The “future”
When the semester started in January, I felt like I had all the time in the world. I could spend so much time with my friends, go out and have fun, finish up my degree and still have a little free time to enjoy life. Well, it definitely wasn’t enough time.
Now it’s the middle of April, and we have one week left of classes. Looking back, I’m sadden that my time here at the University of Florida is almost over. I move in a little less then one month. I’m going to start a job in corporate communications and event planning. Don’t get me wrong — I’m looking forward to using the skills I’ve honed in my new job. I’m excited about making my own money and trying my hand at the corporate world.
I guess what I’m trying to say is be aware of the time you have left. There’s so much that’s unknown, but take advantage of the great things that are going on in your life right now. Live in the moment.
A day in the life of an editor
Media Ride-Along Report
Albert Isaac, Editor of Tower Publications Inc.
My lack of a car led me in search of a publishing company in Gainesville. I stumbled across Tower Publications and was well received by the editor, Albert Isaac.
Tower Publications is made up of the Buyers’ Guide, Our Town Magazine and Senior Times Magazine. It has 15 in office staff and about six freelance writers, copy editors and delivery drivers. Senior Times has a circulation of 50,000 people. Buyers’ Guide, which has a circulation of 65,000, caters to people looking to buy merchandise, get coupons or find out more information regarding area businesses reaches the surrounding 10 counties: Alachua, Suwannee, Columbia, Union, Bradford, Gilchrest, Dixie, Levy, Marion and Putnam.
My day was very hectic, as they were on stressed about an upcoming deadline for two of their publications. They were behind on a few things because Isaac had recently transitioned into the position, and he had no experience in this line of work. I shadowed Isaac on Feb. 25, 2008.
8:50 a.m. – Arrived at Tower Publications. The secretary had me wait a few minutes because Isaac wasn’t in the office yet.
9:02 a.m. – Isaac arrived. We were introduced and then entered his office. I briefly explained to him again about my assignment. He seemed eager to help out.
9:08 a.m. – Charlie Delatorre, owner and publisher, entered Isaac’s office. He wanted to confirm their meeting to discuss editorial changes for Our Town and Senior Times magazines. I was introduced to Delatorre before he left.
(Editor Profile) Isaac continued on about how he got started in the field. He attended the University of Florida and graduated with a bachelor’s in English. He always enjoyed journalism and writing in general but found that his true passion was in novels. Isaac went on to work at the medical examiner’s office for nearly 20 years, all the while working on his science fiction novel, “Endless.” He said his experience working at the medical examiner’s office helped him come up with ideas for his novel. Soon he realized he needed a career change and began freelance photography and writing for the Observer.
When the editor of Tower Publications announced her resignation, Isaac jumped at the chance to take her place. “It’s tough to make a living as a freelancer. I needed a change, and it just so happened that I got the job,” he said.
All of these changes came about within the last five months, so Isaac is still learning to deal with the challenges of being an editor. He admits that he doesn’t know much about it, but he keeps a good attitude.
”Everyone needs to realize that you don’t start out at the top. The odds aren’t in your favor. You’ve got to have that attitude and know how to promote yourself.”
He also attributes some of his success to stepping outside his comfort level and to doing his best work at all times.
“One philosophy that has worked for me is ‘do the work and the money will come.’”
9:40 a.m. – Isaac, Delatorre and the rest of the production team meet to discuss editorial changes to the online copy of Our Town and Senior Times magazines. Isaac goes over his notes with Hank McAfee, art director, and they make the necessary changes to the copy. McAfee has all the pages of each magazine uploaded to a specific drive on all the employees’ computers. Everyone can access the drive and save their most recent copy so that people like Isaac and McAfee can use it whenever they need it.
9:58 a.m. – While the editorial meeting was finishing, I met with Crystal Henry, the editorial and publishing assistant, to discuss resumes, clips and general advice for young editors. She also gave me Tower Publication’s ethics policy and let me look over their “book of knowledge.”
(Career Advice) Henry said that clips are the number one priority when it comes to hiring an individual. Next, they’ll look at buzz words in the cover letter to determine if that person will be a good fit with the company. “We want writers who are looking for that extra experience or experience in general, and we want people who are going to work hard. If the cover letter says things like that, we know they probably have what we’re looking for,” Henry said.
