Perfect example of taste and sensitivity

A fatal shooting took place at a Wendy's restaurant in West Palm Beach, FL, on March 3, 2008. The indicident was captured on the restaurant's security surveillance video. A judge ruled on July 25 that the video can be viewed by the public if they choose to go to the sheriff's office, but the video can not be copied or distributed. View the full story here.

Fire Lt. Ray Vazquez was killed in the shooting, along with the gunman, Alburn "eddie" Blake. Four others were also wounded.

The Associated Press and The Palm Beach Post filed a lawsuit against the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office after it refused to release the evidence video. An attorney for the news-media outlets, said the video was a public record that could not be withheld. An attorney for the sheriff's office said he feared if the video was released, that it would appear in tabloids, on TV, the Internet and YouTube.

The judge asked for what purpose disseminating the video would serve. The news-media outlets' attorney answered that Florida law does not require people to state a purpose when asking for a public record.

As we discussed in class on Monday, this case is a perfect example of taste and sensitivity within journalism. In determining whether to publish an article (or in this case a video tape), we were told to ask three questions:

1. Is it accurate? Well, surely in this case the tape is accurate. It shows in detail the events of that day.
2. Who's your audience? I'm assuming the audience would be the readers of The Palm Beach Post, local residents who, more than likely, would have heard about the shooting in March.
3. Do a little bit of math - is it worth it? In my opinion, this is the deal breaker here. Hasn't the victim's family suffered enough? Yes, it's public record, but what good is going to come of allowing the public to view this video? Do viewers really want to see a local firefighter gunned down in a senseless act of violence? I would imagine not.

If I were the editor of The Palm Beach Post, I would not have requested a copy of the video tape. I just don't think the general public is interested in viewing it and I would have been more respectful to the victim's family.