Does the public really need to see a photo of a man who collapsed on the street...

[Contrary1]

upon hearing that his daughter is dead at the hands of some crazed gunman?

Can't we all imagine the anguish without a picture? Is the right of the press greater than the right to a person's privacy?

:puke: on the media.

[nadinbrzezinski]

1. Oh I can tell stories

on the other hand one reason I think we have such a violent culture is because we do not see the consequences, the media ain't showing photos of dead bodies after shootings.

But this is usually the wonderful ethics in the media...

By the way, we will show you all the blood and gore courtesy of special effects

[MilesColtrane]

2. The members of the media are grief vampires.

I'll never forget the disgust I felt for the networks when they zoomed in on the shocked and suffering family members of the Challenger crew as they saw their loved ones die.

[wtmusic]

3. As disgusting as it is

yes the press has that right, and you have the right to comment on it, and I have the right to tune out mass media whenver possible.

[MADem]

4. They don't NEED to....they WANT to.

Freedom is sometimes uncomfortable, offensive, and even disgusting.

What is it that the press says?

"If it bleeds, it leads."

[Ozymanithrax]

5. It is so much easier to imagine that these things don't happen.

Actually, I think news photos should depict reality. If there is blood, we should see it.

[Contrary1]

6. But there wasn't blood...just a father's anguish.

Shouldn't his rights to grieve in private mean anything?

I don't know...maybe they got his permission to publish it. I doubt it. It really bothers me that our right to see this type of thing supersedes his right to privacy.

[Ozymanithrax]

10. HIs anquish is a critical element of the story they are telling...

of the event. It is honest.

[TreasonousBastard]

7. But, do we need it whitewashed? I asked a crime reporter...

for one of our major papers about this sort of thing, and she said victims and families often feel abandoned if they don't get such coverage-- it's as though no one cares.

[emilyg]

8. Good point.

[bowens43]

9. Absolutely

the people need to shown that easy access to guns has severe consequences. They should also see photos of the shooting victims, each and every time someone is murdered with a gun

Don't believe the lies, guns DO kill people

[deutsey]

11. I remember that was an issue we debated in journalism school

It's one of those proverbial "sticky wickets," imo. I remember we were talking about the iconic images from Vietnam of the girl running with napalm on her, the monk setting himself on fire, the VC prisoner getting shot in the head.

In general I lean toward yes, such photos as the one the OP mentions capture part of the events surrounding the incident. But I think such photos need to be taken and published with great care. However, I think as a culture we've become desensitized to such graphic photos because they've become so pervasive; or worse, such photos are cynically used to titillate the public's morbid curiosity and to boost ratings.

A great documentary from 2006 that goes into this issue is "9/11: The Falling Man." It's about the image taken on 9/11 of a man falling upsided down after jumping from one of the towers. It's a very moving film on many different levels, but it also touches on the controversy surrounding whether it was appropriate to publish it the day or so after the attack. Many readers were outraged when it was first published.

[spanone]

12. i'm surprised they didn't interview him while he was on the ground

[truebrit71]

14. "Sir, can you tell me how you are feeling right now?"....

Can't you just hear them saying that..??? :puke:

[Logical]

13. Write up the rules that the media should follow. That should be easy.

[Shagbark Hickory]

15. What did I miss?

[Brickbat]

16. As someone who has made decisions to run photos similar to this one, I can tell you that the vast

majority of people involved think it through very carefully.

It's also impossible, IMO, to imagine such anguish. A picture does tell a thousand words. I always voted to publish such photos, if we had them.

[tomm2thumbs]

17. what about the still image of the fan falling to his death at the baseball field

is that any less gruesome than photos of people falling from burning city buildings?

totally bad calls going on in the press out there