Esther Enkin, the CBC's executive editor of news operations, talks about how her organization handled the ethical minefields of being contacted by both hostage-taker and hostages during an incident Wednesday at the WCB offices in Edmonton.
In tense situations like this, there are always competing values at work. As journalists, it is in our DNA to seek out information and to get it out there.
But there is another important value present — and that is to minimize harm.
Clearly, the overriding concern in this case was to keep everyone safe and not to undermine or interfere in the police process.
So, as the day unfolded, and as our crack reporters and chasers began to make contacts and get the facts, the question became: Under what circumstances do we as a journalistic organization withhold information?
She talked about the challenges posed by Facebook and Twitter in a competitive environment:
The task is complicated further by the sheer volume of communication. Facebook and Twitter were working overtime. At one point, there was a rumour that someone holed up in the building was updating the situation on Facebook.
The level of speculation and misinformation on Twitter was an object lesson on the need to verify and sift the facts.
Late in the day, someone from CBC tweeted that some hostages had contacted us. We weren't reporting the fact that we had become involved for a bunch of reasons.
But here is a really important principle. We should not tweet what we wouldn't put on the air.
One reason we didn't let on is because we didn't want every other news organization jumping in. Not for competitive reasons, but because the chaos could be dangerous.
Enkin talked about the pressures of handling a volatile event with live coverage, such as not showing police movements, naming the hostage-taker or broadcasting demands.
Our Journalistic Standards and Practices provided the road map.
But ...
It doesn't, however, cover what to do if the hostages call us. ...
The hostage-taker got into the calling game
The man himself, when he got on the line, said he wanted to go live.
He was firmly told that wasn't going to happen.
We all agreed here that none of this could go on air while the incident was ongoing.
We agreed the important message was to send him to the police negotiator — that was how this could be resolved.
We also let the Edmonton police know what was going on.
The phone calls continued. I made the decision that we would no longer answer the phone because the gunman had to focus on negotiating and not on us.
What to do the next time? Expand the JS&P manual!
Cecil Rosner, the CBC's Managing Editor in Winnipeg, has suggested we develop a protocol for when hostages or hostage takers call us.
I think that is a good idea, and we will. We will consult experts and other media organizations, and come up with some recommendations.
As she wound the column down, Enkin said this:
We gave Patrick Clayton exactly what he wanted? His story is told.
But are we encouraging copycats by glorifying him in any way?
After all, we are very clear and very strict about our treatment of gunmen who kill people. We focus on the victims and we are very cautious about the images and information we share about perpetrators.
But then she goes on to say that CBC News will be taking a hard look at the Workers' Compensation Board in the coming days.
I've been a journalist for more than 20 years. For exactly all of that time, there have been people angry about the WCB, especially in Alberta (disclosure: I had to make a WCB claim in 1985 after ripping my leg up with a chainsaw while working for an oilfield survey company).
Ideally, the media should be doing these types of stories before some desperate person decides to take hostages.
Anyways, if you want to hear some radio about this, listen to this podcast of CBC Radio's The Current, where Anna Maria Trumonti interviews Gareth Hampshire, news co-ordinator for CBC in Edmonton.