After being accused of a “severe violation of journalistic ethics” for recording inside a Thai childcare center where 37 people, including 24 children, were killed last week, Australian CNN journalist Anna Coren has been fined and faces deportation.
Coren, who rose to fame as anchor of Today Tonight on Channel Seven, and British cameraman Daniel Hodge captured a report inside the blood-spattered structure.
At the Nong Bua Lamphu childcare center, Coren pointed to blood on the floor and on children’s backpacks during the three-minute clip, which has since been removed from CNN’s website.
According to Coren, a Hong Kong-based reporter, “They stated they discovered the dead of children and instructors sprawled across these three rooms, and we can still see the blood smears smeared across the floor.”
Her story sparked widespread disgust, notably from the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Thailand (FCCT), which tweeted a picture of Coren outside the childcare center as Hodge climbs the fence to escape and expressed its ‘dismay’ at the report.
No matter what they allege, the CNN crew “entered a clearly designated crime scene without authorization,” the FCCT said in a statement.
A significant violation of journalistic ethics in crime reporting was unethical.
The gang also posted a photo of Coren and Hodge exiting the plainly crime scene taped-off building where the kids had been killed.
No other news organization, international or domestic, was willing to act in such an immoral way, the FCCT said, thus it was neither a scoop nor an example of deep reporting.
“This tragedy has traumatized Thailand, and there is widespread concern that unsuitable photographs shouldn’t be shared on conventional and social media,” says the statement.
One of the reasons is “just respect for the departed and their families.”
Three public health professionals who were leaving the facility talked to the crew and informed them they could shoot inside, according to CNN’s first Twitter defense of the duo.
However, the international TV news network altered its tone after being approached by Daily Mail Australia.
CEO of CNN International Mike McCarthy said, “The team now realizes that these individuals were not authorized to issue this approval.”
“CNN has stopped airing the story, and the video has been taken down from its website.”
At such a troubling moment for the nation, he stated, “We profoundly apologize any discomfort or offense our story may have caused, as well as for any difficulty to the Thai police.”
When Coren and Hodge attempted to quit the premises, Mr. McCarthy said, “the gate to the grounds was now locked and police tape had been put, which required them to climb over the barrier to exit.”
Jonathan Head, a BBC journalist covering south-east Asia, was one more to condemn Coren and Hodge for their actions.
I blocked another media crew from attempting to enter the nursery where the horrific deaths occurred on Thursday night by going over the barrier, he tweeted.
“Journalists should not enter a scene of a major crime.” It is very callous to display blood-stained interior spaces.
According to the Thai Public Broadcasting Service, Coren and Hodge were hauled away by police from their hotel in Udon Thani and brought to Na Klang police station for interrogation.
The CNN journalists were penalized because it was discovered they had worked while in the country on tourist visas, according to deputy national police commander Surachate Hakparn, but they were found not guilty for accessing the childcare center.
Coren and Hodge will be banned and deported, according to Mr. Surachate, but only after all legal actions are concluded.
They each agreed to pay 5,000 baht ($208) in penalties and leave the country, according to Mr. Surachate.