The Public Editor: Of snakes, nudity, and the varied tastes of readers
The Sacramento Bee
By Allison McCurdy: September 17, 2007
The article discusses recent outrage over the print of a near-naked woman's body in the "Names and Faces" section of the Sacramento Bee. The picture was of a nude Mary-Louise Parker only covered by a snake. The picture served as publicity for the third season of Parker's comedy series called "Weeds." There was a large volume of complaints that the picture was offensive and demeaning to women. The first round of complaints sparked a backlash from other readers. V. Venable, a female reader, emailed to say: "I am in my 70s and I find it rather surprising anyone would find the image offensive in this day and age." Armondo Acuna, author of the article, speaks of ethics and audience. He justifies the publication of the picture, because the last time the Bee published a near-naked picture was of a pregnant Demi Moore in 1991. He also says that journalists struggle to engage younger generations of readers. If they do not make the news interesting and eye-catching, they will loose their audience to online sources like Google and Youtube.
The article examines the ethics of news and how important it is to understand ones' audience. The controversy over the publication of a near-naked woman illustrates the differing views of what readers deem "printable." This article made me realize how important it is to exercise ethics when choosing printable news. I further understand how journalists need to be sensitive to their audiences. Personally, I do not think the Bee crossed any line by printing the picture. If it had been in the front section, the Bee could stand to loose some "serious news" credibility. However, it was on the back of the Scene section and intended to advertise a TV show. Furthermore, it was not explicit; Parker's body parts were covered. The public is subjected to more provocative visuals by Victoria's Secret ads on public television.
Sunday, September 16, 2007
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He also says that journalists struggle to engage younger generations of readers. If they do not make the news interesting and eye-catching, they will loose their audience to online sources like Google and Youtube.
Its sad that editors feel that in order for our generation to pay attention to news it has to contain nude pictures or something edgy and racy. I think that there are alot of young people who truly care about issues the ones who are only interested trends, and gossip aren't buying or reading the paper anyway.
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