And You Think OUR Media Is Bad

Everytime I think how rotten and crummy our news media is I read a story like this and realize how relatively lucky we are.

A group of Indian television journalists gave a man matches and diesel to help him commit suicide in order to get dramatic footage which was later broadcast on the news, police said on Thursday.

The man died from severe burns to his body in hospital in Gaya town in the eastern state of Bihar on Aug. 15, India's Independence Day.

Footage of the man, screaming and writhing in pain as he ran with his back on fire, was aired on several television channels. Police identified the man as Manoj Mishra.

"We have seized footage clearly showing a group of journalists handing over matches and some inflammable substance -- which we later verified to be diesel -- to the victim," acting Gaya police chief P.K. Sinha told Reuters by telephone.

Mishra, who worked as a delivery man, was upset over what he said was a large sum of money owed to him by a state-run dairy farm whose milk he transported to customers, police said.

"We have prepared charges for abetment against the journalists. There were five to six of them who were conspirators in this suicide attempt which is a criminal offence," Sinha said, adding that arrests were expected shortly.

The question needs to be asked: Is there footage of ANOTHER news crew convincing this news crew to got through with this? And if so, can they be prosecuted too?

Oh, but it gets BETTER.

The TV crews left the scene without aiding Mishra who suffered burns to over 70 percent of his body, Sinha said.

You gotta love that the news crew reacted to this exactly like children who just lit a fire. But at least kids aren't intentionally lighting people on fire.