Too graphic a death

By Editorial

The death of American Nicholas Berg in Iraq was another addition to the hundreds of military and civilian casualties since the war began last March.

Berg, a 26-year-old businessman seeking telecommunications work in Iraq, was gruesomely beheaded by members of al Qaeda. Berg, unlike his family, was a supporter of the Bush administration's decision to invade Iraq.

The grotesque video shows it all: Berg sitting in front of his captors, before being stabbed and beheaded. His decapitated head is held high by one masked man in front of the camera.

The fact that news outlets like CNN.com and other Web sites would have such content freely available is maddening.

Albeit widespread death and destruction, the media should hold restraint in publishing material, especially when it comes to overtly-violent and graphic video and pictures.

This page has frequently argued that restrictions on press freedom hinder an open and democratic society. Especially when a democracy, such as the United States, collectively decides to go to war to depose former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein; it is a further collective choice to analyze decisions made every step of the way.

But there is a clear line between common decency and "reporting the news." It is one thing to show Iraqi prisoners being tortured or Nick Berg held captive by terrorists.

It is another to publish the video of such a beheading for average viewers. And in San Diego, two teachers have been placed on administrative leave for allegedly showing the tape in class.

War is hell, and it is the news media's job to show that. But a distinction between reporting facts and disrespecting a dead American should be quite clear.