The second photo in this photo gallery is one of the most disturbing images I’ve seen in an American newspaper. (The caption, to properly alert the squeamish: “UNCLAIMED: A worker, carrying the body of a baby, makes his way through corpses piling up at the General Hospital’s morgue in Port-au-Prince after weeks of political violence. PETER ANDREW BOSCH/HERALD STAFF.”)
They can show dead Haitian babies, but not the flag-draped coffins of fallen American soldiers. I love how honourable this country is!
Actually, I know a little of the back story on The Herald's decision to run that photo. Apparently there was quite a bit of internal debate as to whether it was too graphic. I have a friend who works there who happens to be of Haitian descent. According to him, the editors asked all the Haitian-Americans in the newsroom whether they found the photo disrespectful. Not everyone agreed on the answer and the editors decided that it should run - but just not on the front page.
Wow. Ugh.
Very disturbing.
js
Joshua Benton is the director of the Nieman Digital Journalism Project at Harvard University, among other things. Before that, he was a staff writer and columnist for The Dallas Morning News. (More.)
About | Archives | Contact | Writing | Photos | Links | Wish
06 Aug: COLUMN: A year’s wait can make all the difference for your child
Any opinions expressed here are solely mine, and not those of my employer. In many cases, they may not even be mine.
Comment Preview
said: