NPR Obmudsman Alicia Sheppard asks whether a news site should provide direct links to potentially offensive material it reports on.
Sheppard gives this advice:
When a controversial video such as “Fitna,” the beheading of Wall Street Journal reporter Danny Pearl, or even the recent teenage girls’ staged beatings, news organizations need to ask:
* What is the journalistic value?* What is appropriate? What is acceptable?
* Who will be harmed?
* What are our ethical concerns?
* How can we put this in context to better inform our audience?
