NBC is at it again. Apparently it didn't get the memo that trying to catch criminals is the job of law enforcement and not wannabe bounty hunters in search of a sensational story. But I have to give the NBC news team kudos for aiming for a more audacious criminal element than online sexual predators. Now they're looking to take down war criminals residing in the United States. I don't know what scares me more: the concept itself, or the fact that NBC is straining the ethics of journalism.
I started learning from my mistakes at a young age. If you try and share a shovel and bucket in the sandbox, you'll wind up with sand in your eyes. How has this concept managed to escape the attention of NBC? Dateline's popular investigative series To Catch a Predator was yanked off the airwaves amid allegations of entrapment and the suicide of an alleged offender. But instead of reassessing the implications and procedure of such an investigation, NBC decided to up the ante and barrel forward.
They're currently in the news for their pursuit of Leopold Munyakazi, a visiting professor at a Goucher College in Maryland. He's accused of participating in the 1994 Rwandan genocide. According to a Feb. 10, New York Times article, NBC teamed up with a Rwandan prosecutor and proceeded to confront Mr. Munyakazi and the school's president with their assertions. Munyakazi has protested his innocence, but NBC isn't relenting.
NBC is in real danger of crossing the line into creating a dubious brand of news. The fact that the network is working with a foreign government official, against the advice of the Department of Homeland Security, raises all kinds of red flags. Journalists are supposed to objectively monitor government, not get into bed with it. Then again, objectivity went out the window when NBC decided to deem Munyakazi guilty and stalk him with a camera crew.
NBC has made the decision to pursue ratings at the expense of their professional reputation. Their condemnation of Munyakazi and close relationship with his accuser should put journalists everywhere on alert. I know I don't want to be associated with a news organization with such shady ethical practices.
- Stephanie Hummel is a senior studying journalism. Catch her (if you can) at sh213005@ohiou.edu.
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Stephanie Hummel
