Should journalists write about stories people don't like to hear? Today I was reading about Kevin Carter, the photojournalist who committed suicide months after his photo of a starving girl won a Pulitzer Prize.
The picture is of a starving girl in Africa being watched by a vulture, waiting patiently for his next meal. With the photograph's publicity come criticism from the public - most said it was wrong of him to take the picture, and that he could have saved her life instead. This website about the image has comments protesting that Carter himself is a vulture, that he watched her die. But some say that he was trying to let the world know about the situation to create even more of an impact.
I agree that as a journalist we can do more by sharing the story than we could do alone. But sometimes it seems the stories are a little to sensationalist. Some images and details can be disturbing to readers, and hurt the families of those involved.
Did Carter deserve to feel bad about shooting the photo? What would stop you from giving a story to the public?
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1 comment:
He should not feel bad for that photograph. What good can be done if we can't stomach reality? That photo was not created; it is real. You cannot move towards progress without knowledge and we need to have the backbone to face our world. We cannot stand ignorant or be content with an ignorant society.
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