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JOURNALISTIC ETHICAL ISSUES.
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Discussioin of 1998 "60 Minutes" broadcast depicting Dr. Jack Kevororkian employing physican assisted suicide. Background & implications of broadcast; limitations of journalistic conduct; boundaries.... More...
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Paper Abstract:
Discussioin of 1998 "60 Minutes" broadcast depicting Dr. Jack Kevororkian employing physican assisted suicide. Background & implications of broadcast; limitations of journalistic conduct; boundaries.
Paper Introduction:
J. KEVORKIAN AND 60 MINUTES
This research paper discusses the journalistic ethical issues associated with that portion of a broadcast by CBS's 60 Minutes on Sunday evening, November 22, 1998 which dealt with the topic of euthanasia or physician assisted suicide (PAS) of terminally ill patients and which included the replaying of portions of a videotape showing Dr. Jack Kevorkian injecting a lethal drug into a 52 year old man, Thomas Youk, who was suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
Introduction
Basic Facts Concerning 60 Minutes. 60 Minutes is a television newsmagazine which is owned outright by CBS Inc., a publicly-owned corporation, and which has been presented on prime time since 1972. It has consistently been among the top
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"Money Lust: How Pressure for Profits Is Perverting Journalism." Columbia Journalism Review July/Aug. In all states, various actions for violations of an individual'sprivacy lie; however, in this case, Kevorkian was careful to obtain thepatient's consent to the videotaping. "To be impartial does not require the press to beunquestioning or to refrain from editorial expression. KEVORKIAN AND 6 MINUTES This research paper discusses the journalistic ethical issuesassociated with that portion of a broadcast by CBS's 6 Minutes on Sundayevening, November 22, 1998 which dealt with the topic of euthanasia orphysician assisted suicide (PAS) of terminally ill patients and whichincluded the replaying of portions of a videotape showing Dr. JackKevorkian injecting a lethal drug into a 52 year old man, Thomas Youk, whowas suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). . . . Iggers is undoubtedly right when he said "the domainof topics considered too private to discuss--especially those related tosexuality--has shrunk to the vanishing point because the media do talkabout them" (119). In recent decades, the increasing corporatization of the news media,concentration of ownership of news media in financial conglomerates andvarious competitive pressures have all led to strong pressures on newsdepartments to improve their operating results. Good News Bad News Journalism Ethics and the Public Interest. RobertMcNeil said, "the trends in television journalism are toward thesensational, the hype, the hyperactive, the tabloid values to drive out theserious" (Iggers 2). The victim is the public. Theconclusion is inescapable that CBS showed the death scene for the firsttime in television history in order to improve its ratings and, in doingso, resorted to a peculiarly macabre form of hype. If harm was caused, is it morallypermissible in the particular circumstances? "Dr. Death, A '9 s Celebrity." Time 3 June 1996 (Internet: http://www.pathfinder.com/time/ magazine/archive/1996/dom/96 6 3/essay.html. The program included a 9 second segment inwhich Wallace interviewed an opponent of PAS, Mark Siegler, Director of theMacLean Center for Clinical and Medical Ethics at the University of Chicago(Vatz and Weinberg 68). According toHickey, "the tabloidization of TV news magazines is strictly geared toratings and profits" (3 ). Kevorkian was convicted by a jury of second degreemurder on March 26, 1999. RTNDA: I. V. Inthe case of the Kevorkian broadcast, it was Kevorkian, not CBS, which brokethe Michigan law against PAS by killing his patient. Or, asIrving Kristol said, "it is a confession of moral bankruptcy to assert thatwhat the law does not explicitly prohibit is therefore morally permissible. The Power of the Press. For example, the timeallotted to euthanasia/PAS on the November 22, 1998 broadcast was only 13minutes, 36 seconds (Vatz and Weinberg 66). New York: McGraw-Hill, 1991.Sheed, Wilfrid. Nelson and Robert D. The duty of thejournalist is to further those ends by seeking truth and providing a fairand comprehensive account of events and issues" (Cohen 146). However, the attitude that what's legal is permissible is notacceptable. "Panelists Defend CBS '6 Minutes' Role in Broadcasting Kevorkian 'Death Tape." (Internet: http:// www.freedomforum.org/professional/1998/12/3kevorkian.asp. CBS richly deserves theSilver Sewer Award which William Bennett and Senator Joseph Lieberman (D-Ct) gave it.The issue is not whether Mr. Youk consented to have his last minutes onearth videotaped, nor even whether he consented to have them shown onglobal television, which is doubtful, but whether society wants to bepresented with such disgusting spectacles. What are the applicable standardsand how do they apply to the Kevorkian broadcast? 