The resume isn’t as important as the previous two things, Henry said, because experience speaks volumes.
“If you’re willing to do the work, you can get a job — simple as that.” Henry said young editors shouldn’t be afraid of rejection but should keep on writing and submit articles all the time. She said editors look for people who can come up with their own stories and don’t wait around to be told what to do.
10:20 a.m. – I took pictures of Delatorre and production team member Dru Martin as they continued to go over copy.
10:35 a.m. – Isaac and I went back into his office to continue our interview. We talked about what sorts of changes he likes to make in the copy and why it’s so important to keep in constant communication with the production team about changes. We also talked about some of the policies that Tower Publications has.
(Policies) Because Our Town and Senior Times magazines don’t do investigative pieces, Tower Publications doesn’t have a policy on anonymous sources, identifying juveniles who committed crimes or identifying victims of rape. The do, however, have a policy on how fact-checking is done on their copy.
Most of the copy is written and edited by freelance writers and copy editors who are students at the University of Florida. Isaac said he has to trust his writers to get the facts straight, but he often has to double check the information himself. That’s why the company hard drive is so helpful. He can easily access the writers’ copy and address certain concerns in a relatively quick manner.
“You expect your writers to get it right, but we’re all human and we make mistakes” he said.
He started having monthly meetings with his staff to discuss their roles and what he expects of them in return. Isaac also knows the strengths of each of his staff and tailors work to those strengths in order to get the best product.
Isaac likes to keep the writers in the loop about the changes he makes to their copy. “They know more about the story than I do, so I e-mail them constantly with questions, clarifications or changes.”
Simple changes like sentence structure, verb agreement and spelling are made without discussion (although he does tell them why and help them to know what to expect in the future), but major changes are always an open dialogue.
Isaac says they keep a pretty simple policy: “If we’re stumbling on a sentence, something needs to be changed”
(Views on Ethical Policy) Tower Publications is in a different place then most publications because they often run copy that is paid for by advertisers (advertorial) and copy that is written by freelancers (editorial). Isaac stressed the importance of keeping this line very distinct so that readers don’t get confused. His job is to assign stories and edit them, and the advertising team deals entirely with advertorials.
“We’re serious about that. I don’t care what the perception is. We don’t want to blur the lines between our paid stuff and the stories we do on our own”
Part of that distinction is keeping the two departments separate. Also, all paid advertisement copy gets a disclaimer at the bottom of it and has no byline.
“As long as we’re honest with our readers with what we’re doing with our writers, I don’t see it as a problem” Isaac said.
I also spoke with Crystal Henry about the ethical policy because she was the one who gave me a copy of the binder Tower Publications hands out to new hires. Inside is a copy of the SPJ ethics code, a copy of Tower’s code of ethics, what it expects from new hires, and other information regarding the company.
Henry said that Delatorre’s opinion trumps everyone. In general, they do not publish expletives and they really try not to promote any negative stereotypes. If problems come up like this, reporters should seek alternative people to interview.
(Outside Influence) Tower Publications doesn’t generally have any sacred cows, but Isaac did mention that Senior Times Magazine is sponsoring the construction of a senior center in Alachua County. He said they often write positive stories related to the progress of the center, and some might feel that that is a sacred cow.
11:10 a.m. – McAfee brought more copy and page proofs into the office for Isaac to review. He looked over the changes that had been made in the previous meeting and signed off on the copy.
(Training) After McAfee left, I asked Isaac to tell me about any on-going training that Tower Publications requires of its employees. He didn’t know much because he’d only taken the position about five months ago, but he said he was sure they went to some weekend workshops. He also said that the advertising team does on-going training on their own, separate from the editorial department.
11:38 a.m. – Isaac had to back into a meeting with the production team. They were really trying to get all their copy edited because the deadlines here, so they constantly updated information during my visit. At this point in the interview, I started to wrap up my questions with Isaac.
(Pay) At first Isaac was comfortable with telling me his salary, but a few days later he e-mailed me and asked me not to print the figure. I assured him that his salary would be kept confidential. He also said they do not belong to a union.
