By: Joe Strupp Bob Steele, the well-known ethics instructor at The Poynter Institute, says the decision by a news outlet to withhold any information is tricky, and when it involves one of their own, and an effort at safety, even more sticky.
"News organizations are balancing competing obligations if a journalist is kidnapped or detained," he told E&P Saturday as news of New York Times reporter David Rohde?s escape from kidnappers spread. "The primary obligation to the public is to report accurately and timely on meaningful events. If you have a journalist who is detained or kidnapped, that will generally reach the level of newsworthiness.
"News organizations also have an equal obligation to minimize harm. That means showing care and caution to not further endanger someone whose life may be in jeopardy. These are competing obligations and loyalties.
"There is also a matter of fairness and consistency. Would a news organization apply different standards in the case of a government diplomat or a business executive or a tourist than they would one of their own?"
But, he also hinted that the safety of a human life often takes precedence. "You should not be bound by a rigid rule. Rather you make the best journalistic decision in each case. In almost all cases, the value of a human life outweighs the value of revealing facts in a kidnapping that you would usually report," Steele stressed.
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