20070619 Iraq: Rules Change for Photos of War Casualties

Iraq: Rules Change for Photos of War Casualties

June 19^th, 2007

How would you like to open up the paper and see a picture of the blood of American soldier killed by a sniper smeared all over the floor?

Or worse yet, discover that the picture is of the blood of a loved one, friend, neighbor or colleague in arms?

Apparently the New York Times thinks it is all right: "Man Down: When One Bullet Alters Everything." Warning, the New York Times has seen fit to still have the picture up on the web…

Gee, now let me think about this… No, I don’t need to think about this. It is unacceptable…

Iraq: Rules Change for Photos of War Casualties

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=11193980

June 19, 2007

by Andrea Seabrook

All Things Considered, June 19, 2007 · The U.S. military recently has established new rules for embedded journalists in Iraq that require the signatures of injured soldiers before their images or voices can be used by the media.

This is a shift from the previous policy, which required that media outlets wait for next-of-kin notification before broadcast.

In January, The New York Times published "Man Down: When One Bullet Alters Everything," an article by correspondent Damien Cave that told the story of several soldiers and what happens when one is shot in the head by a sniper during an operation. Staff Sgt. Hector Leija, the man who was shot, died.

The story included a photo of one of Leija's fellow soldiers dashing to recover Leija's helmet. In it, blood smears the floor.

Cave says that he felt the picture was a "sign of how hard the military was working to save this guy's life."

The military and Leija's family didn't feel that way. The family was hurt, the military was angry. As a consequence, the military pulled journalist Damien Cave out of the unit with which he was embedded.

Read he rest here:

Iraq: Rules Change for Photos of War Casualties

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