I got this note from a reader today. It echoed several phone calls and messages we received in reaction to our Page 1 photo of a mother grieving in a funeral home near the open casket of her teenage son, who was killed while in state foster care.
“I am absolutely appalled at the poor taste used in today’s paper. Not only should the picture of a casket and a body never have been made, except possibly if a family member wanted it and I can’t imagine why they would, it certainly should have never been published by a responsible paper.
“Not only do your readers not need to see it, what about a child seeing it on a chair?
“Please use some discretion, I thought the body bags were about the worst you could do but you have topped it!”
This was my response:
“Thank you for your note. The photograph was made with the consent of the family, as indicated by the mother’s presence in the picture. I expect that the reason she supported the photograph was because she wanted the community to fully recognize the depth of the tragedy that had occurred.
“Newspapers sometimes are faced with the question of whether or not to publish disturbing photos. Usually, it is the underlying events that are truly disturbing, as in this case. Newspapers must decide whether to withhold a harsh image of a matter of public concern — such as the death of a child in state custody — or present the image, which is likely to be upsetting to some but also is likely to draw more public attention to the serious issue.
“In this case, we decided to publish the photo because, though it depicted a painful scene, nothing gruesome was visible. The dead child’s face could not be seen. In fact, there is only the least evidence that he is lying in the open coffin. It was not an immediately shocking scene that would upset young children. A mature understanding of the context was necessary to appreciate the painfulness of the moment.
“I appreciate your feedback very much. We have heard from some other readers, and we have had discussions among our editors about how we might handle a similar photo in the future. Your comments help guide us. Thank you for your interest in the News Sentinel.”
The Upfront Page
Knoxblogs.com
Jack,
The photograph of the deceased child captures much, much more than the horrible tragedy at the hands of a foster parent. The photograph captures and depicts the plight of so many children in the state’s foster care program after having been abandoned by or removed from their natural parent(s).
As markedly shown in the photograph, many foster children are alone, with only simple bland surroundings, void of any brightness or color, emblamatic of hope for the future and an understanding of the past, but encompassed by an absence of any intrinsic love or care for their well being. These children are very cold, having lost the warmth and energy of a traditional family framework they desire. Without these essential elements necessary for sustained growth and development, many of these foster children are already dead, they just happen to be living and surviving in the state’s foster care system, which is over capacity,underfunded, over utilized, and struggles to maintain a civilized structure in a chaotic morass which purports to meet needs of highly traumatized, abandoned, neglected, or abused children. These children are not broken toys beyond repair, ready for discard into the bowels of the communities they have struggled to exist in, however, they are the casualties of the destruction of the largest blanket of our social fabric and the collapse of the middle class, particularly in the rural areas of Tennessee, where meaningful job opportunities, educational systems, social services, and community mentoring assistance are extremely rare if in existence at all.
The stillness of the child depicted in the photograph is emblematic of the absence of appreciable movement or progress of young children without the necessary encouragement and reimforcement to better themselves, better their relationships, better their environments, and become a meaningful element of their family and their community.
In all fairness, the case workers, social workers, most foster parents, pediatric therapsits and childhood psycologists are working overtime in the state’s foster care system, putting in a lifetime of good works into each day they address, care for, and treat the abandoned, the neglected, the discarded, and incidental children captured by the last safety net under the trapeze of life.
The photograph should generate a tremendous amount of debate, not about what’s in the picture, but rather what the photograph depicts and describes about the plight of children in the foster care system. In this season of giving, the photograph should challenge each of us to ask the difficult questions about why we have thousands of children in our foster care system, what is causing this carnage, what are the life skills or parenting challenges which are missing, resulting in children without a family?
I agree with those that were surprised to see such a picture on the front page of the paper.
Why don’t you show pictures of our soldiers returning home in caskets?
Readers should be appalled that the boy died, not that KNS ran a casket photo on the front page.
My son (19)said, “Look, mom, he doesn’t even have any flowers.”
Yeah, Mom is alone, but not as “lonely” as her son was when she abandoned him. What could possibly make a child feel worse than realizing that a parent you lived with for 17+ years has given up on/given him away?
That is just one of the many tragedies surrounding this event.
Pam, Kodak
I can’t believe anybody could be offended by the antiseptic image of a “prepared” body in a coffin.
Artistically, I think the image captures the essence of the story. I would call it Pulitzer-worthy, when considered in the context of the story.
I read some of the other people’s comments and the only thing that came to mind is “Where is your compassion!?!” I think the picture is fine and it captures the story behind it. I see nothing wrong with it, except the fact that he doesn’t have any flowers. It’s sad when people don’t relize what the picture stands for. If a child asked me about the picture then I would tell them the truth. The problem isn’t with the picture it’s with the people who think it shouldn’t have been on there in the first place. It’s those same people who could help change a child’s life or think about a child that had/is going through this right now then something like this would never happen or have to be on the front page of the paper again. If people would act right and stop being babies about every little thing that goes on then maybe some of the problems in the world we live in today wouldn’t be here now! It’s a shame that people aren’t being concerned for the child in the photo. Instead they’re being more concerned for how they should hide it from other people, and their children. And the person who made the comment about wasting 50 cents is so wrong and lost in their own ‘perfect’ little world that maybe they should open up their eyes and look around. Those children need to be heard just as equally as the soldiers coming home in caskets. Don’t get me wrong, I have a cousin who went over there and isn’t the same because of it, but if you think one life is more important than another than you should seek help. I support our soldiers 100%, but here right now where you and I live a child just lost their life because of a person who was suppost to be helping and caring for them.
Testing comments
why not put it out there for all to see. and dont tell me how are kids are / could be subjected to it!my gosh , what are our children subjected to daily anyway, ???LETS NOT USE OUR CHILDREN TO HIDE BEHIND!
This is what needs to be reported on, its happening folks, wake up, just cause you want to hide from it, wont make it go away.
when the truths are told its devasting heartbreaking , and pictures like this , may cause someone to get involved, and in doing so, make it PREVENTABLE!!
LETS NOT HIDE THE TRUTH ,
The picture is not meant to just be a picture of a dead child. It is there to symbolize more. It is life, and it is sad…but it is something to be aware of. Nothing gruesome was shown here, and the picture was taken from a distance. I don’t think it is bad.
As I watch the Korman incidenct play out and being a single parent under the spotlight. I have spent my life as all single moms do in the shadow of OUR FRIENDS, NEIGHBORS,GOVERNMENT and FAMILY! We must be wrong! We are unable to provide a SAFE home for OUR children or provide a SAFE goeverment approved home for them If we don’t have a income that matches thier needs! If we don’t have MONEY it is easier to judge us as guilty. NO PARENT SHOULD BURY THIER CHILD
SO TO ALL WHO MISS THE PAIN THIS PARENT IS FEELING REMEMBER THIS IS NOT ONLY HER FINAL LOSE BUT HER SECOND BECAUSE YOU THE VOTER AS A AMERICAN VOTER AND THE POWER YOU GAVE THE GOVERMENT THOUGHT YOU ALL COULD DO BETTER JOB OF RAISING THIS CHILD ALLOWED ONE OF GOD’S CHILDREN TO DIE1 THIS CHILD’S MOTHER IS THE WEEPING WHILE YOU ALL STAND TO JUDGE, YOUR PRAYERS SHOULD BE WITH HER AS WE CAUSED HER THIS PAIN!!!!! MAY GOD FORGIVE US!!! BLESS HER FOR HONORING HER CHILD AND ALLOWING US TO SEE OUR OWN SIN! MAY CHRIST BLESS HER AND HEAL THE PAIN OF THIS LOSS