A tough decision
Suppose you're a newspaper publisher in a small town in Central Kansas. Suppose a vehicle accident takes place which snuffs out the lives of two attractive, vivacious young girls. Suppose one of your staff members responded to the scene and took some extremely graphic photos, though she intentionally made certain no bodies appeared in the images. Suppose all those things are true. And they are.
Now, the dilemma. Do you publish the graphic photos, in realistic color, or do you elect to keep them out of the paper?
The points to ponder are these:
1.) You can take pity on the families by not publishing the photos, for they would bring additional heartache to them.
2.) You are in the news business, and this was the biggest news event of the week. You aren't doing your job properly if you don't publish the photos.
3.) You have an obligation to publish the photos so others will be warned of the dangerous intersection. The photos may shock those people into making doubly certain that they are aware and take special precautions. Publishing the photos may save someone else's life. Or it may bring political pressure to get the intersection improved.
Most people will say "Oh, he's just selling newspapers" when we publish graphic photos. They are wrong. The amount of income derived from spot news coverage would be infinitesimal. Our circulation depends on regular readers who never miss an issue.
In this case, where there's no "suppose" factor, the decision will not be made by the Ol' Editor (he'll be out of town in Texas when that decision needs to be made). It's in the hands of Donna Bernhardt, who will decide after careful consideration. We know Donna will do what's right, but no matter what her decision — others will be highly critical of her action.
— BILL MEYER
