අටළුගම දැරියක් ඝාතනය වීම සහ මාධ්‍ය වාර්තාකරණය

Abstract

During the month of May 2022, several newspapers and tv news telecasts reported on the murder of a minor in the Atulugama area. It was seen that a number of media ethics were violated in reporting this. Aruna and Divaina unnecessarily described the physical appearance of the deceased girl as pretty and beautiful, thus sensationalising the news. Aruna, Divaina and Siyatha published sensitive images of the girl's body without blurring. Even though Hiru had blurred the body's footage, it was inadequate. Mawbima, Swarnavahini, Derana, Sirasa and ITN ethically reported by appropriately blurring sensitive footage of the body. Lankadeepa, Ada, Daily News, The Island, Dinamina, The Morning, Ceylon Today, Daily Mirror and Rupavahini too did not publish any images of the body. While Swarnavahini, Hiru, ITN, Siyatha and Sirasa ethically described the attempt to sexually abuse the minor prior to the murder as a sexual crime, while Derana used derogatory language as "dooshanaya". Media ethics advise not to reveal the identity of suspects until proven guilty. In violation of this guideline, Divaina and ITN revealed the name and pictures of the suspect, Mawbima, Lankadeepa, Aruna, Swarnavahini and Siyatha too published his name. By contrast, Dinamina, Daily News, Ada, The Island, Ceylon Today, Daily Mirror, The Morning, Sirasa, Derana, Hiru and Rupavahini engaged in good reporting by not disclosing the identity of the suspect.