After 9/11 they chanted privacy, sensitivity; Asian disaster open season to show bodies of men, women, children

Six months after 9/11, a CBS documentary on the attack on the Twin Towers censored visuals of a woman burning to death. ‘‘The image was so terrible,’’ a programme producer at the US channel explained, ‘‘I made a decision not to film it. It’s not something anybody should see, or want to see.’’

In the aftermath of the worst terrorist attack on American soil, the networks were remarkably correct. ‘‘Sensitive coverage’’, ‘‘respectful of victims’’, ‘‘no violation of privacy’’: the buzzphrases flew thick and fast.

Until last week, they even seemed believable. Unlike the aftermath of 9/11 — when not one dead body was shown on screen, not one ghastly image recorded for posterity, and about the only objectionable visual was of a man jumping to his death — Asia’s tsunami is open season.

Take the shots from CNN’s 10.00 pm bulletin last night. From Tamil Nadu, we see rows of dead bodies, a man carrying his dead child and, perhaps as primetime stomach churner, people reaching out to hold a child’s corpse.

From Banda Aceh, Indonesia, come pictures of rescue workers carrying victims, all arms and legs really, not quite the composure and dignity they may have wanted to put on for a TV shoot. The rows and rows of bodies continue — southern Sri Lanka one second, Thailand the next.

Can CNN, BBC get away with this corpse show in ‘sensitive’ Manhattan? continued