1998): 14-15.Vatz, Richard E., and Lee S. Legal v. W. RTNDA, 5: "respect the dignity, privacyand well-being of people with whom they deal" (Cohen 15 ). Publishers and broadcasters may not with impunity violate the law. . Conclusion 6 Minutes did nothing illegal by broadcasting the Kevorkian segment.It performed a public service by raising the controversial topic ofeuthanasia/PAS; however, it did so in such a way that it violated theethics of the journalistic profession. According to Liberman, CBS wastipped off as to the existence of the videotape by Charles Eisendrath,Director of the University of Michigan's Journalism Fellow program to whichMike Wallace, the narrator of the broadcast, made financial contributions(Arvidson 1). Wilson, 1999.Lieberman, Paul. 1999: 46-47.Kristol, Irving. It hasconsistently been among the top ten in Nielsen ratings. 6 Minutes is a televisionnewsmagazine which is owned outright by CBS Inc., a publicly-ownedcorporation, and which has been presented on prime time since 1972. According to Elliott, "journalistic ethics . Beth Levy and Denise M. Ethical Limitations on Journalistic Conduct. Vatz and Weinberg said thebroadcast "was as close to cheerleading as that show ever gets" and that"nowhere on the interview with Kevorkian does Wallace ask any hardquestions concerning . 1998: 16.Elliott, Deni. Some of those who criticized the article, such as editorial writersin the Boston Globe and the Chicago Tribune and anti-euthanasia lawyerWesley Smith in the Wall Street Journal, were clearly partisans againstPAS. In the late 198 s R. Works CitedArvidson, Cheryl. ASNE: Article VI states that "journalistshould respect the rights of people involved in the news [and] observe thecommon standards of decency" (Cohen 142). Then portions of the videotape were shownin which Kevorkian asks Youk after administering seconal "can you hear me?"And after Kevorkian injects the fatal drug, Wallace is overheard saying,"Is he dead?" Kevorkian replies, "He's dying" (Korry 46). Bonilla. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 1997. hemlock.org/background.htm, 1-13).Trigoboff, Dan, and Steve McClellan. In their zealousness to uncover scandal, reporters for ABC's PrimeTime Live falsified employment applications and surreptitiously filmedillegal practices by Food Lion Supermarkets which ultimately resulted in a$5.5 million jury verdict for damages against ABC News. Elliott D. "Dr. Media critic John Korrysaid that Wallace was biased in favor of PAS, as evidenced by the fact thathe and his wife have a mutual suicide pact, and that he should havedisclosed that fact (47). address problemsconcerning the behavior of . Steve Geimann, Chairman of SPJ's ethics committee, said theonly question that should be raised was: "Are we reporting the informationthat's important for the public to know about and decide?" (Arvidson 2).Walter Goodman, the television critic of the New York Times defended thebroadcast, stating that coverage "was more than amply justified by theattention the report drew to issues that make most people uncomfortable andonly too inclined to ignore . Gibbon said "in the Age of Information, theimage reigns" (56). "Codes of Journalistic Ethics." Journalism Ethics A Reference Handbook. "Introduction." Journalism Ethics A Reference Handbook. It is doubtful that those impacts contributed to arational public debate on the complexities of the problem, such as to whoshould make such life and death decisions and under what circumstances. . The Boundaries of Media Coverage All of the Codes of Ethics referenced above suggest that some ethicallimits are set by common decency. W. 1998 (Internet: http://www.cjr.org/year/ 98/6/trust.asp, 1-6).Levy, Beth, and Denise M. In introducing the segment, Wallace told the audience that it wouldsee material which was 'disturbing.' The first part of the segmentconsisted of an interview by Wallace of Kevorkian who described Youk'smedical history, the terminal nature of his disease, Youk's fear that hewould die by choking and his desire to have Kevorkian help him end hissuffering. People are progressivelyless inclined to believe what they see and read" (1). The current concerns are not limited to political coverage. "News Lite." The Power of the Press. In May, 1996 Andy Rooneyinterviewed Dr. Kevorkian on 6 Minutes who used it as a forum to statethat "government has no business telling you . A numberof stories have surfaced in the 198 s of reporters, such as Janet Cooke, aWashington Post reporter who falsified stories concerning an eight year oldinner city drug abuser, and reporters in the 199 s such as Mike Barnicle ofthe Boston Globe who admitted to plagiarism and fictional accounts ofvarious stories. in a field where mindlessness rules, aprogram with deeply serious content is protested because it goesuncomfortably deep" (E 2). In part that concernoriginated with the Watergate scandal of the early 197 s which "increasedpublic and journalistic awareness of the ethical conflicts that arise fromthe complex relationship of the news media to the nation's politicalinstitutions" (Iggers 17). New York: H. Kevorkian On The Air: CBS And '6 Minutes' Dropped The Ball." USA Today May 1999: 66-68.