I'm surprised that this hasn't been brought up here (or I missed it...or maybe I'm the only one who finds this somewhat fascinating...) but:
This was the cover of the December 4th edition of the New York Post.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/la-na-nn-ny-post-cover-train-death-20121204,0,7858527.story
A simple question: Is this right? Is a picture like this appropriate to be put in a newspaper (let alone the cover)?
Now personally, I think this is going too far. It's one thing if it's something that is actually affecting people but the only people this is going to be affecting is the direct people involved. There is absolutely no reason I can think of why this was put on the cover except to exploit the situation and sell a ton of newspapers. With that said, some of our most powerful photographs in history have been far more brutal than this (example: The Vietnam General being executed; The Twin Towers on fire).
Just curious what others may be thinking about this...
STORY UPDATE: Since a few people have asked, the alleged "pusher" has been found and charged with second-degree murder. It's not first-degree (yet) because the prosecutors don't believe he intended to kill Han but had "depraved indifference" after he shoved him into the tracks.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/suspected-subway-pusher-charged-murder/story?id=17886112#.UMCbTINZXF0
UPDATE #2 FOR THOSE INTERESTED IN THE STORY: Naeem Davis (The man accused of pushing Han onto the train tracks) is claiming self-defense:
http://newsone.com/2096716/naeem-davis-murder-charge-ki-suk-han-subway-pusher/
?He attacked me first. He grabbed me,? Davis said.
It's also being reported by multiple news sites that 22 seconds went by between Han going to the train tracks and the train actually striking Han (although that just seems to be the photographers word from the news articles I've seen).
This was the cover of the December 4th edition of the New York Post.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/la-na-nn-ny-post-cover-train-death-20121204,0,7858527.story
By Andrew Khouri
This post has been corrected, as indicated below.
10:39 p.m. CST, December 4, 2012
On Tuesday, New Yorkers awoke to a gruesome New York Post cover photo. The photo, which fills most of the page, depicts a man trapped on the New York City subway tracks, awaiting an oncoming train that would eventually take his life.
"Pushed on the subway track, this man is about to die,? the headline says. The victim appears to be trying to climb up as he looks toward the oncoming train. Below the victim, appears one word: ?DOOMED.?
The decision has sparked outrage across the Internet, raising questions about journalism ethics. The story also has touched off a debate about whether bystanders ? including the photographer ? should have done more to help Ki-Suck Han, a 58-year-old from Queens, N.Y., who was allegedly pushed onto the tracks Monday afternoon.
?Someone needs to be fired for this @Nypost cover. It's classless, cruel and completely void of all integrity. You should be ashamed,? tweeted @ JasFly.
Others signaled out the photographer.
?Wow! enough time to take a few pictures. Why didn't the person help? ? What an age we live in when getting the picture is more important! I am appalled,? Joseph Monte wrote in a comment on the Post?s website.
Han attempted to get back onto the platform, the Post reported, but was crushed between the side of the platform and the train, which could not stop in time. Witnesses have indicated the man who pushed Han appeared to be disturbed and had frightened other riders as they waited on the subway platform.
Police have released a video that shows Han and another man arguing on the platform before the incident. Police said Tuesday they were questioning a 30-year-old man in connection with Han?s death and that he had implicated himself in the attack. No charges were expected to be announced before Wednesday.
The photographer, in particular, has been signaled out for criticism.
The Post reported that one of its freelance photographers, R. Umar Abbasi, had been on the platform of the station at West 49th Street and 7th Avenue. Abbasi told the Post that he attempted to warn the operator by rapidly firing off his flash.
?I just started running, running, hoping that the driver could see my flash,? Abbasi told the Post.
Abbasi said others on the platform also ran toward Han and the train after he was pushed.
Marc Cooper, a professor at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, said many people had rushed to judgment without a full understanding of the facts.
?Those who are outraged that the cameraman did not save his life need to ask themselves what they would have done and what they could have done,? Cooper said. ?Because from what I have seen, I am not convinced that the photographer could have saved his life.?
Cooper said that if the photographer could have helped Han, he was obviously morally bound to do so, rather than snap a photo. But the outrage at the Post?s decision to run the photo ?seems misplaced? unless their photographer actually could have saved Han?s life, Cooper said.
Although the headline was sensational, the photo has news value, Cooper said, because ?it makes us think how we treat others and what our toleration of violence is.?
?If we live in a society where people are pushed to death in a subway over a silly argument, then I am in favor of documenting that and showing that in all the horror that it is,? he said. ?Journalists do not shy away from depicting horror because there is horror.?
Some journalists took a different view on Twitter. On Tuesday, the Poynter Institute published a post that provided a roundup of comments from journalists.
?Sickening rubber-necking front page from the New York Post. Imagine how this man's family feels,? Ian Prior, sports editor at the Guardian newspaper in London, tweeted.
?that NY Post cover doesn't seem necessary at all...? Charlie Warzel, a digital media reporter for Adweek magazine, tweeted.
[For the record, 5:37 p.m. Dec. 4: An earlier version of this post spelled the victim's name as Ki-Suk Han. Actually, it?s Ki-Suck Han.]
