Where should TV news drawn the line on reporting violence?

How much violence should a TV channel show when reporting news?

The question has been asked on numerous occasions and has arisen again following a BBC World report on Zimbabwe.

The New Times based in the capital of Rwanda,Kigali,reports

Yesterday BBC World showed gruesome footage of the violence in Zimbabwe ahead of the presidential runoff. The picture of a man whose right ear had been freshly chopped off in a style reminiscent of that used by Ugandan terrorist rebel leader Joseph Kony of Lord’s Resistance Army, run alongside the victim’s sworn message that nothing would deter him from voting for his opposition party.

and the article adds

Such pictures quite often pose a dilemma for the media; they appear so horrifying that fellow MDC supporters viewing them will think twice before going out to vote.
But on the other hand, not showing them to inform the world about the extent of the violence in that once peaceful country is to stand by and watch indifferently

Hat Tip Frontline blog