CANADA WATCHDOG REJECTS COMPLAINTS ABOUT LUGER DEATH COVERAGE

After receiving 145 complaints from viewers, Canada’s television watchdog has cleared the CTV network of any wrongdoing for airing footage of the crash that killed luge contestant Nodar Kumaritashvili of Georgia during a practice at this year’s Winter Olympics. Most of the complaints cited CTV’s repeated use of the 40-second clip throughout the day. In its ruling the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council said that the letters it had received indicated that viewers not only found the footage disturbing but also “disrespectful to the deceased luger and his grieving family, friends and fellow athletes.” However, the CBSC concluded that the images “were integral to the story and to informing Canadians about this unfortunate tragedy.” It also concluded that the images were neither “gratuitous nor exploitive” and that there was “no effort to sensationalize or exaggerate the terrible event.”