When 911 is TMI

I fully understand how and why the release of 911 tapes has become standard practice. The press and the public insist on their right to know. Notwithstanding the protected freedom of information, this was just another case of TMI -- too much information. The good news, of course is that this 911 caller survived, although her recorded experience of dread and despair will permanently remain in the public domain.

The struggle to balance the public’s right to know with the individual’s right to privacy is long-standing. Here in Boston, questions were raised two decades ago when the Boston Herald published a gruesome photograph of Carol Dimaiti Stuart slumped in the front seat of her car after being shot by her husband. As with most controversial things these days, the problem has been intensified by the distributive power of the Internet. For those who have a compelling fascination with details of death, the Web provides an endless photo library of crime, calamity and catastrophe.

A case can certainly be made for the public release of certain photographic and video images of disturbing events along with viewer discretion warnings. The widely available images of helpless New Yorkers jumping from windows of the World Trade Center to avoid the flames help us all to appreciate the unique horror of the September 11 attack. However, the 911 calls capturing the last words of panic-stricken men and woman who were about to die inside the towers, many of which are available for anyone with connection to YouTube, do nothing more than infringe on these victims’ privacy. Seeing may be believing, but listening is merely eavesdropping.

Now that virtually every American has a camera or video recorder as a feature of their cell phone, there is no controlling the supply of material that will satisfy the public’s interest, even if it is not in the public interest to pander to such macabre fascination. Unlike recordings by private individuals that can be uploaded or even sold to the highest bidder as a perverted form of free enterprise, it is questionable when public officials participate in such feeding frenzy.

Several states have considered legislation aimed at limiting the release of official recordings of private horrors, and have met with much resistance. Understandably, many people are concerned about the slippery slope toward censorship. At the end of the day, it may just take sensible public officials,like the Milton police who refused last year to release a 911 recording from a teenage girl during a brutal family massacre, deciding when 911 is TMI.

Author's note: You can follow me on twitter at @jamesalanfox for notifications of new blog postings. Also, you can find me on the Web at www.jamesalanfox.com or contact me by e-mail at j.fox@neu.edu.