Ban entry of Media/ Politicians into hospitals during mass casualty management!

Fire at Bangalore's Carlton Towers: Bangalore, Feb 23: A massive fire has hit the third floor of the Carlton Towers in Bangalore, killing three and trapping many office goers around the peak office hours this evening. At least five people may have died in the Carlton Towers since they jumped out from the fifth and sixth floors of their office building in Bangalore on Tuesday. Survivors were treated at Manipal Hospital

Mediamen barge into the hospital: minutes after the first patient was wheeled into the Manipal Hospital, harassment by mediamen started...they barged into no entry/ no photography zones of the hospital, started photographing/ videographing hapless victims, who were still under shock...They even tresspassed into sterile areas like Emergency ward/ ICU and even wards!  

When some relatives/ patients requested them not to take photo, they did not bother...all that mattered for the mediamen was a crying face/ breaking news!

Useless Exercise by VIP`s:  like visiting the victims  in the hospital (in what way it helps?), which will not only hamper the medical management but also burdens the doctors & hospital staff (who should be treating the patients!). It also burdens the local administration and the police – who otherwise should be involved in relief measures/ investigations

What is the use of parading in the Hospitals, with mediamen? Will this "show" help in any way to any individual? The police personnel, who otherwise have other serious issues to tackle, will end up "escorting" these politicians! Rather than these publicity stunts, VIP`s should be busy in tactical planning! They should also order investigations by town planners/ fire personnel, to prevent future calamities...

NABH guidelines to Hospitals: NABH certified hospitals should have a disaster/ mass casualty protocol. According to the protocol, media management, information to relatives through media is essential. However mass casualty situation does not give any rights to mediamen, to barge into private/ secure/ sterile areas of the hospital. In fact this kind of unrestricted entry into hospital by those posing as mediamen can cause a serious security issue, apart from causing breach of infection control policy of the hospital.

Moral Policing by the Media?

There is NO justification for Drunken Driving/ Assault on Police. If the charges are true, they should be punished according to the law of the land. However there is no justification either for trial by media, disclosing the identity of the accused.

When Police teams are performing routine checks with alcometer, why have the media presence? that too visual media? The Mediamen may record such images, may blackmail the person in question (even if he is a teetotaller!) later! It is highly condemnable to record images of police activity, and use it in the lay press for titillation! Why have mediamen record video/ photo in the Police station, before they are even charged with the crimes?

Counter Point:

1. Where is Justice Nayak, who is supposed to guard the Human Rights? It is well known that most muslim countries ban women from getting photo/ videographed...maybe these girls were shocked to see video cameras, so they must have tried to flee the scene...Later, the media was called to the police station too...where is the right to privacy?  When underworld goons are arrested police provide them the luxury of black face masks...but hapless women caught in the middle of the night paraded in front of cameras...
2. Is it not moral policing by Media? How many drunken brawls by men get reported like this?...the same media houses which cried foul when pubs were raided last year, when the very same pink cheddy gangs which called for Pub Bharo...are now silent! (just because of the alleged attack on the media by these girls?)
3. Thank God, there was no one in the vicinity wearing any saffron clothes! Otherwise National Council for Women, Amnesty, Transparency..etc would have raised a hue and cry!

Update on 2nd September 2012

Girl committed suicide after being photographed during accosting by police

IP Singh, TNN Aug 31, 2012, 12.34PM IST

Jalandhar: A teenager college student girl committed suicide by jumping before a train on Domoria Bridge on Thursday evening after she was reportedly photographed by a few photo journalists when she was accosted by police at a naka while she accompanied a boy in a car which had hit another car.

It seemed to be a case of over enthusiasm of police and photojournalists back firing as the naka was laid to check eve teasing and in the last few days Traffic police inspector Balwinder Kaur's Nakas and her on the spot punishment to eve-teasers had been making almost daily news and providing good photo opportunity to jurnos. (TOI)

Privacy: one of the fundamental rights of every citizen

Click on the image for full view
Courtesy: VijayaKarnataka/Mediamirchi

Terrorists get live coverage, Thanks to the Media

This ghastly photo taken at a Trauma Center was published in The Hindu. The media has no regard for any privacy/ ethics. Where was the need to publish such gory image? What about the invasion of privacy? Loss of dignity?
A day may not be far when terror groups in the guise of Mediamen, enter hospitals, cause secondary bomb blasts in the hospitals! (To Read more click here)
Don't Talk to Blast Victims, Pune Police Chief to Media

IANS
Pune, Feb 14: The media should keep away from hospitals in Pune where victims of the eatery blast are recuperating, the city police chief warned Sunday. "This is not just a request, it is our official direction," he said.
Police Commissioner Satyapal Singh said at a press conference here that the media should not interview any blast victim, including those at hospitals.
"I want to appeal and request media persons not to go to hospitals where the injured are admitted or talk to them about the incident. This is against national interest.
"It is not just a request, it is also our official direction. Hospitals have also been directed to not allow anyone in the hospitals. Anyone violating this would have to face the consequences," Singh told reporters.
Nine people, including two foreign nationals were killed, while 60 people (48 Indians and 12 foreign nationals) were injured in the blast at the German Bakery Saturday evening.
While 19 of the injured have been discharged from hospitals, 41 are still undergoing treatment, Singh said.


But, as usual mediamen have already barged into the hospital, photographing, videographing hapless victims of terror bomb blast...so the terrorists get a live coverage of victims of their terror attack...thanks to the "terror friendly media" ! 
It is also a known phenomenon that Mediamen gate crash/ enter important venues without any pass/ identity card. Hence it becomes important to keep in mind the possibility of terrorist posing as a Journalist...especially when they are with electronic gadegets like cameras- which can easily conceal weapons/ explosives!