On Wednesday night, The Beacon took down an Instagram video of the arrest of protesters on Oct. 7 in Downtown Boston. After concerns were raised from our community members that our coverage exposed protesters’ identities—and lengthy discussions in our newsroom with Beacon staff—we re-uploaded a new video with cuts made, removing clips that contain identifiable shots of protesters.
The Beacon did not come to this decision lightly; our editors and staff discussed at length the various ways to move forward after the attention and concern that the video drew. We decided not to blur faces because, as journalists, we cannot decide whose faces deserve obscuring; doing so would compromise our objectivity. Historically, news outlets have not blurred the faces of protesters. But we are not a legacy news institution—we are a student newspaper with a primary audience of our peers. Our political landscape is ever-changing, and protest in this time is especially fraught. Because of this, we have decided to instead move forward with cutting the video so as to maintain our journalistic ethics, while also taking into account our community.
We decided not to delete the video permanently because we believe it is unequivocally newsworthy. Given that we were some of the only reporters on the scene—as exhibited by the fact that several outlets referenced or included our footage in their coverage—our videos are among the only footage captured from the incident. The videos make up the only narrative to counter the police report, which did not include any mention of the protester injuries that our reporters witnessed firsthand. In our classes, we learn about the pillars of journalism—accuracy, speed, and minimizing harm. In reporting on the arrests yesterday, I prioritized speed and in doing so, lost sight of minimizing harm. This balance is difficult to strike, and some in our community feel we failed to do so.
After consulting with our colleagues and advisors, The Beacon is reconsidering its practices of protest coverage. As always, we encourage community members to use our community feedback form or submit letters to the editor voicing your thoughts, opinions, and concerns.
