I'm always dissapointed with the Local Brandon News Paper to display pictures of Victims, either on a stretcher or being attented to by Paramedics in the paper. The Victims are still loved ones and I would not like a picture of my loved one in the paper like that. Many times, those loved ones sadly did not make it or overcome there insuries at a later time. Would You like to see your loved one in the paper like that?

Edited by admin, 2012-06-19 00:03:29. Reason: Title

The Brandon Sun is doing its job.  
 
Your attempt at not naming the Brandon Sun by using the phrase "Local Brandon News Paper" defeats the purpose. If you were trying to get around the rule of not naming a local business, you still identified them. Same reason I hate it when the Sun calls eBrandon a "local message board". If you are going to identify the site or business anyway, just say the name.  
 
As for your complaint, they are doing their job. There was a fire and a lady died, they went with the story and had a picture of the incident. It is news.  
 

I guess that attempt of mine wasn't good, either way, I didn't wanna mention the BS. But youre right, I indentified them, and I do not know the rules about that, let me know the rules if you know.  
 
As for my "complaint", I just shared my dissapointment, as I feel they could post other pictures in the news from fires and accidents without the victims in it.

I agree other pictures of the incident should be used out of respect for the victim.

I don't see any problem at all with the picture on the front page today. I'll leave it at that.

have the names of the individuals who are convicted of drunk driving...driving while texting..assaulting their spouse.. etc.We either get all the news or none at all!!

It is the paper's job and business to take pictures and write stories. It is what the media does. Pictures are reality. It may be sad sometimes but life and death are reality and so is everything in between. Trying to bury ones head in the sand doesn't make it go away.

my2cents said "have the names of the individuals who are convicted of drunk driving...driving while texting..assaulting their spouse.. etc.We either get all the news or none at all!! "

A shame page for local offenders is in order. I think a little public humiliation it might help cut down on crime. It would be better if victime faces were not shown.

I remember a few years back there was a stabbing downtown where the young man- a father, a brother, a son, a friend (not of mine, but a friend to others)- did not survive.  
 
I remember being wholly disappointed with the paper choosing to make their front page picture (a full half page) one of the paramedics with this guy on a stretcher, shirt cut open, blood everywhere.  
 
If I remember correctly, this young man had young children- children who might accidentally see that picture of their father in the last minutes of his life, while they were standing with a mom/aunt/grandma/family friend in line at the gas station. And it wasn't just the children. If that was my dad/brother/uncle/friend I would have been traumatized enough dealing with his death; I would have been beyond angry with the BS for publishing a picture of what SHOULD be a very private time for my family.  
 
Yes, the public has a right to know certain things- that's why journalism is it's own field in the world of business. However, the family of the victim also has a right to grieve in private.  
 
When the RCMP finally figured out what happened to Erin Chorney, I remember at least 2 full pages full of story and pictures- pictures of where she was killed, what she was killed with, where she was buried, etc. Her family had been dealing with her disappearance, and then finally having to come to terms with her death- at the same time that all of Westman was not only told, but SHOWN the intimate details of that last night.  

Edited by admin, 2012-03-26 14:29:56. Reason: off topic reference

I don't think this is an issue limited to the Brandon paper. I've seen questionable pictures on the front of other local area papers including deceased individuals. Haven't seen a Winnipeg paper in a long time but I suspect they probably do the same thing. Most media is all about sensationalism after all.  
 

Edited by admin, 2012-03-26 14:30:14. Reason: off topic reference

I haven't seen the picture in question and probably won't, but the type of photos that a newspaper might decide to display is a topic very worthy of debate in this community just as it is any other one. I'd appreciate if this discussion thread stayed on that particular topic as opposed to deteriorating into a more general expressing of any grievances with the particular publication as that isn't really the intent of the thread.  
 
On this topic the link below might give some idea of what criteria is important in the decision-making process in this type of situation as a paper tries to strike a balance between presenting news and doing it in a way that it believes is most appropriate/responsible:  
http://journalism.about.com/od/ethicsprofessionalism/a/graphicimages.htm  

of the front page from their Facebook page.  
 
