Comments on: “A photo that had to be used”

By: Sarah McDarby

Sarah McDarby — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 15:50:29 +0000

God bless all the victims of this horrible tragedy. It makes me sick that this picture was in the paper and my heart goes out to that family as well as the other victims. I still believe that it was the most horrible and insensitive invasion of privacy. My mother was there that day and I thank God for keeping her safe. But I always remember those who suffered a worse fate. Those families are in my thoughts and prayers always.

By: MLS

MLS — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 17:26:33 +0000

I believe that printing the picture was the wrong choice. As a journalist one of your priorities is to minimize harm. This includes considering the stakeholders that could be affected by your decision. Raising awareness about automatic weapons is a bogus excuse. A semi-automatic weapon still has the capacity to create horror as well. If you want to raise awareness about that topic then the newspaper can print an entire article on the subject. Insensitive pictures like that are not necessary to make your point. If you insist on having pictures to promote your point make them ones that aren’t so emotionally tied to your OWN community.

By: ZCHS journalism

ZCHS journalism — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 16:18:14 +0000

We think that the photo that was taken should have been approved by the family before being published in the newspaper. Posting it without the family’s approval is insensitive.

By: Night Hawk Amber

Night Hawk Amber — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 16:49:00 +0000

I do not think it is right to put a picture like that on there. People understand it was a gruesome shooting, but i don’t think the families of the people that were shot want to see that, because it would just be like someone throwing it back in their face. I don’t think they want to be reminded of what happened, so I think the picture was very unnessescery.

By: Online Printing

Online Printing — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 12:09:59 +0000

I can see both sides here. I think there would be a certain amount of resistance from the family toward publishing this kind of picture… But I think over time their emotional reaction would subdue, and they would start to base their feelings on reason. And reason would start to tell them to spread the word of the tragedy and make sure no-one else has to go through that in the future. One of the ways to achieve that is through educating the public, and this kind of picture drives the message clearly.

By: Anita Read

Anita Read — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 19:37:00 +0000

I believe that you made the right decision. Yes, it is gruesome, and probably horrifying, but it gets the point across. People need to see what these weapons can do, and you showed them.

By: Lisa Asher

Lisa Asher — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 00:26:08 +0000

My father was shot in this incident.
The picture that was on the front of the courier-journal was terrible. Can you imagine seeing your family member or friend spread out on the front page of the local paper like that? It was a terrible time for everyone and to be smacked in the face by it the next day was even more terrifying.