Rex Smith, editor of the Times Union, approved a photo/story of a Schenectady woman whos dog was killed by a hit an run driver near Mohawk Commons The story is here: http://blogs.timesunion.com/editors/?p=1006 (Yes, he said Mohawk Mall which was wrong, and no, it's no where near State and Chestnut St)
Quoted Text
A case in point: Look at the photo accompanying this column. It shows the anguish of a young woman from Schenectady, Meghan Bard, whose dog, Isabella, was killed in a hit-and-run Monday evening.
The event occurred near Mohawk Mall, on State Street — coincidentally, quite near the spot where six kids and their mom were hit by a driver earlier in the month. Staff photographer Lori Van Buren was nearby, and she captured the terrible sorrow on Meghan’s face.
Unless you are a very close reader of timesunion.com, you haven’t seen this photo before. When it came into the newsroom shortly after the incident, we discussed whether to publish it, in a conversation that went something like this:
People will be outraged at the photo of a dying dog.
Yes, but that’s reality. That’s what we show.
True, but what’s the news value of this? How newsworthy is the death of one dog?
But we publish a lot that isn’t specifically newsworthy — like, maybe simply because it’s just a powerful story or image.
In the end, we decided to publish the photo in a gallery on the Web site, but not in print. I’m offering it here to illustrate a point about journalism. (Also, you can now second-guess my decision, as I’m inclined to do, anyway.)
The link to the picture is here. This picture is, for any animal lover, VERY disturbing - please use EXTREME discretion if you decide to look further: Link
I'm shocked that the Times Union, whom I've previously really enjoyed and appreciated, would stoop to such a level as this. This after Steve Barnes, a Senior Writer to the TU published a story (complete with pictures) about the oriental custom of dog eating. (Warning - another EXCEPTIONALLY graphic picture - you may not want to look. Don't say you weren't warned.) Link: http://blogs.timesunion.com/tablehopping/3093/caption-this-18)
This insensitivity, displayed by two different senior staff members at the TimesUnion makes me re-think my plans to continue my subscription to their paper. Yes, I have the option of NOT looking - but in a blog format, under a typically "light spirited" column like "Caption This" (which I actively participate in) - seeing this picture thrown in my face was unnecessary. A senior editor chose to compound the problem by publishing an equally "shock" picture on their website
I'm upset at both these actions, and I intend on making my opinions heard next week when the offices of the TU are open. Shock value and sensationalism isn't "news" - this was purely about content, greed and selling newspapers/advertising.
Some of these news men have absolutely NO heart what so ever. What a wretched creature this Smith is.
"While Foreign Terrorists were plotting to murder and maim using homemade bombs in Boston, Democrap officials in Washington DC, Albany and here were busy watching ME and other law abiding American Citizens who are gun owners and taxpayers, in an effort to blame the nation's lack of security on US so that they could have a political scapegoat."
I didn't find it disturbing......what is disturbing are photos from Darfur and inner city dumps around America, I can think of alot more disturbing photos.. Let's see,,,,,,I work in nursing home and as we age,,,,,the photos become less complimentary and more disturbing to mainstream........JMHO.....
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
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