Why Is Display Of Emotions Frowned Upon In the Media?

As a journalism student, I can vouch for the one golden rule of reporting - one must remain passive while reporting for media professionals to keep their predilections and bias aside.  Hence, the display of emotions is often frowned upon in the media.

If the details are too gory, some of it will be censored during the edit to make it readership appropriate. If it's too dull, some media houses will ask a reporter to sensationalise a piece with catchy headlines, phrases, or gossip to make it clickbait appropriate. Take a look at celebrity coverage by the media and you'll know what I'm talking about. From invading someone's living room privacy to tailing them for 'wardrobe malfunctions', albeit in the ethically grey domain is still practised. 

Reporters walk a tight line daily. A lot of what is ethically unjust is sanctioned by the higher-ups and the reporter is expected to follow unquestioningly to keep their jobs. 

What is still frowned upon in reputed media houses is a reporter getting affected by an issue that they are covering. 

Emotions Frowned Upon In The Media: It Is Okay To Not Be Okay 

 Reporters are humans. Stringent rules of keeping all emotions at bay during reportage seem not only harsh but impractical. 

A Print reporter while covering the Aaftab Shraddha murder case shared her opinion on getting adversely affected during the coverage. 

"Covering the case that shook India and kept the people glued for weeks involved a constant struggle for the woman in me and the reporter I am. Overcoming biases to objectively report the story is a job that I set out to do each day as a crime reporter. When I reached the spot that morning, the crime reporter had questions but the woman in me kept blocking thoughts.

Shraddha Walkar was a woman who chose to love a man, left her home to live with him but was now being discussed – reduced to her bones. Media and the public wanted answers – why did she love him? Some asked why she put up with the toxicity. I let out silent screams multiple times that day." 

The US' open gun culture that gave way to a recent Florida shooting claimed the lives of a TV reporter and a 9-year-old girl. 

How is a reporter expected to react to a gunning down of their own? How do their choked voices keep emotions at bay while reporting the death of a 9-year-old? 

“This is every reporter’s absolutely worst nightmare. We go home at night afraid that something like this will occur and that is what happened here,” said Luana Munoz, a reporter from CNN. “We have learned that a fellow reporter has died while covering a shooting.”

“There are members of his family here, along with his fiancée, who are incredibly distraught tonight,” Munoz said. “There are other media people who are corralled together and standing in solidarity tonight as one of our own has passed.” 

A reporter broke down on live TV while reporting the Florida shooting, reported News18. 

The reporter who has broken down said, "I apologise, this is very difficult to cover. It is very emotional here at ORMC. I’m not even going to turn the camera because there are people here who knew that reporter." 

A job in the media has its own grind. It requires the coverage of staggering events at times. Reporters should be cut some slack and allowed to show their emotions during such scenarios. They should not be made to feel apologetic for being affected.

The views expressed are the author's own.

Suggested Reading: Alia Bhatt Paparazzi Row: Why Is Media’s Conscience Lost While Seeking ‘Exclusives’?