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150765954549750&set=a.308930959749.180482.307365199749&type=1&theater

Trevor B said "of the front page from their Facebook page.     https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150765954549750&set=a.308930959749.180482.307365199749&type=1&theater "

I would not my loved one on the front page like that.

Decker said "It is the paper's job and business to take pictures and write stories. It is what the media does. Pictures are reality. It may be sad sometimes but life and death are reality and so is everything in between. Trying to bury ones head in the sand doesn't make it go away. "

No I would not like it if it was me, or my family etc. But I do understand it is news, and the business of news.

I also just checked out the photo. Maybe I am the only one here but I don't see anything wrong with the photo.

its unfair to both the family of the deased and those firefighters. They just went through hell and get to go home and see them with a body.

How many times do you people watch something on the Winnipeg News stations involving death and think nothing of it? What makes the paper so different? Or is it only okay to bitch out the Brandon Sun for doing it's job? If there were no pictures of news items on the front page you would all be criticizing them for not covering news stories. Some people can never be pleased.  
In my opinion there is nothing wrong with that photo. You see some firefighters who worked their asses off moving a stretcher. There is no face, or body visible that I can see, just the implication that there is a body on the stretcher. I could see some disdain for the Sun if they ran a photo of a badly burned body on that stretcher with nothing covering it, but this, this is tame compared to some of the things that get published in international editions of newsprint.

As this general topic has garnered further opinions in another thread I thought I would in stead give folks a chance to discuss the topic here rather than have that other thread be taken over. If anyone has anything further to say on the topic of victim or graphic photo use in the media, please feel free to share.  
If this is a topic that interests you, if you haven't already I'd encourage a read of http://journalism.about.com/od/ethicsprofessionalism/a/graphicimages.htm  
 
Edited by Adam, 2012-06-19 00:11:28

There are morally good and morally bad ways of doing a job. The OP is talking about the morality of how the Brandon Sun reports the news. Stating that the paper is doing it's job is irrelevant to the OP.  
 
I don't think any of us are fooled that the sun prints these kinds of pictures because they are concerned that the public is informed enough. You know very well that they are looking for dramatic/shocking photos to $ell.  
 
I don't understand how Nordberg can get so bent out of shape about whether the Brandon Sun is mentioned or not, yet shows no emotion whatsoever about the issue of the victim's family/friends.

It's news, news can be dark things happen and this is the outcome, the reasoning behind what happened notwithstanding, quite frankly it doesn't matter how or what happened, the end result is what it is, but that picture shows the reality of trains vs. humans, some people believe it or not don't realize this. That picture if nothing else can serve to educate further down the line.  
Further the train operator, emergency personal and everyone involved down there see it, hospital staff see it, before it's all said and done a lot of people will see it.  
To me it's no different than posting a vehicle in a bad car accident, actually that's almost worse in a sense, at least this way the person as unidentifiable. My point is though that taking pictures of the train 300 feet down the track isn't doing this story justice, when they do that you read person it by train and you think a million things, all the who what where when and why and often you make assumptions. Showing an accurate picture like this takes all that out and it puts the focus squarely where it needs to be and that's on the poor individual involved.

They are doing their job - and are getting information out to the public. I believe Brandon Sun needs to have way more photos - where are their pics of the Court House, and the people involved in trials there? Let them do their job - so we can be more informed. Goodness -  
 
The photo regarding the train track victim today - was portrayed with dignity, and protection of the victim was honoured. Good work Brandon Sun.

No one can do their job anymore without someone complaining.  
 
Their job is to grab the top headliners for the front page to get people to buy, and if that means a "graphic" image, then so be it.  
 
Take off your rose colored glasses and remember that we do not live in a peachy keen world. You see worse on the news ON TV, and I know a lot of you old folks watch the news religiously, I hear a TON of you say that day in and day out.

