EDITORIAL - Live coverage pitfalls

The live airing of a man shooting himself on the head has driven American television network Fox News to making a public apology for what it described was “a severe human error” on its part.

The incident involved a man chased by Phoenix police on suspicion of being a carnapper. The chase was covered live by Fox from a television helicopter. Eventually the man, apparently running out of options, stopped and got out of his car and shot himself dead.

The coverage promptly drew outrage and, despite the apology, is certain to raise questions about how the media sometimes covers incidents in a way that crosses the boundaries of good taste and responsibility.

The incident brings to mind an incident in Cebu in the late 1980s when a college teacher, claiming he can survive self-immolation, was egged on to do it by a radio station anchor and actually did it, in front of a huge crowd and media coverage at Plaza Independencia.

The man, an engineer, even had relatives and friends pour gasoline over him and light him up into a human torch. The man of course died, as much from the burning as well as the “belief” by those who witnessed it that he would actually come out of it alive.

As the man writhed there in pain, screaming the name of God in several languages, the crowd merely stood and did not intervene owing to the mistaken belief that he will live, thereby losing precious time that could have saved his life.

Surprisingly, the media who covered that incident did not get as much flak as did Fox News, despite the fact that in the case of Fox, the “live suicide” was more spontaneous and whose coverage was therefore “more accidental.”

In the case of the Cebu incident, the whole thing was planned, with the full cooperation and participation of everybody at the scene. Maybe it was because nothing of the sort ever happened in Cebu before that public reaction was focused more on the incident than the coverage.

That was a long time ago and whatever scars, physical or psychological, that may have marked lives forever after that, have since been dealt with. Had it happened now, in this day and age, when media feels more responsible about its craft, the howl would be much deafening.