Natasha Richardson (1963 - 2009)
Posted: Thursday, April 09, 2009 by Travis Cody in
Today I must rant.
I waited a bit to post my thoughts about events surrounding the accident that led to the death of actor Natasha Richardson. I was saddened by her passing on March 18 from an epidural hematoma suffered during a fall while skiing.
But I was disgusted by the media rush to be first to announce her death. Many news outlets proclaimed that she had died well before she did. A particularly ghoulish story quoted those infamous "unnamed sources close to the family" to suggest that Ms Richardson was being flown to New York so she could "die at home".
Natasha Richardson was a woman, a daughter, a wife, and a mother. That she was also a celebrity is no justification for the speculative way that her accident and subsequent death were reported. The facts should have been enough to satisfy the "need" to report the news. Indeed, the only facts available were that she had been in a skiing accident, had felt ill some hours later, and had been admitted to a hospital in Canada. Some time later, she had been flown to a hospital in New York where she died on March 18.
Anything else reported in the media in the hours and then days after the accident was needless speculation to fill a 24 hour news cycle. And I will tell you that I'm sick of this scoop mentality. I saw reports that she had died on March 17. Those reports had to be recanted because she didn't pass until the following day. How difficult is it to confirm the facts prior to reporting an event? And how difficult can it be to refrain from reporting something you have not confirmed? Just shut the hell up!
News media behaved like freaking gossips!
Why is it more important to be first with a story than it is to be accurate with the facts? I don't need to know something immediately. I need to know the truth of what happened, and I can wait until the facts are confirmed. The media has created this illusion that the public needs to be informed of everything the instant it happens.
We don't. We need accuracy. We need facts. We can watch or read the opinion pieces we choose. But basic news events need to be accurately reported rather than speedily reported. If you can be accurate and speedy, well that's a bonus. But speed should never trump accuracy.
I also find it assinine that some have decided to use Ms Richardson's passing as an indictment against Canada's healthcare system, and subsequently as a political statement against proposals for healthcare reform here in the US. The facts I could find seem to indicate that Ms Richardson was lucid after the accident and refused medical treatment. As a consenting adult in possession of her mental faculties, it was her right to do so.
When she began to feel ill, she went to the hospital where reports indicate that she had the best of care including the proper scans of her injuries. Unfortunately, by then the bleeding inside her skull was too advanced. Her death was a tragic accident.
How arrogant of some to suggest otherwise. And how irresponsible. That's another thing I'm sick of...sensationalist fear mongering to push an agenda.
However, it is true that we learn from the tragedies that occur around us. I read that the parents of a 7 year old took the child to the doctor a couple of days after she had been beaned by a softball. They evidently had read about Ms Richardson and called their pediatrician, who advised them to bring the child to the hospital immediately. The child was diagnosed with an epidural hematoma, treated with surgery to remove the pressure, and released after 5 days.
The caution in this story has nothing to do with the relative merits or perceived deficiencies of a healthcare system. It has to do with this...be very careful with head injuries. Even a seemingly slight bump on the head can have tragic consequences.
And I say to the media, slow down. Bring me accurate facts in a timely manner, but don't rush. And when you are reporting news, keep your speculations to yourself.
And to anyone who decides to be an "unnamed source close to the family", a family's tragedy is not your exploitive opportunity. Mind the victim's dignity and the family's privacy and keep your mouth shut.
Well said.