jeffooi
06-12-2002, 05:58 AM
Charter 2000-Aliran Media Statement
Tuesday, December 4, 2002
<font size="+1">Drowning Tragedy:
NST's Irresponsible Reporting</font>
<img src="http://www.malaysia.net/aliran/images/jubal.jpg" align="left"> Irresponsible reporting made the loss doubly distressing
The deaths of our beloved friends, Aliran member Jubal Lourdes and his wife Irene Ch'ng, was a devastating blow for all who knew them.
But the misleading and sensational way the New Straits Times initially reported their tragic deaths in a hotel swimming pool in Bali has made the loss doubly distressing.
On 2 Dec 2002, the newspaper ran a front-page story implying the couple had quarelled and might have consumed some pills before they entered the pool, as several bottles of medication were found in their hotel room along with a letter addressed to their two children. The implication of the NST report was death by suicide.
Jubal's and Irene's parents, relatives and friends were angered by this irresponsible and unbelievable insinuation, which sparked rumours and spread like wildfire among people who did not know the couple.
The Bali police later categorically denied the details contained in the NST report: the medication turned out to be painkillers for Jubal's slipped disc and there was no note to the children. Jubal's brother Darrel said that hotel guests he had interviewed said there was no quarrel; the couple had been happy. Following the results of the post-mortem conducted in Bali, the police have categorically ruled out suicide. The cause of death was due to drowning.
One would have expected more responsible and accurate reporting from an established national newspaper. It should have verified its sources and, if there was any doubt as to their reliablity, it should have exercised caution. Instead, the paper insinuated suicide and published the story on the front page. By contrast, its subsequent reports based on more factual information were tucked further inside the paper.
An ethical newspaper would have issued an immediate apology on the front page to the distressed parents, relatives, friends and colleagues. But this apology has not been forthcoming even until today. A printed front-page apology is required - not least for the sake of Jubal and Irene's children - to clear any doubts and stigma caused by such irresponsible reporting.
We are waiting to see if it is beyond the NST to issue such an apology.
Dr Mustafa K Anuar and Anil Netto
Coordinators
Charter 2000 - Aliran, a Malaysian citizens' media initiative
4 December 2002
SOURCE:
http://www.malaysia.net/aliran/ms/2002/1204.html
Tuesday, December 4, 2002
<font size="+1">Drowning Tragedy:
NST's Irresponsible Reporting</font>
<img src="http://www.malaysia.net/aliran/images/jubal.jpg" align="left"> Irresponsible reporting made the loss doubly distressing
The deaths of our beloved friends, Aliran member Jubal Lourdes and his wife Irene Ch'ng, was a devastating blow for all who knew them.
But the misleading and sensational way the New Straits Times initially reported their tragic deaths in a hotel swimming pool in Bali has made the loss doubly distressing.
On 2 Dec 2002, the newspaper ran a front-page story implying the couple had quarelled and might have consumed some pills before they entered the pool, as several bottles of medication were found in their hotel room along with a letter addressed to their two children. The implication of the NST report was death by suicide.
Jubal's and Irene's parents, relatives and friends were angered by this irresponsible and unbelievable insinuation, which sparked rumours and spread like wildfire among people who did not know the couple.
The Bali police later categorically denied the details contained in the NST report: the medication turned out to be painkillers for Jubal's slipped disc and there was no note to the children. Jubal's brother Darrel said that hotel guests he had interviewed said there was no quarrel; the couple had been happy. Following the results of the post-mortem conducted in Bali, the police have categorically ruled out suicide. The cause of death was due to drowning.
One would have expected more responsible and accurate reporting from an established national newspaper. It should have verified its sources and, if there was any doubt as to their reliablity, it should have exercised caution. Instead, the paper insinuated suicide and published the story on the front page. By contrast, its subsequent reports based on more factual information were tucked further inside the paper.
An ethical newspaper would have issued an immediate apology on the front page to the distressed parents, relatives, friends and colleagues. But this apology has not been forthcoming even until today. A printed front-page apology is required - not least for the sake of Jubal and Irene's children - to clear any doubts and stigma caused by such irresponsible reporting.
We are waiting to see if it is beyond the NST to issue such an apology.
Dr Mustafa K Anuar and Anil Netto
Coordinators
Charter 2000 - Aliran, a Malaysian citizens' media initiative
4 December 2002
SOURCE:
http://www.malaysia.net/aliran/ms/2002/1204.html