On Saturday May 14 Dominique Strauss-Kahn, head of the International Monetary Fund and until then the favoured Nicolas Sarkozy's challenger in the next presidential elections in France, was arrested in New York and charged with the sexual assault of a housekeeper in his suite at the Sofitel Hotel.

In addition to the consequences the case is having on international politics, international relations and French politics (Strauss-Kahn resigned on May 19 as head of IMF), it is also enlivening the debate within news media.

To sum up, of course simplifying, the French press is blaming the US media of being too unscrupulous in covering the news, neglecting the right to be considered innocent before being proved guilty. On the other hand, the US press is blaming the French press of being "reluctant" in covering the case in order to protect Dominique Strauss-Kahn's private life.

Some Europeans are upset over how American journalists have used "perp walk" photos and videos of International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn, wrote Al Tompkins on Poynter.

"US media's coverage of DSK case shocks France", titled EuroNews.

As the BBC News noted, in France it's long been accepted that the media do not intrude into the private lives of public figures. French privacy laws - the article explained - are among the strictest in the world and the French have long prided themselves of not prying into what politicians get up to in the bedroom - unlike in Britain and the US.

"Eleven years ago, France's parliament passed a law - the so-called Guigou Law, from the name of the Socialist Elisabeth Guigou, who passed the law - intended to reinforce the principle of the presumption of innocence. It banned the publication of photographs or video images depicting suspects in handcuffs if they have not been convicted of a crime", continued EuroNews.
Pictures that could be considered to infringe the accused's personal dignity, such as being led away by police officers, are also outlawed.

At this end, as the Wall Street Journal reported, France's broadcasting watchdog--the Conseil Supérieur de l'Audiovisuel, or CSA-- on Tuesday called on the country's television channels to use restraint in showing footage of Mr. Strauss-Kahn in handcuffs, reminding networks what French law prohibits.

Anyway, all but one French newspapers published picture showing Strauss-Kahn in the courtroom, where cameras are banned in France.

Not everyone in France agrees with this view however.

As BBC News reported, "an article in Liberation says France is now experiencing its first "Anglo-Saxon" sex scandal, and has brutally entered a zone of public debate which until now - because of cultural exception, "Latin" identity or democratic weakness - was confined to rumours and gossip among a select circle of insiders".

In line with this consideration is an article that appeared in Le Monde, written by Christophe Deloire, who co-authored a book about sexual affairs of French politicians.
The article is titled "The Strauss-Kahn affair and the troubling omertà of the French Media". WorldCrunch published its English version which you can find here.

"The Strauss-Kahn affair which began in a Sofitel hotel room shows that writing endless editorials or making sermons predicting the future does not get us any closer to the truth. When dealing with politics, French media usually call in a troop of editorial writers, re-baptized "commentators", whereas Anglo-Saxon newspapers, even if they have their own shortcomings, dedicate more space to investigative journalism that holds the power to make important revelations and share them with the public. A thirst for the facts has never harmed democracies", Deloire wrote.

"Current affairs force us to question the use of journalists. What is the role of journalists? Some citizens think, not without reasons, that some journalists (not most of them, but some of the most influential ones) try to impose their ideas rather than seek to inform us. As a result, they form a largely pretentious class. They are like a political community that is free from difficulties of action but never deprived of speech. They resemble a media-friendly class, which neither acts (politicians' role), nor exposes the truth (journalists' role), but splits hairs instead", he added.

As Global News wrote, "French media outlets, meanwhile, were facing criticism over their long-standing habit of gleefully swapping gossip about public figures among themselves while hiding that information from the public. The criticism has been sparked by allegations that Strauss-Kahn was well-known as an aggressive womanizer long before being charged with attempted rape and unlawful confinement in New York on Saturday".

On Poynter Tompkins cited some examples of how US media justify images showing former IMF chief in handcuff.

The New York Times wondered about the questions raised about the press' code of silence.

"Do the media have to stop revealing incriminating facts in order to avoid electoral accidents? Or on the contrary, do they have to do it more rapidly? That is a key question for democracy. Putting a brake on revelations would be an offense that can give the impression that we are protecting the "system." For a journalist, being a good driver means rolling forward without turning the wheel sharply. Right now, information in France has just been slammed into a long, perilous tailspin", concluded Deloire in Le Monde.

Sources: Le Monde (via WorldCrunch), BBC News, EuroNews, Poynter, Global News, WSJ, NYT, Guardian