[For the record, 8:39 p.m. Dec. 4: This post was updated to indicate that police said late Wednesday that the man being questioned had implicated himself in the attack and that no charges were expected to be announced before Wednesday.]
This post has been corrected, as indicated below.
10:39 p.m. CST, December 4, 2012
On Tuesday, New Yorkers awoke to a gruesome New York Post cover photo. The photo, which fills most of the page, depicts a man trapped on the New York City subway tracks, awaiting an oncoming train that would eventually take his life.
"Pushed on the subway track, this man is about to die,? the headline says. The victim appears to be trying to climb up as he looks toward the oncoming train. Below the victim, appears one word: ?DOOMED.?
The decision has sparked outrage across the Internet, raising questions about journalism ethics. The story also has touched off a debate about whether bystanders ? including the photographer ? should have done more to help Ki-Suck Han, a 58-year-old from Queens, N.Y., who was allegedly pushed onto the tracks Monday afternoon.
?Someone needs to be fired for this @Nypost cover. It's classless, cruel and completely void of all integrity. You should be ashamed,? tweeted @ JasFly.
Others signaled out the photographer.
?Wow! enough time to take a few pictures. Why didn't the person help? ? What an age we live in when getting the picture is more important! I am appalled,? Joseph Monte wrote in a comment on the Post?s website.
Han attempted to get back onto the platform, the Post reported, but was crushed between the side of the platform and the train, which could not stop in time. Witnesses have indicated the man who pushed Han appeared to be disturbed and had frightened other riders as they waited on the subway platform.
Police have released a video that shows Han and another man arguing on the platform before the incident. Police said Tuesday they were questioning a 30-year-old man in connection with Han?s death and that he had implicated himself in the attack. No charges were expected to be announced before Wednesday.
The photographer, in particular, has been signaled out for criticism.
The Post reported that one of its freelance photographers, R. Umar Abbasi, had been on the platform of the station at West 49th Street and 7th Avenue. Abbasi told the Post that he attempted to warn the operator by rapidly firing off his flash.
?I just started running, running, hoping that the driver could see my flash,? Abbasi told the Post.
Abbasi said others on the platform also ran toward Han and the train after he was pushed.
Marc Cooper, a professor at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, said many people had rushed to judgment without a full understanding of the facts.
?Those who are outraged that the cameraman did not save his life need to ask themselves what they would have done and what they could have done,? Cooper said. ?Because from what I have seen, I am not convinced that the photographer could have saved his life.?
Cooper said that if the photographer could have helped Han, he was obviously morally bound to do so, rather than snap a photo. But the outrage at the Post?s decision to run the photo ?seems misplaced? unless their photographer actually could have saved Han?s life, Cooper said.
Although the headline was sensational, the photo has news value, Cooper said, because ?it makes us think how we treat others and what our toleration of violence is.?
?If we live in a society where people are pushed to death in a subway over a silly argument, then I am in favor of documenting that and showing that in all the horror that it is,? he said. ?Journalists do not shy away from depicting horror because there is horror.?
Some journalists took a different view on Twitter. On Tuesday, the Poynter Institute published a post that provided a roundup of comments from journalists.
?Sickening rubber-necking front page from the New York Post. Imagine how this man's family feels,? Ian Prior, sports editor at the Guardian newspaper in London, tweeted.
?that NY Post cover doesn't seem necessary at all...? Charlie Warzel, a digital media reporter for Adweek magazine, tweeted.
[For the record, 5:37 p.m. Dec. 4: An earlier version of this post spelled the victim's name as Ki-Suk Han. Actually, it?s Ki-Suck Han.]
[For the record, 8:39 p.m. Dec. 4: This post was updated to indicate that police said late Wednesday that the man being questioned had implicated himself in the attack and that no charges were expected to be announced before Wednesday.]
A simple question: Is this right? Is a picture like this appropriate to be put in a newspaper (let alone the cover)?
Now personally, I think this is going too far. It's one thing if it's something that is actually affecting people but the only people this is going to be affecting is the direct people involved. There is absolutely no reason I can think of why this was put on the cover except to exploit the situation and sell a ton of newspapers. With that said, some of our most powerful photographs in history have been far more brutal than this (example: The Vietnam General being executed; The Twin Towers on fire).
Just curious what others may be thinking about this...
STORY UPDATE: Since a few people have asked, the alleged "pusher" has been found and charged with second-degree murder. It's not first-degree (yet) because the prosecutors don't believe he intended to kill Han but had "depraved indifference" after he shoved him into the tracks.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/suspected-subway-pusher-charged-murder/story?id=17886112#.UMCbTINZXF0
UPDATE #2 FOR THOSE INTERESTED IN THE STORY: Naeem Davis (The man accused of pushing Han onto the train tracks) is claiming self-defense:
http://newsone.com/2096716/naeem-davis-murder-charge-ki-suk-han-subway-pusher/
?He attacked me first. He grabbed me,? Davis said.
It's also being reported by multiple news sites that 22 seconds went by between Han going to the train tracks and the train actually striking Han (although that just seems to be the photographers word from the news articles I've seen).
