Special report: Reconstruction After Earthquake

 military accessories materialSpecial report: Reconstruction After Earthquake By Qiu Lin BEIJING, June 11 (Xinhua) -- When Chongqing-based magazine NewTravel Weekly featured China's May 12 earthquake, it maintained itspopular themes of glamour and sex. Scantily-clad models draped themselves over the rubble, bloodiedbandages as accessories to their bikinis, tight tee-shirts andmini-shorts, under the headline "Reborn from the Ruins". The public reaction to this display of questionable taste andinsensitivity was immediate. The outcry at the newsstands quickly reached the city government,which suspended the magazine for "rectification", and the magazinepresident and chief editor lost their jobs for "unethicalreporting". It was an extreme case of poor journalistic judgment, but NewTravel Weekly was among the few media whose insensitive reportingduring their coverage of the devastating earthquake raised concern. The Chinese media has reacted to the disaster with unprecedentedopenness and determination to bring the full extent of thecatastrophe to the public. "The earthquake has been a test of the reporters," says Yu Guoming,deputy dean of School of Journalism, Renmin University. "The quake has proved that Chinese reporters are responsible,compassionate and they put their own safety aside to bring thereporting to their audience." However, Yu points out: "Just as a test shows one's weaknesses, theearthquake has also revealed weak journalistic ethics, theinexperience and naivety of some reporters when faced with an eventof such magnitude." Jiang Min, a policewoman in Pengzhou city near the epicenter ofWenchuan, lost 10 relatives, including her two-year-old daughterand her parents, at first became a symbol of fortitude in the faceof overwhelming tragedy -- then later became the face of mediaexploitation. Despite her loss, Jiang Min continued relief work with other policeand soldiers. But in one television report, the reporter pressed her to answerthe question, "Why are you still here?" A drawn-looking Jiang waspounded with further questions, such as, "Do you think of your ownparents and daughter when you see the rescued old people and thekids?" "I was furious when I saw the report on TV," says Ma Jianan, whoworks at an advertising company in Beijing. "The reporter was soinsensitive to Jiang's feelings and had little professionalethics." Later, Jiang was interviewed several more times on television. Ma says he could not continue watching. "How can these TV stationstorture her again and again by making her recount her story so manytimes? "Journalists should not ignore the feelings of their subjects justto make a good report." His thoughts are echoed in hundreds of posts on the Internet. "Themedia are inhumane. I strongly condemn those terrible reporters whohave hurt Jiang Min again and again with their stupid questions!"one post reads. Television and radio stations, newspapers and magazines senthundreds of reporters to Sichuan within hours of the earthquake.They filed stories from the front lines of the rescue and reliefeffort in Sichuan. Television stations broadcast live news programsof rescue work and newspaper and magazines published special copiesreporting on the earthquake. Images of shattered homes, tales of strong-willed survivors andfootage of People's Liberation Army soldiers working day and nightto rescue survivors have kept the nation abreast of the reliefwork. "I have not shed so many tears for a long time," said one post onthe Internet in reply to a series of photos from the quake zone. However, some reporters failed to meet the expectations of theiraudiences, who were concerned with the progress of relief work. Xu Na, a reporter with the CCTV, was branded by Chinese Internetusers "a deserter" and "unprofessional" after she filed a reportfrom a hotel room in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan, rather than livefrom the worst-hit city of Dujiangyan, 60 km from Chengdu, where ahigh school had collapsed, burying more than 300 students andteachers. Coverage of rescue efforts and the survivors is generallyacceptable as long as it does not impede the rescue process orsafety, says Prof. Tom Brislin, who teaches media ethics at theUniversity of Hawaii. "Survivors shouldn't be required to have to recount their storiesover and over simply because various media outlets are competitiveor want exclusive interviews," Brislin says. He points out that it is common for U.S. media to "pool" coverageof survivors so they can tell their story only once, and then geton with their lives. Journalism schools in China do not offer complete courses onjournalistic ethics, says Prof. Chen Lidan, of the RenminUniversity School of Journalism. He says ethics is touched on in journalism theory courses. "Itmainly talks about not fabricating news or not violating laws andregulations." As for working journalists, they receive little training in how toreport disasters. Training programs at news organizations tend to focus more ontechnical skills such as how to write, or how to edit a story, butrarely touch on the issue of journalistic ethics. Reporters who flew to the quake-hit zones within hours of the quakesaid they had no training regarding disaster reporting becausethere was no time. Some reporters also exposed their ignorance when they covered theearthquake, in one case costing a man's life. Wang Gang, deputy director of the Wolong District Police, waskilled by the propeller of a plane carrying relief material afterhe pushed away a photographer who was standing too close to theaircraft. When the Russian rescue team saved an earthquake survivor, onerescuer shouted angrily to the cameras because the strong lightscould have damaged the survivor's eyes. On the Internet, posts condemning reporters who insisted on talkingto survivors after they were rescued after more than a hundredhours buried in the debris were repeated. One reporter pushed himself into an operating theater to interviewa doctor, who responded furiously that the reporter hadcontaminated his sanitized operation gown. Chen says ethical problems have come with the development ofChina's media. In the past, most media outlets were funded by thegovernment. As China's economy grows, the government has reduced its fundingand the media have become more profit-driven and commercialized.Though still owned by the government, media outlets operate moreindependently to finance themselves. They use stories that willmost appeal to their audiences, sometimes with sensationalheadlines or images. In 1991, the All-China Journalists Association issued the code ofethics that requires journalists to serve the people, adhere to the"right direction of public opinion", observe laws and regulations,ensure the accuracy and veracity of reports, resist corruption andpromote teamwork. "But this code has not been modified with the development ofChinese media," Chen says. "The earthquake has blown up somealready existing problems." He points out: "Cases of insensitive reporting attract attentionand they will surely serve as an opportunity for the media toreflect on strengthening their ethics." Yu Guoming suggests that news organizations begin to establishdetailed disaster reporting plans. These plans should includeguidelines for reporters when they arrive at the scene, how editorsin the newsroom work effectively with reporters in the front andcodes of ethics when covering disasters.