When I was in journalism school, particularly in my photojournalism and editing classes, we would discuss the ethics of using photographs of victims. As much as you hear "if it bleeds, it leads," a lot of thought goes into whether it is right to actually show the blood.
In a lot of cases I would argue that it is. Not for shock value, but because the results of violence or catastrophe are a legitimate part of the story.
I have a friend who worked as a newspaper photographer in a small town. One night he was called out to shoot pictures at an accident scene. He went and started shooting...until he realized one of the cars belonged to someone he knew.
He destroyed the film. I didn't completely agree with him at the time. My logic was, he could have waited until he found out about his friend's condition. He could have turned the film over to someone else to develop. Just because he wasn't comfortable with the situation because it was personal doesn't mean it wasn't news, and it was his job to cover that news.
On Friday a bicycle commuter was killed in a hit & run accident here in DC. I heard the story on the radio but didn't pay very much attention. This morning I found out that the accident victim was someone I knew.
I don't know why I did this...maybe I was hoping that my e-mail was wrong...but I went back to a news web page to look for the facts of the story. The facts were there, and so was a picture. It wasn't graphic. It wasn't gory. It was just a picture of someone I knew...someone with whom I'd ridden, someone with whom I'd drank a beer or two...lying in the street covered by a blanket. It hit me like a punch, and I'm still shaky.
If I'd been editing the story I doubt I'd have given it a second thought.
I wish I didn't have to think about it now.
Posted by Nic at March 29, 2004 01:11 PM | TrackBackthis sounds a wee bit similar to working in mental health and getting quite desentized...until you either get attached to a patient, or experience it in your personal life. {{hugs}}
Posted by: zenchick at March 29, 2004 08:16 PMThanks, Zenchick.
Posted by: nic at March 30, 2004 05:33 PMI am SO sorry to hear about this. May your heart find peace soon.
Posted by: John at March 31, 2004 11:57 AMThanks, John.
His memorial service was tonight, and it helped. I was feeling a lot of rage toward the driver, and I let that go tonight. I'll try to write about it later, if I can find word that make sense.