----------------------- 17 According to Korry, 6 Minutes "household ratingfor the program . Wallace then called Dr. Kevorkian and asked him to mail CBSthe videotape which arrived the next day. Eds. businessmen have come to think that the conduct of business is apurely 'economic' activity, to be judged by economic criteria, and thatmoral and religious traditions exist in a world apart, to be visited onSundays perhaps" (18 ). 1998: E 2.Hickey, Neil. Wilson, 1999. Itwas all made to appear quite simple. Allowing only 9 seconds to an opponent of euthanasia/PAS was hardly balanced. 6 Minutes mixes hard news features, often oncontroversial topics, with lighter fare. During the ten days preceding thebroadcast, Wallace and Bob Anderson, the producer of the show, viewed thevideotape. New York: H. Show good taste. Bonilla (Eds.). Somerville said "somehow an event perceived through the media,especially television, is experienced as real and more credible than thesame event in real life" (17). Many celebrities, some politicians like GaryHart, and others such as Princess Diana, have been hounded by paparazzi whoseem to regard all aspects of their private life as within the publicdomain. Fairness, Objectivity and Balance All the codes of ethics referenced above and the Code of Ethics ofthe Radio-Television News Directors Association Code of Ethics(RTNDA)(1987) stress the importance of fairness, objectivity and balance: ASME: Art. As theNational Review pointed out, 6 Minutes defended itself by quoting polls that showed viewer approval. In recent years, the media seem to regard almost any aspect of apublic person's private life as fair game for reportorial snooping and whenpublicity and profit beckons and the law does not forbid, the lives ofprivate persons as well. 1998: A 1, A 16.McCartney, James. . (6) Hewitt in an interviewexplained away the problem by stating "I looked at it and I saw a manpeaceably shedding an unbearable life" (Liberman A 1). Wallace said thatKevorkian told him "this is the first time he's taped the moment of death"(Korry 46). The rest of the segment consists of interviews by Wallace withYouk's relatives, including his mother and wife, who indicated that Youkconsented to the procedure. J. 1998: 55- 56.Gibbon, Peter H. Sanford Ungar, the Dean of the American University School ofCommunication, called the spectacle afforded by the Kevorkian videotape"grotesque" (Vatz and Steinberg 68). FosterWinans of the Wall Street Journal went to prison for illegally trading ininsider information on stocks. By portraying the event in the wayKevorkian and CBS did, all sorts of images were projected, which no amountof talk could achieve. 6 Minutes was nostranger to the topic of euthanasia/PAS. Ethics Leadership and theBottom Line. Death Kills Mike Wallace." American Spectator Jan. . CBS did notparticipate in videotaping that act, merely used it later, so it was not anaccessory to any crime Kevorkian committed. Cohen and Deni Elliott. was up some 2 percent over its season average" (47).Foer said the program's ratings increased by 23 percent (55). A number of critics have pointed out that the 6 Minutes broadcastfell short of these lofty standards in several respects. . . Facts Concerning the November 22, 1998 Broadcast. Somerville says "media ethics requiresjournalists to tread a fine line between reporting fairly the claims ofthose persons who are seeking euthanasia, and exploiting and manipulatingthose persons to attract public attention and alternatively increasingsales or ratings" (2 ). . Former CBS news anchor Walter Cronkite says "thenetworks now do news as entertainment" (McCartney 44). . The SPJ Code of Ethics statesthat "only an overriding public need can justify intrusion into anyone'sprivacy. He and Wallacedenied that ratings affected their decision to air the program. IV "Every effort must be made to assure that the newscontent is accurate, free from bias, and in context, and that all sides arepresented fairly" (Cohen 142). 1-2).Somerville, Margaret A. . . 6 Minutes has not been immune from these trends. "Dr. The point of the program could have been made withoutthat. 1998: 28-36.Iggers, Jeremy. professional involved in theproduction and distribution of news" (2). 