“The Gupta Effect” — Should journalist-MDs be center stage in Haiti coverage?
Dr. Sanjay Gupta is an undisputed media superstar. The telegenic nuerosugeon/TV reporter turned down the honor earlier this year to serve his nation as the Obama Administration’s Surgeon General, to continue in his higher-profile, and far more lucrative role as CNN’s dashing doctor-in-chief.
Now Dr. Gupta can be seen ministering to suffering earthquake victims in Haiti, along with the medical correspondents from other American television networks who also employ doctors as journalists. CBS has Jennifer Ashton, NBC Nancy Snyderman, and ABC Richard Besser, all doctors, and all have provided medical assistance while covering the situation in Haiti. The Washington Post dubbed it “The Gupta Effect.”
No one would question the duty for doctors to treat the injured after a humanitarian disaster, and Sanjay didn’t go looking for patients, he just answered the call when the military came “paging Dr. Gupta.”
Dr. Sanjay Gupta
[Hear Gupta’s firsthand account at CNN.com]
The question is when TV journalists lay down their microphones to take on a higher mission, saving lives, should they be telling that same story, which is after all as much about them as Haiti?
In The Washington Post story, media writer Paul Fahri quotes Stephen J. A. Ward, director of the Center for Journalism Ethics at the University of Wisconsin, as asking “Is this compassion or is it congratulations? It’s almost as if the networks are saying, ‘Look at our correspondent down there.’ It gives me an uncomfortable, queasy feeling.”
It’s one thing for the medical reporters, overwhelmed by the enormity of the tragedy before them, and aware they have unique skills that could help, to be doctors first. The line seems to be crossed when television networks decide to showcase the heroics of their own personnel in a way that smacks of self-promotion. Will we end up with a competition between network correspondents over who can save the most lives? The answer would seem for doctors — who happen to be also reporters — to pick one role or the other. If they perform medical services, they might consider recusing themselves from reporting on that. Or limit the on-air coverage to what would constitute a story if a non-celebrity doctor were involved. It’s a judgment call, but the question is do the doctors just want to help, or are they seeking to create favorable publicity for themselves and their networks.
For a quite while now news organizations in general, and television in particular, have rejected the once generally accepted standard that reporters should not make themselves part of a story. Gary Trudeau skewered this trend brilliantly in a 2005 Doonesbury cartoon in which fictitional TV correspondent Roland Hedley, covering the aftermath of Katrina declares, “It isn’t just about the story, it’s about my relationship to the story.”
Anderson Cooper Rescues Young Boy — Jan 18, 2010
At the time the Sunday strip seemed to be lampooning CNN’s Anderson Cooper for his advocacy an outrage of the victims of Katrina. (Outrage, that I would agree was well directed.) Now we are being treated to more of Anderson’s stepping out of his reporter role to become part of the story, seen on CNN rescuing a young boy from a riotous mob. But wouldn’t you do the same thing?
The truth is journalism has changed. It’s much personal and personality-driven than a decade or so ago. It hard to criticize a reporter puts being a decent, caring, empathetic human being ahead of practicing some unattainable goal of “objective” journalism. And Haiti is a story that pulls unceasingly at one’s heartstrings. I’m not there, but I can just imagine the emotions that any decent person would feel bearing witness to all that suffering. The desire to do something, anything, to help would be overwhelming. (Read Katie Couric’s firsthand account in the Huffington Post).
And since cameras are ubiquitous and follow the reporters everywhere, it’s inevitable that they will capture dramatic images of journalists going above and beyond the call of journalism. Viewers understand and expect reporters to be human. But reporters should also be aware, that if they get too caught up in their own adventures, they risk becoming reality show stars, and losing the credibility that so vital when they go back to their other job: journalism.
Tags: ABC, CBS, CNN, Doctors, Haiti, Journalists, NBC
