Insensitive Visual Context Published

The media should follow the ethical publishing principles and check for the content before publish. However, there is an issue that a Malaysian paper published a tsunami cartoon portraying the overwhelming tsunami and earthquake at Japan. This issue had caused Malaysians to reacted with anger and there are critics on Facebook and Twitter that some even commented to boycott the paper (The Australian 2011). The publication had created a buzz on social networking sites with politicians. It was criticized by the public for it's poor judgment on publishing content and described the cartoon as "distasteful" and "insensitive" (Wong 2011).

Source: The Straits Times

The paper had published the apology on its website, Facebook and Twitter accounts after several quarters demanded the paper to apologizes for the publication (The Straits Times 2011). This issue was even published in different countries such as The Australian and The Straits Times from Australia and Singapore. According to the paper's editor, they apologize for the publication of the cartoon in Berita Minggu and they had no intention of poking fun at the disaster that has befallen the nation of Japan and its people (Wong 2011). Besides, the paper's editor also stated that they were greatly sympathise with their plight and share the sorrow of the Japanese people (Wong 2011). This publication had created a huge buzz in Malaysia. Hence, the media have to be careful with the visual and situational context before publishing and should publish ethically.

References:

The Australian 2011, Malaysian paper sorry for tsunami cartoon, viewed 9 June 2011,
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/breaking-news/malaysian-paper-sorry-for-tsunami-cartoon/story-fn3dxity-1226021224356

The Straits Times 2011, Malaysia newspaper sorry for tsunami cartoon, viewed 8 June 2011, http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/SEAsia/Story/STIStory_644924.html

Wong 2011, The Star Online, Berita Harian issues public apology over tsunami cartoon, viewed 9 June 2011, http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/3/14/nation/8262608&sec=nation