I am sick of the way papers and tv cover tragedies these days. It was capped by a picture run on the cover of a local paper this past Tuesday (Nov.18) about the horrible accident that occured downtown. Instead of printing a simple cops on scene or even a shot of the truck involved, they choose an overhead color photo showing the blood of the victim along the path that she was dragged under the truck, I’m sure her friends and family were pleased to see that on the cover of your paper…Assholes. These are human lives and it is about time we start showing a little respect when something terrible like this happens.
R-E-S-P-E-C-T
This article appears in Nov 20-26, 2008.
agreed. it was voyeuristic in the worst kind of way. I was eating lunch at a restaurant table that had copies of the metro with that obscenity plastered all over the front page. i had to clear the table avoid being nauseated by the knowledge that there is a beautiful 27 year old woman under that tarp, it was hard to look at. I am certainly not one that gets squeamish at the sight of blood, but to know the back story was heart breaking enough. I couldn’t image how it was feel to see that photo if Jaclyn was someone i knew and loved. A little respect is right. There was a reason she was covered up with a blanket. A point that seems to be lost on the metro and CH as they are trying to get the “money shot”sick fucks
Thank you. I knew the victim, and was sick to my stomach when i saw that photo. I can’t imagine how her family would have felt seeing it.
Agreed, I know some of her family and a lot respect for how they’d feel seeing their daughter, sister, niece.. should have been shown.
Agreed, I know some of her family and a lot respect for how they’d feel should have been shown, sadly it wasn’t. There is a point where our “right to know” crosses a line, this was it. The same line gets trampled with any photo, video or story that exploits tragedy for anothers gain.
I agree in principle, but there is a larger issue. And its that news has to be free to show what they want, and that if we don’t see those kinds of things, we might think it doesn’t happen. Think about when you see on the news grisled bodies lying on a dusty street in Baghdad, or covered in mud in Kosovo – how come there aren’t bitches about that? Answer: because you don’t care about those people, you don’t see others outside of your regional scope as humans on the same level as 27 year old Haligonians.I suspect they have many photos of far worse things that they won’t publish because its offensive. Also ,when people see the reality of things, then hopefully it might spur a greater desire for change.This issue was brought up when Budd Dwyer offed himself on live TV. Some broadcasted the footage, some didn’t. Maybe you haven’t seen the footage, but I am fairly certain you have seen the pictures of Thich Quang Duc turning himself into a roman candle. Why the difference? Seriously, ask yourself that.
I couldn’t agree more, I remember a few years back it was the same situation out in Spryfield. A lady had been struck and killed in a crosswalk and on the front page of the newspaper there she was, laid out in the middle of the road with a sheet that wasn’t big enough to cover her entirely. This poor lady’s legs and feet were sticking out. I felt absolutely terrible for her family and the complete lack of respect they had for her to display her in such a way. Absolutely rediculous!
I was involved with the Swissair recovery. People from the media would monitor scanners to find out when a boat was coming alongside with remains. They would be right in our faces while we are bagging remains, asking which organ I thought I had in my hands and how I felt about it. I see things have not changed much. Funny how the kidnapping of one of their own in Afganistan requires different rules… I would have loved to be in that cave with a camera and a mike to ask her how she felt.
Hey cranky jeff: It’s different situations. Melissa Fung was KIDNAPPED and held for ransom… she was still ALIVE and it was extremely important she stayed that way. The problem with giving media time to that situation is that it can make the kidnappers bolder. They *want* media attention, the more they get, the more demands they might make. There are many many many kidnappings we don’t hear about, but it has nothing to do with this situation.Remember the 9/11 “Falling Man” debate? And recently with the media block of Sarah Palin snafu’s? We cannot censor media… its the most important thing in a modern democracy. even if someone may find it heartless or offensive. If you don’t fancy the coverage and pictures they print, get another paper. Can’t get another paper due to media monopoly? Support independent media outlets. Or blog it yourself.
I remember when that little 2 year old was killed in the parking lot of Sears about 6 years ago- he was sititng in his stroller as a woman cam into the parking space next to him and ran the baby over befor his dad could put him into the car- one of the papers featured a photo of the blood stained stroller on the front page. It’s beyond pathetic- this type of exploitative, Enqirer type of garbage from so-called ”journalists.”
Optimus Prime Rib, I see your point but not everyone is this way when it comes to tragedies that take place in a far-off place such as Baghdad. I feel so awful when I see those devastating photos- I cannot bear to look, I feel complete shame that the world is allowing this to take place. But even so- I realize that maybe it’s necessary in order to remind people of the injustice of what is taking place there. It’s harder to see the greater good in printing a grisly photo of some one-off tragedy such as a baby being killed in a parking lot or that poor girl’s situation- what is the purpose in that?
“If it bleeds, it leads…”And the more bloody the better – for the media who are all competing to have the most gruesome coverage. It’s so unfortunate in a case like this, I really feel bad for the families and friends that have to relive the moment they heard about it every time they look at a paper or website or the news.