Several years ago 2 members of my immediate family were killed in a car crash. I happened to be watching the CKX 6:00 news which reported this, showing the scene and the bodies (covered). It was only later that evening that I discovered who these 'bodies' were. That sight has haunted me ever since.  
 
Sorry if I may have 'rose coloured glasses' on, but I fail to see that showing the bodies as opposed to just showing the cars and accident scene enhanced the 'news'. How was that more informative???  
 
I know this thread is about the Brandon Sun, but I wanted to add my point of view, as having 'been there'.  
 

I have a love hate relationship with it. I love to hate it. Ok I like the Sun and it does many many things well. I could give you a long list of its short comings though over the last 4 decades but a long memory serves no one.  
 
Victim pictures must be the hardest decision a editor has to do. In my opinion the News can do no right or wrong here. Someone will not like the choice that was made.  
 
If the face is blurred and no one is identified at the time I say all is fair game. If the photo crew knows going in who it is/was that is a grey area. It is a no go in my opinion if the Id of the person is known. If they choose to run the picture with no faces shown but identified in the article that is another issue.  
 
 

izzy-c said "Several years ago 2 members of my immediate family were killed in a car crash. I happened to be watching the CKX 6:00 news which reported this, showing the scene and the bodies (covered). It was only later that evening that I discovered who these 'bodies' were. That sight has haunted me ever since.     Sorry if I may have 'rose coloured glasses' on, but I fail to see that showing the bodies as opposed to just showing the cars and accident scene enhanced the 'news'. How was that more informative???     I know this thread is about the Brandon Sun, but I wanted to add my point of view, as having 'been there'.     "

I've been on the "other side" several times as well.  
 
I myself had two family members killed in a car accident several years ago, and a friend killed in a car accident just a couple years ago. Maybe I'm just thick skinned, but seeing them in the paper did not "haunt" me.  
 
The news has a job to do, and since they are being paid, might as well show something that will get the people watching the news, or buying the paper to read it.  
 
Again, maybe I am thick skinned like I said earlier, seeing as I have been on both sides of the coin.

i don't believe we should hide from the facts of life, maybe the picture might get others to take the potential dangers more seriously if they see what could happen

I see absolutely nothing wrong with the photo in the paper today. All a person has to do is read the headline and exactly what a person would picture in their head is exactly the same picture that is in the paper.  
 

It just doesn't sit well with me. The very fact that news outlets choose pictures that push the envelope to because they believe it will sell more customers is something I take issue with. Is that true? Do you want to buy a paper covering an accident more if you see a dead person on the cover? Is the news any more informative because they choose to show a body?  
 
I guess I was raised to respect the dead and to me (in a non-judging way) I believe that it is distasteful to try to make profit off the image of a diseased person especially if the photo is in no way necessary in order to tell the story.  
 
I get that they are doing their jobs but it just sits wrong with me.  
 
Edited by Mela, 2012-06-19 10:02:31

saw today's picture on the other thread and while it is not something i want to see everyday, i also know that it is sadly, reality. most people do not want to see death but i dont think the picture is distastful. the body is covered and there is no gruesome aspect to it, IMO.  
 
newspapers and tv news coverage are there to portray the news and are supposed to be an unbiased coverage of it. unfortunately, when you know the victim(s), this can be harder to understand. i have never been on the other side of it so i can not say how i would react if it was my loved one in the picture. i imagine it would make me feel sick though and i would not want to see it, so i can understand the other point of view as well. i dont know how well this would go over or if its even possible, but wouldnt it be nice if the news asked the family members if the pictures could be shown(the pictures with people in it i mean)? i imagine this wouldnt always be possible though as the news is just that, news.  
 
my condolences go out to this man's family and also to the people in the train. witnessing something like that, can not be easy.  
 

I don't have an issue with it as long as it is tasteful. In this case, it's covered by a sheet. It may serve as a reminder to people how freaking dangerous it is to be near the tracks! If it prevents one more accident then at least his death won't be completely meaningless.