1-3.Cohen, Elliott D., and Deni Elliott (Eds.). On April 13, 1999, he was sentenced to serve 1 to 25 years in state prison. The principal defense offered by CBS was that by airing the Kevorkianbroadcast it, according to CBS President Andrew Hayward, provoked publicdiscussion and thought on a difficult and important issue (Vatz andWeinberg 66). 1999: 56-57.Goodman, Walter. . The Code of Ethics of theSociety of Professional Journalists (SPJ), which was adopted in 1926 andamended in 1973, 1984, 1987 and 1996, said in its preamble: "publicenlightenment is the forerunner of justice and democracy. In the United States, except forrare exceptions in the field of national security, libel and defamation,obscenity, false advertising and tortious invasion of privacy, the freedomof press provisions of the First Amendment of the Constitution mean that"the government may not intervene in the freedom of a publisher [orbroadcaster] to produce and disseminate whatever he wishes" (Elliott 3).The law of defamation and libel offer little protection to politicalfigures or other celebrities after the Supreme Court decided in New YorkTimes v. "Cynicism, Celebrity, and the Decline of Journalism." USA Today Sept. Some critics of the Kevorkian broadcast allege that CBS let itself beused by "a ruthless and crafty manipulator" (Trigoboloff and McClellan 14).Wallace replied that everyone uses the media. . "The members will . "Death in Prime Time." U.S. "CBS Takes The Heat from Kevorkian." Broadcasting & Cable 128 (3 Nov. Sullivan, 376 U.S. The 6 MinutesKevorkian broadcast illustrates the limits on legal sanctions forjournalistic conduct that many condemn. One result of thesepressures has been the tabloidization of the news, de-emphasis on hard newsprogramming in favor of life style and softer features, which McCartneycalls "News Lite," (44). The question is whether theprofession will start enforcing its standards or continue to slip in thepublic's esteem. what precautions Kevorkian took to determinethat Youk's suffering could not have been alleviated by medication" (67).Television critic Robert Bianco, who defended the broadcast, said thatWallace should have interviewed someone from the hospice-care industry whocould have explained what methods were available to ease Youk's sufferingin the final stages of his illness (Arvidson 2). Dr. Kevorkian made an 18 minute videotape of hisinterviewing Mr. Youk in his home in Waterford Township, Michigan inSeptember, 1997 and his administering a sedative and then a lethal drug(potassium chloride) into the arm of Youk. To be sure, even worse thingsappear on daily television, but that does not justify this program. However, concern over irresponsible journalismdates back to the inception of the Republic, to the scurrilous attacks onpublic figures made by the 'penny press' in the late 18th and early 19thcentury and continuing through the 'yellow journalism' or sensationalistpress reporting typified by the newspapers owned by William Hearst in the189 s and early 19 s. "Business Ethics and the Economic Man." Ethics Leadership and the Bottom Line, eds. 139-154."Dressed To Kill." National Review 21 Dec. Media Responsibility In 1947, Robert Hutchins of the University of Chicago pioneered theidea that the media had social responsibility and was accountable to thepublic when it failed to meet those responsibilities. "Death on a Small Screen Puts Spotlight on TV Ethics." Los Angeles Times 25 Nov. 1- 14.Foer, Franklin. Journalism Ethics A Reference Handbook. Boulder: Westview P, 1998.Korry, John. "Euthanasia in the Media: Journalists' Values, Media Ethics and 'Public Square' Messages." Humane Health Care International 13 (Spring 1987): 17-2 .The Hemlock Society, "Surveys." (Internet: http://www. The motive is clear, greed. Cave. Introduction Basic Facts Concerning 6 Minutes. SPJ: Journalists should "examine their own cultural values and avoidimposing those values on others . Due to competitionfrom cable television networks and perhaps a declining taste of the viewingpublic for hard news, the audience for the evening news broadcasts hasdeclined from 37.3 percent of the home viewing public in 1988 to 24.3percent in 1996-1997 (Hickey 33). Ethics in the Media According to Lambert, in recent decades, "public trust in America'snews organizations has been declining for years. One consequence has been that lesstime is available, however, to deal with such topics. "A Televised Death, Prurient or Newsworthy, Or Both?" New York Times 25 Nov. Media critic BernardKalb called it "a new, eerie, spookie kind of entertainment" (Trigoboff andMcClellan 15). A venerable show has made itself an accomplice to a murderous farce (16). In their anxiety due to competitive pressures to 'rush toprint' undocumented stories, innocent people, such as Richard Jewell, asecurity guard at the Atlanta Olympic games was accused wrongly in themedia of being involved in a terrorist bombing. It is not clear whatKevorkian gained from this exercise other than a prison term, but CBS gotits money's worth. Cave (Eds.). . 