IPI BLOG: CNN Crew Film Mob Attack on Fellow Journalist in Nigeria – and Decide not to Intervene
Was their Decision Right?
Alison Bethel McKenzie, IPI Deputy Director
Things are very dicey in Nigeria for our media colleagues. Just this morning CNN aired a video of one of its correspondents shooting footage of a fellow journalist, whom a mob had somehow identified as Muslim, getting beaten by a group of Christian men. The footage was downright frightening, but it begged the question: “When does a journalist put aside his or her profession and get involved in a situation that could save another person’s life?” It’s an age-old argument to which there is no easy answer.
The latest journalist attack took place, according to a CNN report by correspondent Christian Purefoy, in the village of Dogo Na Huwa. The correspondent was in the village to cover the mass burial of victims of sectarian massacres in Central Nigeria. Purefoy and his cameraman filmed the near-fatal beating of the journalist before police arrived to pull him from the mob and take him to the hospital. On the video that aired on CNN Wednesday morning, Purefoy is clearly afraid and openly questions whether he should get involved to help the journalist. Meanwhile, he asks his cameraman to continue filming the beating. He decides that his involvement would make it worse for the Nigerian journalist and decides not to intervene, but to film. I understand Purefoy’s fear and reluctance. After all, another Nigerian journalist suspected of being Muslim, according to CNN’s website, was asked to recite the Lord’s Prayer to prove that he was a Christian, and an American and a Kenyan journalist from CNN had to wear caps identifying themselves as CNN journalists after locals asked if they were from Al-Jazeera, CNN said. If they were from Al-Jazeera, there would have been trouble, the locals allegedly warned.
I somehow found it very disturbing to watch the correspondent, well, stand by and watch – and indeed, film - a fellow journalist being attacked. Although I believe the best practice is to avoid inserting yourself into the story at all costs, I still wonder where the line is drawn. Would Purefoy have stood by and allowed the man to be murdered? Would he have caught the murder on tape? Would that have been right? Some people criticized Dr. Sanjay Gupta, another CNN reporter, for getting involved in treating patients while on assignment in Haiti. But really, without his help some of the patients would definitely be in worse shape and some may have even died.
I like IPI Director David Dadge’s take on the issue: A journalist’s involvement should not impact the story. But in the end, every journalist should follow his own heart on whether to get involved or sit on the sidelines.