Op-Ed Contributors

Debate: Attacks on students

(China Daily)
Updated: 2010-05-19 07:53

Media not to blame for spurt in attacks

Wang Yiqing

Five more people have attacked schoolchildren since that fateful day of March 23 when a man went berserk in Nanping, Fujian province, and killed several students. Though people have condemned the attacks in no uncertain terms, a few netizens allege the exhaustive media coverage of the incidents could have given ideas to the later attackers.

Zhan Jiang, professor of media studies in Beijing Foreign Studies University, however, disagrees with the contention. Defending the media's rights to report such incidents, Zhan says there's no evidence to prove that the later attacks on schoolchildren were directly related to the extensive media coverage.

Communications effect, especially the relationship between the media and violence, is a controversial issue in communication studies, Zhan says. Scholars in developed countries have been studying the subject for decades but have not yet arrived at a definite conclusion. So it is difficult to say how much influence media reports exert on social reality, especially crimes.

On the other hand, it is obvious that the media play a positive role in many social aspects, he says. The foremost function of the media is to act as society's watchdog and help the people. Take the school attacks as an example. A strong media coverage will not only force the authorities to beef up campus security, but also remind people of the social causes that led to the tragedies.

Some people use the "agenda setting" theory in communication studies to criticize the media. They allege that the media manipulate their readers and audience by providing selective information. But this viewpoint is a misinterpretation of the "agenda setting" theory and fails to see its positive side. The media choose to print or broadcast a piece of news according to news value and their "agenda setting" guarantees the public's right to know.

There was no information disclosure system in the old days, so people didn't get to know about such incidents. If the media don't carry such news even today then a majority of the people would not take precautionary action against such incidents. And local administrations might not take steps to prevent them. Opacity of information does more harm than good to society, Zhan says. "The media are doing what they should do Criticizing the media for fulfilling their responsibilities will tantamount to retrogression of the government information process."

Zhan is worried that criticizing the media unnecessarily may shift the public's attention from reflecting on the real social problems behind such crimes. It will not help curb crimes and prevent such tragedies. The lower rungs of society have always been gripped by the pandemic of despair because of the poverty and hardship they have to endure. Poverty, unemployment, and the huge gap between the rich and poor are more than enough reasons for many people to take to crime or to lose their mental balance, which could be the reason behind the attacks on schoolchildren.

Zhan supports the government's attitude towards such attacks - that we should solve the real social problems that lead to such tragedies. "Just as Premier Wen Jiabao said in an interview recently, to create a harmonious and safe environment for children and everyone else in society, we should make efforts to resolve social contradictions."

Generally, the media in developed countries follow the reporting principle of "normalization of criminal cases" and "information publicity", Zhan says. Many countries agree, too, that the media should inform the public as soon as possible about such attacks. Media coverage could lead to short-term adjustments and long-term reform in society.

As a professor of media studies, Zhan says the media should abide by the principles of journalism and professionalism, exercise caution and be objective while reporting criminal cases. According to international practice, journalists should be sympathetic toward victims and their families, protect their privacy and ensure that no harm comes to them. Plus, the facts used in reports should be based on reporters' own investigations rather than indirect sources.

Although Zhan says netizens who blame the media for the rise in attacks on children don't know how to analyze such incidents, he can understand why they hold the media responsible. Since some netizens feel sorry and helpless seeing innocent kids falling victim to mindless mayhem and don't know how to stop it, blaming the media becomes a kind of emotional release for them. "There should be a spontaneous learning process for netizens, so that they get to know the true picture."

Since the media have tremendous power, which could easily infringe upon people's rights, Zhan says the feedback from the Internet can be regarded as an effective supervision mechanism to stop the media from abusing it.

(China Daily 05/19/2010 page9)