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Reporting news. Links, photos, what to show or not show?

Posted: Fri Apr 22, 2016 5:28 pm
by Anchor Moy
I'm starting a new thread to discuss this in a general manner without reference to anyone in particular. Seems to me that when an expat or a tourist is reported to have died in Cambodia, there's problem about how to report this in a sensitive way. When friends and family of the deceased are looking for info on the forums, they are shocked by links to Khmer news outlets which often show gory photos and describe insensitive details of the death; smell, condition of the body etc.
While CEO is not posting death photos directly, and try to warn readers as much as possible, people who live outside of Cambodia don't have experience with Khmer media and it can be a shocking experience when they click on a link and arrive directly on a photo that invades the intimacy of the dead person. Some of the photos can be truly horrific - and that's even when you don't know the person concerned.

However, I think that it is important to be able to link to the news source, if only because the facts quite often need checking, due to translation problems and also sloppy Khmer reporting techniques.
So, how to post enough information to verify that the report is factual without causing unnecessary pain ? Is a spoiler and case by case editing enough ? Any ideas ?

Re: Reporting news. Links, photos, what to show or not show?

Posted: Fri Apr 22, 2016 6:30 pm
by phuketrichard
to me;
Report it and ink to ORIGINAL story

I do find that the translations need ALOT of work

I find the comments are whats worse. who wants to read that their nephew, cousin, friend has died in Cambodia and some expat they don't know and most likely did not know the dead one, has to start right in about drugs and offering their opinions about why he died ( mostly negative), i have been guilty about this as well cause i/we know what it most likely was when someone under 50 dies here.

Does CEO really need to report the deaths? Yes, it might be useful to identify the victim but..... at what price.

Re: Reporting news. Links, photos, what to show or not show?

Posted: Fri Apr 22, 2016 6:39 pm
by Jamie_Lambo
the news yes, but pictures arent necessary (copys of the passorts can be useful though), neither are the detective comments, if the people know the said person then fair enough but the majority of the time they dont,
even though the subjects been brought up i dont think much will change, unfortunately

Re: Reporting news. Links, photos, what to show or not show?

Posted: Fri Apr 22, 2016 6:52 pm
by Username Taken
I don't think we get as much detective speculation as some other forums.

As for photos of the deceased. Yes, I'd like to see a photo or two of the deceased in happier times. Recent photos, so maybe we can recognize that person. Not photos of a corpse.

Re: Reporting news. Links, photos, what to show or not show?

Posted: Fri Apr 22, 2016 6:54 pm
by phuketrichard
ok , here is suggestion;
Start ONE THREAD

"Barang dies in Cambodia"

and when ever someone dies he is placed there
RATHER
than a separate thread with the keywords; his name, Cambodia, died, dies, attacked, murdered , etc which merely assures google will index it high in the search
This way the victims family, friends will most likely NOT see the thread ( because it will not rank high) BUT we will.

Otherwise really all ur doing by using the keywords is assuring the thread will rank high and be seen by those affected and upset

Re: Reporting news. Links, photos, what to show or not show?

Posted: Fri Apr 22, 2016 6:59 pm
by kiwiincambodia
I've always been against posting the photos but I also feel it is important to reference the original news source.

Re: Reporting news. Links, photos, what to show or not show?

Posted: Fri Apr 22, 2016 7:00 pm
by frank lee bent
No pix of dead ppl. never
too hard on the family.
I endorse Richard's idea for a single thread for the deceased.
but news of deaths also brings a lot of traffic to the site.
news articles are certainly a legitimate item of interest.
just leave off the pics

Re: Reporting news. Links, photos, what to show or not show?

Posted: Fri Apr 22, 2016 7:17 pm
by bolueeleh
like what i have suggested, all in 1 thread, no comments, closed thread and sticky it

Re: Reporting news. Links, photos, what to show or not show?

Posted: Fri Apr 22, 2016 7:20 pm
by rozzieoz
Thank you for starting this discussion.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Re: Reporting news. Links, photos, what to show or not show?

Posted: Fri Apr 22, 2016 7:36 pm
by General Mackevili
Valid points by everyone.

While I think it's important to have as much info as possible about these cases, I also agree it would be better if we were able to make it even more hidden from friends and family who just don't get the idea of "if you don't want to see, don't disregard the warnings."

Just food for thought, but maybe we can post the links/etc somewhere hidden in a different area where ONLY members who really want to know as much as they can about it have to opt-in.

That way, guests (friends and family who find us on Google) have no way to even stumble across it, even by accident or by ignoring the warnings.

Then, even members won't see it unless they request access from the CEO Mod Team.

I consider everyone who's commented on this topic a valuable member, and hope you know your thoughts/suggestions are appreciated. And I am also glad to see you guys concerned about things like this when it comes to being considerate to other people out there.

It's never been posted for the "shock value," I've always just thought that it's best to have as much info available to everyone who wants it, especially in a country where 99% of foreign deaths are reported as "heart attack."

I guess if someone died in a foreign country that I cared about, I'd want as much info as possible, but I also understand the downside of having too much info, including the sometimes horrific photographs.

So, maybe we can try this. If it works, then great, and if not, we are always open for new suggestions from you guys.

For people like myself, Rama, Cam Nivag, etc, who are interested with as much of the facts as possible, we can opt-in to being able to see the links/images, and for the people who would rather not, it's all behind closed doors.

This is good because at least it's still documented somewhere so that people who really care to look into it more and see if the source is accurate, can do just that without the downside of EVERYONE who finds the articles seeing images that might haunt them for a while.

I believe our IT guru, UT, could create a hidden forum where the links are posted, and anyone on CEO can opt-in if they so choose, but it will be hidden from the public and also from members who don't opt-in.

Thoughts on that? I feel like that would generally solve the problem, while truly hiding it from everyone who prefers not to see it, and also allowing members who want to fact check the sources do so without it being in the public eye.

Again, I truly see both sides, I just feel that both have their own downsides, and maybe this scenario can be a "win" for all of us, maybe most especially the friends and family of the deceased.

P.S. For all the grief we get from friends and family over their desire to censor it a bit, we probably get almost as many thank you messages telling us they're glad we got as much info about it as possible into English and want even more info related to the case.