Information

Press Council condemns newspapers for publishing a sensational picture of an injured girl in a traffic accident (Press Release 17 Jan 2010)

The Council condemns Apple Daily for publishing a sensational picture of an injured, 17-year-old girl spitting blood after a November 9 bus crash. It did not take the victim’s family and friends into consideration when handling the photo. The newspaper’s editorial decision to print the photo violated the Journalists’ Code of Professional Ethics, specifically sections 2 and 4 of the Guidelines for Practice.

Section 2 Photojournalists should show concern about the feelings of victims and their families when photographing accidents and their aftermaths, so as to avoid and/or minimize the damage to and impact on the feelings of the victims and their families.

Section 4 Photojournalists-including photographers and picture editors-should handle with caution pictures that are gory, violent, disgusting and pornographic. Before using this type of photographs, photojournalists should consider:

4.1 whether they are necessary for better understanding of a news event;

4.2 the impact on the society;

4.3 the impact on the people involved and their families.

The council received 10 complaints concerning Apple Daily’s publication of the injured girl’s photograph. Complainants said the photo made them uncomfortable and that they believed the photograph was not chosen for news value but for purposes of sensationalism.

According to the Bye-Laws of the Council, we followed our procedure to ask Apple Daily for response, however, the Council has not received any reply.

The Council thus decided to openly condemn their violation of the professional journalistic ethics. The Council hopes that journalists should bear in mind to minimize the impact on the feelings of the readers and more conscious of their social responsibility.

( This is a translated version only. For official document, please refer to the Chinese version. )

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