The newest trend in investigative journalism is discovering what can be passed undetected through U.S. airport security. Journalists from the New York Daily News set this trend by sneaking knives, razors and pepper spray through security 14 different times at 11 different airports. None of the items passed through were detected.
CBS News soon followed suit by sending their journalists through various airport security terminals equipped with x-ray blocking lead-lined bags. CBS News’ bags were noticed and checked only 30 percent of the time.
Not to be outdone, ABC News decided to smuggle 15 pounds of depleted uranium from Istanbul, Turkey, to an address in New York City. ABC News’ efforts were also successful and the uranium made the trip nearly undetected.
ABC News’ uranium, which was shipped in a box marked “depleted uranium,” was chosen from 1,139 packages being shipped and tested for radiation. The depleted uranium emitted very little radiation and was not questioned further. ABC News’ Brian Ross pointed out that active uranium concealed in a lead-lined container would have emitted about the same amount of radiation.
While it is debatable whether these journalists were acting ethically, and it is safe to say that the pursuit of ratings was a factor in their actions, it is still a journalist’s foremost duty to seek the truth. One of the most important things stated in the Society of Professional Journalists’ Code of Ethics is that “public enlightenment is the forerunner of justice and the foundation of democracy.” The Code also states that a journalist’s duty is “seeking truth and providing a fair and comprehensive account of events and issues.”
The Department of Transportation and some other government organizations are angry at these media organizations and argue that they are doing more harm than good. Of course, the government can’t be expected to be overjoyed at having their weaknesses exposed. The bottom line is that public security is a major issue at the moment and these journalists have legitimate reasons to conduct investigations looking at our domestic weaknesses.
While the New York Daily News methods are questionable-it is illegal to smuggle knives and pepper spray through airport security-the two major television news organizations that participated didn’t break any laws in the course of their investigations. The depleted uranium used by ABC News was harmless.
Some argue that exposing the weaknesses of specific airports could tempt terrorists to initiate attacks, but the exposure of these weaknesses will no doubt result in more thorough security procedures. The Department of Transportation is probably angry because of the embarrassment of not having security beefed up enough already. After all, few issues received more attention than airport security improvement in the past year.
Other arguments against the investigations are that they diverted federal time and funds that should have been focused on real threats. However, not too many federal resources were wasted; hardly any of the objects that passed through security were detected.
ABC News, CBS News and the New York Daily News reporting was not irresponsible. On the contrary, it was efficient. They did their job and did it well. The public now knows the truth, however ugly it may be, about the deficiencies of airport security in our country.
Josh Foreman is a junior communication major. Send comments to [email protected].