6 Minutes November 22, 1998 broadcast was made during the last weekof 'sweeps,' the period during which ratings establish advertising ratesfor the succeeding season. One can hardly imagine a more private sphere thanone's manner of dying. Even Geimann who defended thebroadcast said it "should have done a more extensive job covering the prosand cons of the euthanasia debate" (Arvidson 2). Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 1997.Cohen, Elliott D. how much you have tosuffer before you die" and said that prosecutions of him may havediscouraged many physicians from helping their terminally ill patients todie (Sheed 1). "Rebuilding Trust." Columbia Journalism Review Nov./Dec. Gibbon put it more simply, "in a wired world with norestraint, the media can misinform us" (56). Analysis and commentary should be labeled and not misrepresentfact or context" (Cohen 146). . 44-54.Nelson, Charles A., and Robert D. Cohen and Deni Elliott. Articles that contain opinion or personal interpretationshould be clearly identified" (Cohen 142). From an ethical standpoint, a privacyissue may still remain because no evidence was presented on the show thatSouk knew or consented to his death being shown on nationwide television,but CBS has no legal liability. Hewitt's statement grossly and, one suspects, not naively understatedthe impact of the television image generated by actually showing thepatient being killed. Kevorkian also acknowledged to Wallace that he wanted to showthe videotape for the 'self-serving' reason of wanting to stir a nationaldebate on euthanasia (Foer 55). The journalistic profession has adopted various codes ofethics which set forth the objective. As Elliott put it, "it is morally prohibited --wrong--to makemoney at the expense of meeting one's social responsibility" (3). 254 (1964) that public figures who bringdefamation or libel suits must show actual malice in the sense of recklessdisregard of the truth or knowing falsity. News & World 7 Dec. But CBS used to pride itself on its own supposedly exalted standards. distinguish between advocacy and newsreporting. Art. Even though PAS is legal in only one state, Oregon, and banned in morethan 3 others, various public opinion polls show that Americans, by smallto substantial majorities support it under controlled circumstances(Hemlock Society 8-11). The District Attorney of Oakland County, Michigan obtained thevideotape from CBS. . New York: Mcgraw-Hill, 1991. (2) if so, was it justified? Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 1997. . "strive to present thematerial in a way that is balanced, accurate and fair" (Cohen 15 ). Elliott D. Eds. The 6 Minutes Kevorkian broadcast, especially theshowing of the videotape, make a mockery of the industry's ethical preceptsconcerning journalists' respecting common decency. Then it was shown to Don Hewitt, the overall executive in chargeof 6 Minutes who gave them approval to prepare the broadcast segment. He indicted Kevorkian on November 25, 1998 andprosecuted him for first degree murder largely on the basis of the evidencecontained in the tape. In reference to euthanasia/PAS, Somerville added "themodern media provides an almost infinite opportunity to indulge our fear-attraction reaction to death" (17). Avoid pandering to lurid curiosity" and "besensitive when seeking or using interviews or photographs of those affectedby tragedy or grief" (Cohen 146). 6 Minutes has assumed greater financialimportance to CBS because CBS News as a whole loses money while 6 Minutesproved that "a news program could be a colossal money maker" (Hickey 33). The ethical violation is a twisting of the truth through themanipulation of powerful emotive symbols and images to convey anoversimplified treatment of a highly complex legal, medical and socialproblem. . Sound practice,however, demands a clear distinction for the reader between news reportsand opinion. . The Statement of Principles of theAmerican Society of Newspaper Editors (ASNE) which was adopted in 1975(replacing its 1922 Canons of Journalism) stated in its preamble: "theprimary purpose of getting and distributing news and opinion is to servethe general welfare by informing the public and enabling them to makejudgments on the issues of the day" (Cohen 141). 179-186.Lambert, Richard. any . Charles A. Weinberg. Categorizing Events Elliott suggests that in analyzing possible ethical violations by themedia, we should ask two questions: (1) was there a potential ethicalviolation? Eds. The wholeidea of allotting only 13 minutes to a subject of this complexity ensuredthat it would be treated superficially. . The difficulty is indefining what those responsibilities are and in determining when they havenot been met.
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