Media ethics and coverage of the Kobe Bryant tragedy

 Published Date: May 3, 2020

Follow @spj_tweets to hear about how its code of ethics could be applied to coverage of high-profile deaths such as Kobe Bryant. SPJDC’s @makejdm discussed it @WHURfm w/ host @HFisherWHUR and experts @jtmediaready and @kharriston.

SPJDC @SPJDC Jan. 30

SPJ DC Pro Immediate Past President Jonathan Make represented the chapter and @spj_tweets on a segment of The Daily Drum with Harold Fisher on Howard University Radio WHUR 96.3 on Jan. 30, 2020, to talk about “Journalism and The Kobe Bryant Story” in the wake of the high-profile athlete’s shocking death on Jan. 26, 2020, in a helicopter crash that also claimed the life of his basketball-playing daughter Gianna. Listen to it here.

Immediate Past President of the SPJ DC Pro Chapter Jonathan Make (far left), joined WHUR Daily Drum show host Harold Fisher, Howard University associate professor of media studies Jennifer Thomas, and former Washington Post metro desk editor Keith Harriston (left to right) just days after the untimely death of basketball great Kobe Bryant to talk about media responsibilities to balance the public’s curiosity about high-profile personalities and respecting their private information.

– Show compassion for those who may be affected by news coverage.

The questions about TMZ and the reporting of the Kobe Bryant story continue.  The news organization was the first to report the death of the basketball icon … before his family was notified.  We take a closer look at that, the other stories that have come out of this tragedy and the job journalists do.

— Harold Fisher’s Daily Drum segment Jan. 30, 2020

Reputable media don’t pay for news, said @makejdm (and the SPJ Code of Ethics).

— @spj_tweets

– Avoid pandering to lurid curiosity, even if others do.

The SPJ Code of Ethics can be found here.

About last night…Thank you @HFisherWHUR@WHURfm for an engaging discussion on how the media handled the #KobeByrant story. ICYMI https://whur.com/news/journalism-and-the-kobe-bryant-story/…#journalism#mediamatters#professorlife@makejdm@kharriston

— @jtmediaready