By live-broadcasting French counterterrorism measures as they were happening Friday in Paris, CNN came dangerously close to violating longstanding journalism ethics regarding hostage-taking situations and terrorist events.
At least 129 victims are dead after Islamic terrorists attacked seven separate locations in Paris late Friday evening.
Three suicide bombers detonated just outside the Stade de France as the crowd inside gathered to watch a match between the French and German national teams. Elsewhere in the French capital, terrorists attacked a cafe, killing about a dozen patrons and gunning down innocent bystanders in a nearby street.
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Jihadists also stormed the Bataclan arts center. They shot and killed 87 concertgoers and took about the same number hostage.
As counterterrorism experts geared up to storm the concert hall and rescue the last survivors, CNN producer Pierre Buet reported live on their movements from a hiding spot in a nearby bush.
“I believe this is police trying to get inside the building from the side of the building,” Buet said in a phone interview with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, as live images of the terrorism event played across the screen.
“There were gunshots five minutes ago and ten minutes ago. I believe these were gunshots from the police trying to get in the building, trying to break doors and break to through walls to get inside the buildings. I don’t believe these were gunshots from terrorists,” he added. “Right now, what I can see is police, those police and firemen trying to get to evacuate about 20 or 28 hostages from the first floor of the building.”
Blizter said, “Even as we speak right now, Pierre, you can see what’s going on. How close are you to the actual theater?”
“I’m about 40 yards away, yeah, 30, 40 yards away,” Buet responded. “I’m actually hidden in the bushes. Police have tried to clear off journalists from the scene, so that’s why I’m not talking too loud as you can probably hear. Police don’t want us journalists being here.”
The CNN producer then revealed that “a lot of police, a lot of heavy-armed police and possibly military” were on the scene preparing to end the crisis in the theater. He also revealed that there was “an armored vehicle earlier.”
French counterterrorism experts eventually stormed the concert hall, ending the gruesome slaughter. The three gunmen were reportedly wearing suicide vests, and all but one self-detonated before they could be apprehended by French authorities. One terrorist was killed before he could blow himself up. Four law enforcement agents were also reportedly killed in the hostage rescue, but this figure could change as details of the attack become clearer.
As Buet reported live from outside the concert hall, some of CNN’s viewers worried for his safety.
“Journalist hiding in a bush when police cleared the area isn’t clever his reps can be monitored and he could be mistaken for terrorist,” one social media user said.
However, some were more upset that the network aired Buet’s remarks before the crisis in the theater had been resolved.
One viewer said, “The journalist hiding in bush should be fired. He risked everyone’s safety by ignoring police. A disgrace.”
This viewer is not alone in thinking CNN should have held off from broadcasting details of covert counterterrorism measures before the ordeal was brought to a conclusion. It’s generally understood in media that newsrooms should never do this, especially during an ongoing terrorism or hostage-taking event.
The Poynter Institute, a nonprofit school for journalism, advises that, “In covering a developing raid or law enforcement action, journalists are advised to: Be extremely cautious to not compromise the secrecy of officials’ planning and execution.”
“If staking out a location where a raid will occur or if accompanying officers, reporters, and photographers should demonstrate great caution in how they act, where they go, and what clues they might inadvertently give that might compromise the execution of the raid. They should check and double-check planning efforts,” the group added in a lengthy list of do’s and don’ts.
These sentiments cross national borders.
“For the prime reason of not endangering lives, the media should refrain from live coverage of terrorist events. This is especially true when attempts are carried out to free hostages,” Raphael Cohen-Almagor, Chair in Politics at the University of Hull, wrote in an article for the Canadian Journal of Communication.
He added, “Live media coverage showing special security forces preparing to enter the building where hostages are held might risk the entire operation and put the hostages in jeopardy. The terrorists might be attentive to media coverage and hear and even see the rescue operation while in progress. Their reaction might be deadly. Furthermore, hostages might hear about the plans, become alarmed and confused, and subsequently act in a way that would jeopardize the operation.”
In 1972, when Israeli athletes were taken hostage at the Olympic Games, German authorities had a plan to storm the building when a deadline imposed by terrorists had expired. Unfortunately, East German television broadcast all of their counterterrorism measures, including where police were stationed and what parts of the building they were planning to breach.
Years later, long after the 11 Israelis were murdered by their captors, a law enforcement agent revealed that the terrorists were monitoring everything being broadcast by the press.
“Later we discovered that there was a TV in every athlete’s room and the terrorists had been able to watch us preparing live on screen. Thank God we called it off. It surely would have been a suicide mission if we had attacked,” he said.
