The Future of Journalism

On the same day that newsman Dan Rather complained about the superficial nature of what's considered news in these strange modern times, the Web site where he posted his piece ran video of a soccer player dying. It's not the first time The Huffington Post has gone the low road, displaying shocking gore for its legions of gawkers. Maybe you'll recall that as NBC apologized for running video of a luger dying in a crash at the Winter Olympics last month, HuffPo had no response other than to leave the controversial video up for the world to see. I've already harped here before about how the media, particularly online media, seem to be losing their ethical compass when it comes to showing human tragedy, especially death. The line over how much blood to show readers is always fine, but it appears once-serious newsroom debates have been replaced by the cheap pursuit of Internet traffic and the advertising dollars that surely follow -- and perhaps a lack of ethical editors.

Today, as Rather complained that his silly "watermelons" remark was blown out of proportion by the fast-and-easy world of new media, he lamented that journalism that serves the public interest seems lost in the fray. He used the example of his own show on HDNet to make a point: "On our show we investigated a U.S. company mining in the Congo, trucking schools in Michigan, Iranian influence in western banks, and an epidemic of youth concussions in sports, among many others. These topics don't lend themselves to a five minute segment on a cable talk show or a short blog post. But they shape the lives of real Americans and people around the world."

If Rather were an editor at HuffPo, I wonder whether he would direct viewers to a disturbing video of Robson Rocha Costa, the 23-year-old Brazilian soccer player who died from a horrendous injury during a match over the weekend. Though the video is of poor quality, it depicts a tragedy for Costa and his family, team, and fans. A wooden fragment from the indoor floor pierced his thigh and penetrated his intestines, causing him to subsequently die from hemorrhagic shock. The video came with a tag: "WARNING: DISTURBING FOOTAGE."

Not good enough in my book. I wouldn't have run it.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: Arianna Huffington, the matriarch of the HuffPo, had promised to rethink journalism and take it in new and innovative directions as old print media struggles, even crumbles. But she's really relying on an old, often criticized newspaper rule: "if it bleeds, it leads." Only on the HuffPo, the blood can be shown in more detail.

Can we consider it progress that Rather now blogs for HuffPo?

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