Death Of A Hero
United States Marines. Sent to some of the most dismal, desolate places on this planet to do a job only the few can accomplish. It was one of these patches of earth that Lance Corporal Joshua Bernard was mortally wounded by a rocket propelled grenade during a Taliban ambush in Afghanistan on August 14th while most Americans went about their daily lives free, safe, and oblivious to the combat that rages in that distant land. AP photographer Julie Jacobson was embedded with this Marine unit and documented the events to include a photograph of Lcpl Bernard as he lay wounded and being treated by fellow Marines. He died shortly thereafter from his wounds.
What ensued was controversy over releasing and distributing this photograph. It was released over strong objections of Lance Corporal Bernard’s father and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates. There was absolutely nothing to be positively gained from displaying this image.
“What it does is show — in a very unequivocal and direct fashion — the real consequences of war, involving in this case a U.S. Marine. And that becomes very personal and very direct in some way, because we have a name, we have a home town, we have a shared nationality and we have, to a certain extent, a shared culture and some common values.”
“The decision we came to was that — as a journalistic imperative — the need to tell this story overrode some of the other considerations.” Of course, we appreciate the anguish of the family of this marine. Of course, we appreciate the sacrifice that he made for his country. At the same time, there’s a compelling reason to show the real effects of this war. Sanitizing does everyone a disservice, in my view. Limiting casualty counts to numbers and names and nothing else; that’s a very incomplete picture of what’s going on.”
~Santiago Lyon, the director of photography at the A.P.
What’s next? Should the news media incorporate into a news report the graphic photo images of an entire family killed in a drunk-driving vehicle accident. Would this not show the real consequences of drunk driving? Is it not a “journalistic imperative” to show the mangled bodies and twisted wreckage in order to reveal the reality of driving while intoxicated?
“We thought the value of that image was to show the complexity, the sacrifice and the brutality of the war.”
~John Daniszewski, AP senior managing editor
How about photos of innocent murder victims that show the complexity and brutality of senseless murder?
Why not? Because it is simply not appropriate or neccessary. It does not dignify the deceased or bring comfort to the family nor does it improve or enhance the story. A good writer should be able to convey the story without the graphic images.
“There was no question that the photo had news value. But we also were very aware the family wished for the picture not to be seen. That created a difficult choice between our job to document the war and our respect for the suffering of the corporal’s family.”
~John Daniszewski, AP senior managing editor
As the father of a Marine that was wounded by a rocket propelled grenade in Fallujah, Iraq I know the anguish of that notification phone call. What I don’t know is the actual grief and heartache of losing a son. I am in full agreement with the father of Lcpl Bernard not wanting the picture of his dying son distributed throughout the world for the lame reasons offered by the Associated Press editors.
If there was so much turmoil within the AP hierarchy whether or not to release this photograph then the wishes of the family should have been the overriding and determining factor.
