NEW YORK, 25 March 2003 — As an Iraqi television videotape showing captured and slain American soldiers was broadcast throughout the world on Sunday, US networks wrestled with the propriety of airing the sequence — showing only snippets or still photos.

Most networks said they were refusing to show the video out of respect for the families of the prisoners of war, all of whom had not been notified. But ABC aired a still photo from the interrogation of one soldier, identified as Spc. Joseph Hudson, after his mother saw the video broadcast by Al-Jazeera, the Arab cable news network, on a Filipino station she subscribes to and publicly identified herself. NBC did the same late Sunday evening.

“We aired video of Spc. Hudson because we knew his family was aware of his capture,’’ NBC said in a statement.

The footage sparked soul-searching in media circles and resurrected an age-old debate: Is the media obligated to report the news, no matter how horrific, or should it be mindful — especially in time of war — of families’ sensitivities and the impact of what might be seen as enemy propaganda?

In an unusual give-and-take on ABC, news anchors Charles Gibson and Ted Koppel voiced differing views. “Any time that you show bodies, it is simply disrespectful,’’ Gibson said. “The Geneva Convention (says) prisoners of war must, at all times, be protected, particularly against acts of violence and public curiosity.’’

Koppel, however, said: “We have shown dead bodies often over the years, going all the way back to Vietnam. Both with enemy dead and the dead of Americans. What is done...the faces are never shown. You don’t want to have families at home learning of the death or the injury of a loved one by seeing it on television.’’

News of the Iraqi video was announced on American TV stations Sunday morning. In the first minutes after it became available, CBS showed a brief portion of the interrogation of one soldier; CNN showed a photo of the dead Americans who were unidentifiable. At least five soldiers were believed to have been captured in an ambush near the city of Nasiriya. Still photos of the captured soldiers and at least one of the bodies also appeared on the websites of several newspapers, including the Los Angeles Times.

But then most media outlets yanked virtually all images after US military officials in Qatar and the Pentagon condemned Al-Jazeera for having broadcast the footage. Networks were asked to hold off on airing the tape until families were notified.

In one segment, the bloodied body of a dead soldier is shown on the ground. Other bodies are shown, with bullet wounds to the head. Subsequently, five Americans — members of an army maintenance company identified by their names and home states — are interrogated by their captors. In the middle of the video, the voice of an Iraqi commentator says: “Ladies and gentlemen, you are now witnessing a group of POWs from the American and British troops. These are the ones trying to invade Iraq, but they were faced with our courageous troops...and here they are, shamed and defeated.’’

“You’ve come to kill Iraqi people?’’ the interviewer asked a pale, bespectacled private first class from Kansas, seeking information beyond name, rank and serial number.

“I come to fix broke stuff,’’ he said. “I’m told to shoot only if I’m shot at.’’ Later, said, “They don’t bother me, I don’t bother them.’’

“Why did you come from Texas to Iraq?’’ the interviewer asked another. “I follow orders,’”’ the soldier replied.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, in a CNN interview, said the Iraqi video violated the Geneva Convention governing the treatment of prisoners of war. “Needless to say, television networks that carry such pictures are, I would say, doing something that’s unfortunate.’’

Earlier, on CBS, Rumsfeld said that Al-Jazeera “is not a perfect instrument of communication. It is obviously part of Iraqi propaganda and responding to Iraqi propaganda.”

Millions of Al-Jazeera viewers have grown accustomed to often graphic pictures of victims, from Israeli-Palestinian violence to Iraqi victims killed or injured by US bombing raids in the current war.

In Britain and Spain, networks showed only brief images of the US prisoners and corpses. US networks said they expected their policies on airing the footage to change as the situation evolves over the next few days and the POWs are identified.