Syrians inspect damage at the site of a car bomb on the southeastern outskirts of the Syrian capital.

Analysis: Ethics of Media Withholding Information About Kidnapped Journalists

WNYC News | Dec 18, 2012

This morning we found out that Richard Engel, the chief foreign correspondent for NBC News, and his TV crew were released after spending five days in captivity in Syria.

Most people did not know they had been kidnapped because NBC, the other major television networks, and papers like the New York Times agreed not to report on the situation until the journalists were safe. 

"These are very difficult decisions for news organizations and their executives and journalists," says Bob Steele, a scholar at the Poynter Institute and director of the Prindle Institute for Ethics at DePauw University. 

Steele joins Amy Eddings for a discussion of the ethics of the press withholding information from the public, especially information about journalists kidnapped overseas.  

 

WNYC is funded by sponsors and member donations

WNYC Homepage - Top Stories

Jack Schlossberg, the Kennedy Running for Congress in New York. Plus, the Astronaut Reid Wiseman

The candidate on the role of social media in politics, and speaking out against his cousin R.F.K., Jr. Plus, the commander of NASA’s Artemis II mission on the dark side of the moon.
The New Yorker Radio Hour |

NJ Gov. Sherrill: If state police were too aggressive at Delaney Hall, we'll look into it

New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill took call after call Wednesday night from people who told her state police had been overly aggressive in violent clashes with protesters outside the Delaney Hall immigration detention center this weekend.
Ask Governor Sherrill |

I.C.E.'s "Wartime Recruitment" Campaign

Hiring at the highest-funded U.S. law enforcement agency.
On the Media |

Ask the Mayor Recap and More News From City Hall

Elizabeth Kim discusses the issues Mayor Mamdani talked about in his first "ask the mayor" segment.
The Brian Lehrer Show |
YOU ARE ONLINE