OTTAWA – CTV Toronto’s September broadcast of cellphone footage of a stabbing incident, in the absence of any prior warning to viewers, constituted breaches of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters’ (CAB) Violence Code and the Radio Television Digital News Association of Canada’s (RTDNA) Code of Journalistic Ethics, the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council (CBSC) announced today.
During a news story broadcast during the CTV News at 6 newscast, anchor Ken Shaw explained a man in Kingston had stabbed several victims earlier that day, resulting in the death of one victim. The perpetrator himself had also died after stabbing himself.
The video footage that accompanied the story appeared to have been filmed with a cellphone, from a distance across the street and the faces of the two individuals in the video were not fully visible, says the CBSC release. The video did, however, show two men struggling, falling to the ground and then one clearly making two stabbing motions to the other. A police officer then pursued the suspect.
The CBSC received five complaints about this broadcast and one requested it rule on the matter. The viewer was upset that CTV had shown footage of a person being stabbed to death and that there was no warning.
The CBSC’s English-Language Panel examined the complaint under the codes relating to violent images, which require broadcasters to air a warning in advance of graphic reporting.
“The Panel concluded that the footage, as presented, of a real stabbing taking place was disturbing and jarring. CTV failed to provide proper context and set-up to the video, and failed to provide a warning to viewers before airing the clip,” said the council.
CTV Toronto is now required to announce the decision once during prime time within three days following the release of this decision and once more within seven days following the release of this decision during the time period in which CTV News at 6 was broadcast, but not on the same day as the first mandated announcement, within the fourteen days following the broadcasts of the announcements, to provide written confirmation of the airing of the statement to the complainant who filed the Ruling Request; and to provide the CBSC with a copy of that written confirmation and with air check copies of the broadcasts of the two announcements which must be made by CFTO-DT.
