Haiti: are the images too explicit?

Channel 4 News received a number of viewer emails and Tweets responding to the coverage of the Haitian earthquake.

The comments ranged from “excellent” praise for the reporting of the relief effort to some “shocking” disapproval to the images of mass graves.

Our own Krishnan Guru-Murthy (@krishgm) tweeted, “struggling to recall British TV showing such explicit scenes of the dead as in Haiti.”

Viewer @IanSanders tweeted, “last night’s @channel4news was tough viewing, but we can’t shut our eyes to the horrors in Haiti. It was the right + brave decision.”

@graemebooth agreed tweeting, “my girl cried when she saw the face down baby last night but you’d given fair warning & I think you were right to air it.”

Terence Marsden emailed the programme to say, “I do not understand how you can show such images of the dead, have you no respect for the dead and their surviving families…please be more sensitive with your reports in the future.”

Other viewers expressed concern for the number of reporters that had been sent to the scene.

“Does it really need so many reporters at the scene to tell the world outside how bad it is?” emailed in Gary Hockenhull.

He added: “How much water, food and power is required to deliver a one minute news item…Surely that resource would be better served in treating the unfortunate people of Haiti themselves.”

Channel 4 News’ response

In response to the views Martin Fewell, Deputy Editor for Channel 4 News, writes about the difficult choices in reporting disasters such as the Haiti earthquake.

“Two immediate responses to those viewers who question our presence in Haiti or the size of it.

“Firstly, TV coverage tends to drive both the response from governments and from individual donations. The more prominent a story is, the more money is given – in general. That does not mean this is the reason why we decide to give the coverage we do, simply that I do not think there is evidence that we detract from the aid effort.

“Secondly, all our teams entered Haiti by road with their own vehicles and their own provisions – so we should not divert resources away from Haitians. You may ask why our journalists do not get more involved in helping themselves – a really difficult question that many who have been in this situation ask themselves. But it is our job to report, and if we do not, people do not find out what is really happening.

“As far as the type of images we use, the first thing to say is that we go through a proper system of editorial checks before we show a report.

“That usually begins with the reporting team in the field making the first judgement about what material we use, before output editors and senior managers have the final say in London.

“Inevitably, such judgements are subjective, so we often seek a wide range of views in our newsroom to see how different people respond. We are very mindful that Channel 4 News is on before the watershed, although it is broadcasting to an audience of people who want to see their news in depth and unvarnished.

“Many of us have kids who watch the news with us when we are watching our own programmes at home, and that provides a good sounding-board for what is appropriate and what is not.

“The most important thing is that we give people proper warning before such images are broadcast so that they can make their own decision to switch away if they choose. We have given very strong and direct warnings about the content of our reports, in particular about our decision to use images of bodies being tipped into mass graves, albeit shot from some distance and shown briefly.

“It is really hard to know whether we get these decisions right. It is not really about the volume of people supporting our judgement or criticising it. Just one parent complaining about a child who saw images that upset them is enough to make me think twice.”

Do you think Channel 4 News were right or wrong to air images that some may have found distressing?

Tweet us @channel4news or email your thoughts to news@channel4.com.