Media Representation of the Victims of Terrorist Attacks. An Ethical and Legal Analysis of Articles Published in Le Monde

Abstract

"The topic of this paper explores the online media representation of the victims of terrorist attacks in relation to the ethical and legal frameworks aimed at protecting the people. Despite the fact that freedom of expression should not be restricted under any circumstances, the news media outlets ought to take into consideration the legal acts, the moral behaviors and ethical principles when publishing and disseminating information about the terrorist attacks. Journalists should aim to pursue the purpose of this profession with the intent of remaining objective and upright while respecting the human rights. The research of this paper focuses on the interdependence between journalism, ethics and law by analyzing how Le Monde covered some of the terrorist attacks which happened in Europe. The importance of ethics in journalism had been acknowledged by analyzing the role of the regulatory organizations for the press, as well as the professional standards which were set in order to guide the journalists and protect the people. The in-depth analysis of the media representation of the victims of terrorist attacks highlighted the fact that the journalistic ethical codes might have the power to strengthen the protection of the people in the press, while assessing the noninfringement or the breach of the supranational and national legislation enacted by the European Union and France. Keywords: victims, terrorist attacks, media ethics, media law "