Yes, Show It

Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice sits on the sideline in the first half of an NFL preseason football game against the San Francisco 49ers, Thursday, Aug. 7, 2014, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
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Readers react to whether we should publish imagery and videos of domestic violence. First, TPM Reader SS

I just read your editorial on whether or not the video of Rice should have been posted on TPM. I thank you and other media for showing the shocking video of Rice hitting Ms. Palmer. I believe it has been an important wake up call for many that domestic violence is truly a terrible crime. As we all know, a picture or video usually does has far more impact than words. We still have a long way to go with law enforcement always taking domestic violence as important as other violent crimes.

We need the public to be informed and want better enforcement of the law. We also need to do much more to prevent domestic violence and the public knowing more about abuse will help bring that about. It is very unfortunate if the victim is uncomfortable with the posting, but the needs of the society as a whole should prevail in this case. This video could possibly help prevent others from suffering such violence.

I agree that a video of a crime that happened in a public area is not the same as a hacked private video that has nothing to do with the public. It would be unethical to post hacked private videos unless there were some extenuating circumstance that made them newsworthy and important information for the public to have.

I also agree that with any news stories an editor does have to decide what videos or photos are to be shown on a case by case basis. I’m sure it’s not always an obvious choice.

My heart goes out to Ms. Palmer, now Mrs. Rice. Not only is she a victim of a vicious assault but she is also now receiving much scorn for having married her abuser. My thoughts are that he may have threatened her no end to go through with a marriage so she could not be forced to testify against him. Threats are often why women don’t leave. They fear for their life. And they are at very high risk for being killed by the batterer when they leave. I don’t know why she married Rice, but I do think it unfair that it is being assumed it was only about money.

And TPM Reader KK

The proof is in the pudding. Ray Rice just went from an NFL star coming off of a two-game suspension to banishment. The only reason for the change is the public release of the more graphic video. Now other domestic abusers–famous and not–are on notice. That’s a pretty strong argument for the public service value of publishing it. And your other arguments aren’t too shabby, either.

I think journalists and publishers should always be leery of overly instrumental arguments about why to publish or not to publish certain things. In this case, there’s a magnitude to domestic violence that is captured in imagery that is simply not captured in words.

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