Beyond Unprofessional: MTV’s Immorality

-DISCLAIMER- MTV Lebanon deleted the voice message from their online piece after this article was published.

A young man committed suicide on Thursday, for reasons that are beyond all of us and of no concern to the public. I choose not to share his full name freely, in the name of ethics, but I know most people reading this article are aware of who I am talking about.

Once again, a tragedy has become a matter of public debate; one person expresses their repulsion towards suicide, another wishes Wael forgiveness from God, and the rest just enjoy the buzz of this new “talk of the town”.

Two days ago it was Myriam Klink’s video, today it is a young man who decided to end his life.

I refuse to accept that this is how things go nowadays. The two events are not of equal importance — and they are not of equal sensitivity.

One is a joke, the other is a young man’s life.

As an agency followed by a large part of the Lebanese population, it is MTV’s duty to make sure sensitive issues are dealt with properly.

Instead, MTV has displayed complete and utter unprofessionalism. The lack of ethics, and moral standards that the news channel has demonstrated today makes me — amongst others — lose faith in the mainstream media.

How do you, as a well-known media platform that reaches generations of people across the country, publish a young man’s last words to his friends — words he probably pronounced unconsciously and with a stomach full of pills? The lack of respect MTV has displayed does not stop there; the channel has taken pride in their appalling behavior by proudly announcing that this voice message is exclusive to them and only them.

An infringement upon a dead man’s privacy. An attempt to sensationalize an issue that is private, and heart-breaking all in one.

Admittedly, I do not know whether or not MTV received permission from Wael’s family to publish the voice message, but I doubt it.

However, whether permission was taken or not, I urge MTV and other mainstream news channels in Lebanon to stop turning people’s grief into just another front page story. Your ratings are by no mean’s more important than a young man’s death, or his family’s dignity and self-respect in a time of sorrow and heartache.

Is it time for prominent news channels to start making ethical and moral editorial choices, rather than being driven by ratings and money — to take a second and see what they are publishing in a humane way, rather than always putting their business hat on.

Many others and myself will take the time today to think of Wael, his family and friends, and any other young person who has taken his or her own life.