The television news manager was calling me about one of those really thorny ethical questions. They were covering a murder. Police had named the suspect - who was still on the loose - and released the name of the victim. Police also revealed the suspect had sexually assaulted a relative of the murder victim.
"How," the journalist calling me asked, "should we handle the identity of the sexual assault victim?" As he pointed out, it seemed essential to use the murder victim's name. And in this case, the murder story revolved around a past relationship between the suspect and the relative who was sexually assaulted. But this TV station - and most news organizations - protect the identity of sexual assault victims.
The journalist and I discussed alternatives to reporting the facts of the story while still minimizing harm to the sexual assault victim who was also suffering greatly from the murder of her family member.
This is one of those cases where journalists are weighing competing ethical principles, considering consequences of various actions and choosing the best alternative. I asked the news manager to identify his options. The story could include the name of the sexual assault victim since that was a fact in the story as revealed by police. Or the story could leave out the name of the victim. Or the story could use the name of the sexual assault victim but only say she was assaulted leaving out the word sexually.
While that last alternative is not ideal because it diminishes the accuracy of the story, I believe it was the best one in this case, at least for that story on that day. The most important element of that story was the murder and the search for the suspect, not the sexual assault of the relative.
However, as the story progresses, it is important for the journalists to revisit this issue. There could be a point in the story - perhaps in reporting a crucial element of evidence during a trial - when it is necessary to reveal the nature of the assault connecting it to the identity of the victim. This case speaks to the challenges news organizations face in accurately reporting information while showing appropriate concern for the vulnerability and privacy of individuals.
This case also tells us how important it is for journalists and news organizations to be skilled in the craft of ethical decision making. Consider how two newspapers -- the Chicago Tribune and the Orange County Register -- handled recent cases involving victims of sexual assault. To their credit, both papers told their readers how and why they made their decisions (see "When a Victim's Name Is No Longer Part of the Story" and "Identifying Rape Victim Was a Delicate Matter").
A published account and justification is of considerable insight to the public and great value to all journalists who face similar thorny ethical issues.
