Posted on 05/23/2005 10:21:27 AM PDT by Kaslin
American photojournalists and their editors are frustrated that they can't show more photos of U.S. soldiers dying in Iraq, saying that the nation isn't getting an accurate picture of the horrors of war.
In a comprehensive report on Saturday, the Los Angeles Times noted:
"A review of six prominent U.S. newspapers and the nation's two most popular newsmagazines during a recent six-month period found almost no pictures from the war zone of Americans killed in action."
The paper explained:
"Many photographers and editors believe they are delivering Americans an incomplete portrait of the violence that has killed 1,797 U.S. service members and their Western allies and wounded 12,516 Americans."
During World War II, the Roosevelt administration strictly prohibited news outlets from printing photos of dead U.S. soldiers because of the obvious blow it would be to American morale. And the press willingly complied.
The same sensibility largely prevailed during Korea, Vietnam and the First Gulf War.
But with many in today's media opposed to the Iraq war, some say it's time to change the rules.
"There can be horrible images, but war is horrible and we need to understand that," veteran war photographer Chris Hondros told the Times. "I think if we are going to start a war, we ought to be willing to show the consequences of that war."
Pim Van Hemmen, assistant managing editor for photography at the Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J., agreed, telling the Times:
"Writing in a headline that 1,500 Americans have died doesn't give you nearly the impact of showing one serviceman who is dead."
By censoring the photos of GI's as they lay dying, Van Hemmen said, "We in the news business are not doing a very good job of showing our readers what has really happened over there."
Steve Stroud, deputy director of photography at the Los Angeles Times, also thinks the public needs to see more photos of dead American soldiers.
"I feel we still aren't seeing the kind of pictures we need to see to tell the American people about this war and the costs of the war," he explained.
Michele McNally, New York Times director of photography, concurred, observing: "War kills men, women and children, and we would be remiss if we couldn't in some way show that this is what happens in war . . . It's our responsibility to bear witness to these events."
Media support for showing more American bloodshed comes despite the risk that soldiers' families may consider the display a horrible violation of privacy.
Deirdre Sargent, whose husband was deployed to Iraq, recently complained to editors of the News Tribune of Tacoma, Wash., after the paper printed a photo of a dying GI that she said left her "shaking and in tears for hours."
"It was tacky, unprofessional and completely unnecessary," Sargent said.
Executive Editor Dave Zeeck told the Times that he tried to address the complaints in an essay published on Page 2 of the main news section. He explained to readers that he believed the picture, taken by John Moore of the Associated Press, epitomized the sacrifice of the American soldier.
"We not only have the right, but the responsibility to run such photos," Zeeck told the Times.
MSNBC.com posted the same photo to their website, prompting complaints from the dying soldier's family.
"At first we thought it was a really iconic photo of the terrible violence going on in Iraq," MSNBC.com editor in chief Dean Wright told the Times.
But when it turned out the soldier could be identified, Wright took the photo down, saying, "We thought it was too horrific, because it was more personalized then."
Nah. What we need is more pictures of dead MSM journalists. :-)
I second that. They want to turn public opinion against the war and the Bush White House. They have been trying for the longest time.
How about showing some pictures of the people leaping from the burning towers on 9/11/2001.
Maybe some pictures of the wreckage of the plane in Pennsylvania.
And how about some pictures of the wreckage at the Pentagon and some of the burn victims being pulled from the rubble.
Let's see some pictures of the firemen and policemen pulling their brothers out of the rubble of the WTC.
Why don't they want to show those pictures anymore?
Photos of dead American soldiers is something the Arab Muslim nations could really get behind and tolerate, unlike Quran "desecration" (real or imagined), the real "crime" against humaity.
I'll third, fourth and fifth it, if it helps any.
To show dead GI`s would only serve to embolden Al-Qaeda, something I`m sure papers like the LA Times can`t wait to do. I`d rather see Al Qaeda dead, and make no doubt, our men and women who gave their lives would feel the same, but you know what happens if we showed those photos? Liberals would scream bloody hell. We can`t even show pictures of them wearing underwear on their heads.
I'd prefer more pictures of dead journalists, myself. Scumbags!
More MSM betrayal and dishonesty ping!
A.A.C.
Isn't it time to add the left-wing media to the "Axis of Evil" list on an official basis?!
For a long time I have thought these people were sick in the head, now I know it.
Let's compromise, one picture of a dead journalist for every picture of a dead soldier.
Thanks for the ping. Jeepers...
Let's start with some AP reporters and photogs, then some Reuters and their photogs.
Maybe some stateside journalists would like photos of their relatives that have been killed in car wrecks posted on the net so that the public can get a better understanding of the dangers of SUV's and the highway sytem.
In fact lets have the editor of the magazines that post these photos agree that when they die, we can see the photos of them with cr@p in their pants, tongue hanging out and blue skin color as they lay dead.
It will only give us a more accurate view of the death process.......
Let me see do I f'ing hate the press..... uh yep....I think that's an affirmative. Do I think libs are lower than whale cr#p..... another "yes".
Funny how they don't want more pictures of 9/11 though. And won't run the ones they have.
Yet the MSM media doesn't set forth the citizens of these two countries welcoming the American armed serves into their cities/regions.
Yet the MSM refuses to show the goodwill being generated by the new found freedoms of these citizens.
Yet the MSM doesn't illustrate the horrors inflected upon the citizens of these two countries by the 'foreign' outsiders, the Muslims of Saudi, Syria, Jordan, Iran origin.
How about 2 pictures? #1 Headless body, #2 Head alone.
They are more concerned with showing Americans dead (we knew they were not pulling for the Americans didn't we) than the headless bodys left by the sub-human trash known as mudslimes
The MSM will never show those
Picture of Saddam in his tighty-whitey's got lots of attention.
Ditto
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