Where are the journalistic ethics

When Jon Lee Anderson interviewed the Lebanese hostages held by the Free Syrian Army there was not one voice of protest in the Western press.  If those were hostages held by the Syrian regime, and especially if they were white, there would have been loud protests in the Western media about journalistic ethics and responsibility and about the need for disclaimers when interviewing men in captivity.  But the rules don't apply when covering armed groups that are loyal to the US agenda.