Insensitive publishing?

Have you ever come across publications being inconsiderate in articles? I came across some articles and it makes me wonder whether these publication do it to raise their sales in a non-ethical way or they are just being indifferent. 

 Source: dailycontributor.com

One of the recent cases is sparked by Berita Harian in March where they published a cartoon sketch showing Ultraman running away from the tsunami. At that time, Japan was hit by earthquake and tsunami which has killed thousands and many people homeless. The cartoon was condemned by the public and also their readers, saying that it's 'distasteful' and 'insensitive' (Wong 2011). The news on the cartoon sketch has also drawn international attention where it was reported on CNN iReport which puts Malaysia and the media in a bad light (dancingtiger 2011). Berita Harian later apologized for their mistake via Facebook, Twitter and its website.

According to Ward (2009), avoiding harm is one of the important conduct in journalism ethics. It's important for a journalist to not post harm directly or indirectly towards the public and readers. I find that this journalism ethics was not followed by Berita Harian as they let such an insensitive cartoon to be published out in the newspaper. It shows that the newspaper is not being careful or responsible enough where the editors were careless in overlooking the problem in the cartoon.

Pictures hold a better memory in people's mind than words (Shepard, cited in Schriver 1997, p. 407). This shows that pictures create a more impactful significance when interpreting them. With Japan's tsunami disaster being reported and sympathized by people around the world, the cartoon sketch that was published was not appropriate and opposite of what the news reports is trying to portray. This goes along with Schriver's (1997, p. 410) theory which states that visuals are not always helpful as in this case, sympathy and humour does not blend well together.

Therefore, responsibility is important in publishing to minimize harm where journalist and editors should not overlook facts and information no matter how trivial it is.

References
1.  Dancingtiger 2011, Malaysian newspaper pokes fun at recent tsunami disasters, CNN iReport, 13 March, viewed 10 June 2011, <http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-570978>.

2. Shriver, Karen A. 1997, 'Chapter 6: The interplay of words and pictures', Dynamics in document design: creating texts for readers, Wiley Computer Publication, New York, p. 361-441.

3, Ward, S.J.A 2009,  Nature of Journalism Ethics, School of Journalism & Mass Communication, University of Wisconsin-Madison, viewed 11 June 2011, <http://www.journalismethics.info/research_ethics/nature_of_journalism_ethics.htm>.

4. Wong, P.M 2011, Berita Harian issues public apology over tsunami cartoon, The Star, 14 March, viewed 10 June 2011, <http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/3/14/nation/8262608&sec=nation>.