 "Photo: JANE MEYER/MANITOU MESSENGER")
A body flailing through the air like a boneless dummy. The dull thud of helmet against pole. The hollow echo of an empty sled hitting the racetrack walls. The tagline of CBS News: See it now. Anytime. Anywhere.
Most news websites removed the video of Georgian Olympic luger Nodar Kumaritashvili’s tragic death. This is the result of mass outrage on the part of the American public after NBC, ABC and CBS, as well as other major television news stations, aired the video repeatedly. The online news spot for CBS not only shows the accident in its entirety, but also shows a step-by-step series of still photographs in case you missed the horror the first time. A day after the accident, NBC, which received the most criticism, promised to stop showing the video, and since then it has become more difficult to find online.
While some people are crying, “censorship!” I take a different view. The news media should never have shown this video in the first place. I had to watch the video to write this piece. When I realized I had to watch it a second time to write an accurate first paragraph, my stomach lurched. I almost pressed pause as soon as I started it. I blinked as much as I could in the hope that I would happen to miss the worst parts. A friend who watched the video said it made her feel physically ill. Kumaritashvili’s father said that he could not and would not watch the video.
Imagine being this man’s father or mother, accidentally stumbling onto a news channel airing your 21-year-old son’s last seconds alive. Imagine knowing that millions of people across the world are watching him die over and over and over again.
Cover the story? Of course. Publicize the accident, its cause, the story of the luger’s life, the change in the mood at the Olympic Games and what is being done to prevent further accidents. That’s news. Show the video on every news station and website? Spare us. That’s not news, that’s voyeurism. Let me tell you from personal experience, no one needs to see that video. There is nothing to be gained from it.
Some have said that the photographs of the disaster in Haiti have been too disturbing. I agree that they are difficult to look at. I often had to put the newspaper down in the days following the earthquake. But there’s a difference here. Gruesome images of Haiti will inspire people to help the victims. Kumaritashvili died while speeding down a luge track at 90 mph. We can mourn him, we can make luge tracks safer, but in no way will watching his death make a difference. Covering the story is enough.
I’m afraid that in recent years news publications have been toeing the dangerous line between legitimate news and tabloid gossip and sensationalism. They have been crossing this line more and more often. News should give us the information, not exploit tragedy to get more hits on the web page.
As human beings, a small part in us wants to witness violence. It’s why people once crowded in the town square to watch beheadings. It’s why we have slasher movies and professional wrestling today. But it has never been the news media’s job to satisfy this desire. Nor should it be. If you want violence, go see “The Wolfman.” Don’t accept CBS’s invitation to “see it now.” The news media should apologize to the American public and to Kumaritashvili’s family and team for prolonging the misery of a young man’s untimely and violent death.
Madeline Salmon ‘10 (salmon@stolaf.edu) is from Hopkins, Minn. She majors in biology.
Be the first to comment on this article!