those affected by the drug war.
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