The student media staff at the University of Oklahoma is being criticized after posting a link to a student’s autopsy report.
The Oklahoma Daily posted the link on Aug. 21 as part of its ongoing coverage of the student’s death. They removed it Aug. 22 after discussing the response during an editorial board meeting.
The state medical examiner determined this week that Casey Cooke, 22, was legally intoxicated when she fell to her death in June from a university dorm’s fire escape. Cooke’s death resulted in the fire escape’s removal and a campuswide review of fire safety, according to the story on the student newspaper’s website, OUDaily.com.
The story, which carries a “staff reports” byline, received a litany of comments, shaming the staff for the decision to link the report.
After removing the report, the staff included this message at the bottom of the story:
“Editor’s note: Due to the graphic nature of the autopsy report’s content and the response from readers, the autopsy report has been removed. The autopsy report is a public record and can be retrieved from the State Medical Examiner’s Office for a $20 fee.”
The editor-in-chief for the student newspaper I advise initially brought the issue to my attention, asking me for my opinion.
I responded by saying what I think most journalists would think — autopsy reports are public records.
I clarified my initial response after reading the report.
It is the medical examiner’s job to document the complete condition of the deceased’s body. Therefore, the autopsy report contains specific details about the student’s body that are unrelated to her death. The detail provided in the report is invasive and unnecessary to further the reporting on this issue. It also has strong potential to cause further negative emotional impact to already grieving family and members of the campus community.
I disagree with The Daily’s decision to link to the autopsy report and support their decision to remove it.
Note: For the sake of transparency I would like for you to know that I am a Ph.D. candidate in the Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Oklahoma. I am not associated formally with the operations of The Oklahoma Daily, although I consider their adviser a professional colleague and think fondly of the students I know on the staff.
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