Violence And Tragedy Staples Of Journalism - 1499 Words

Violence and tragedy are staples of journalism because readers are attracted to gruesome stories and photographs. â€Å"If it bleeds, it leads† is an undesirable rule of thumb. Ethical problems arise for photographers and editors because readers are also repulsed by such events. It is as if readers want to know that tragic circumstances take place, but do not want to face the uncomfortable details. After publication of a controversial picture that shows, for example, dead or grieving victims of violence, readers often attack the photographer as being tasteless and adding to suffering of those involved. Photographs such as Fig. 3 for example, which was published by the New York Times in 1993, received a vast amount of hate against the†¦show more content†¦Goodwin wrote, â€Å"Pictures usually have more impact on people than written words. Their capacity to shock exceeds that of language† [p.90]. Other researchers have noted the eye-catching ability of charity ad vertisements in newspapers. Miller (1975) wrote. â€Å"Photos are among the first news items to catch the reader’s eye, a photo may catch the eye of a reader who doesn’t read an accompanying story† [cited in: Lester, Paul. 1991. [p.44]]. Blackwood (1983) argued that â€Å"People who either can’t read, or who don’t take the time to read many of the stories about charity do however scan the photographs alongside it† [cited in: Lester, Paul. 1991. [p,44]]. Nora Ephron (1978) disputed against the negativity around printing graphic imagery in her publication ‘Scribble Scribble Notes on the Media’, and asserted that disturbing charity images should be printed, â€Å"They disturb readers.† Ephron wrote, â€Å"it is exactly as it should be: that’s why photojournalism is often more powerful than written journalism† [p.60]. During the 1980s newspapers would continuously print gruesome images of worldwide atrocities. George Beveridge (1980) of the redundant Washington Star defended his paper’s publication of such photographs by writing, â€Å"newspapers were obliged to print them because they gave readers a dimension of understanding of the situation and the people involved that written words could not possibly convey† [cited in: Lester, Paul.