11:58 a.m. – Isaac received a phone call and asked that I come back after lunch to finish up.
1:00 p.m. – I returned to Tower Publications’ office and finished up my round of question with Isaac.
(Fusion) Isaac told me that Senior Times Magazine is online, and Tom Reno of the production team is in charge of it. Reno has set up an online forum, which doesn’t get used much because of the clientele base, and an interactive calendar of events. http://www.seniortimesmagazine.com was launched in July 2007 and has the same stories that are in the print version, but it features more photography.
Tower Publications also has an online version of the Buyers’ Guide, which has partnered with PennySaverUSA.com and Google to allow visitors and users to search for items outside the local area.
1:27 p.m. – Isaac had a lot more work to do, so I thanked everyone for being helpful and left.
Gender Genie
Female: 1859
Male: 1490
I can see the insult coming now — “You write like a girl!” Well, I guess it’s kind of neat to see how many masculine words you use in your writing as compared to how many feminine words.
How did they determine words as masculine or feminine? Why is “the,” which I used 46 times in my story, considered masculine and “and,” which I used 43 times, considered feminine? I think it’s all a little strange to me.
Check it out for yourself at Gender Genie.
Week 11: Abstracts
This week I decided to do a little something different. I read Mark Glaser’s “The Working Journalist in the Age of the Internet,” Jakob Nielsen’s “Top Ten Mistakes in Web Design,” and Dan Gillmor’s “Journalism Isn’t Dying, It’s Reviving.”
I’m going to lump them all together because it’s getting to that time of year when my fellow classmates and I are looking for jobs and really trying to market ourselves in the ever changing world of journalism. In my Professional Practice class with Mike Foley, we often discuss the future of the industry. Newspapers are forced to make extreme budget cuts because investors want more and more in returns, but the money’s just not there. Are there really any jobs out there?
In order to make myself that much more aware, I took Communication on the Internet, a class that teaches about the beginnings of the Internet and how to write XHTML code. I really know nothing about computers and writing Web pages, but I know employers are looking for people who know what they’re doing. The University of Florida’s journalism program doesn’t require that a student takes online media courses, but I know it is planning to add more classes of that nature so that students can have the opportunity to really grasp the concept of online reporting.
I like how Mark Glaser goes through each element of the “old” and “new” way of approaching journalism. I’m nervous about having to work all the time and being addicted to my crackberry, but that’s the way the world is working now. Glaser says that journalism students should take advantage of the exciting possibilities out there on the Web. He talked about one student who asked his blog readers to help finance a trip to Iraq so he could report on exactly what they wanted to know. He ended up raising $15,000 and had such a reader-run site, it’s amazing.
Projects like that seem daunting to me. I’m trying to educate myself on Web design and writing specifically for the Web (Hence, why I read Nielson’s “Top Ten Mistakes in Web Design”). I’m trying to learn the fundamentals so that I have something to bring to the table when I finally do get a job.
And while the field of journalism seems like it’s coming to an end, Gillmor offers hope that it’s only becoming better. Hyperlocal journalism is truly catering to readers in small towns and specific niches. Citizen journalism is still working on investigative pieces with regular journalism, often funded by non-profit organizations. The world will continue to need news, it’s just the source of that news that’s changing. The Web is a wonderful innovation and it’s exciting to know that I will be a part of this historic change.
Week 10: Abstracts
Margin of Error
Why must polls be so tricky? UF should have an entire class devoted to just covering all those little nuisances of polling data. Yikes. It’s something I wouldn’t want to touch with a 10-foot pole.
Robert Niles’ article is a great reference for journalists when it comes to margins of error. I think newspapers should implement an on-going training session that re-evaluates how polls will be used in articles. It should also be constantly updated and there should be a reporter briefing around the time when presidential and primary elections are in full swing. It’s hard to remember all that 95 out of 100 stuff, so reporters should be constantly reminded.
Best case scenario: No polls would ever have to be used in articles! But, that’s not likely to happen. Make sure the poll was completed by a reputable company, the questions were not biased and didn’t make the pollster answer in a desired response and that readers are given all of the correct information regarding the margin of error and exactly what that means. A little disclaimer at the bottom just doesn’t do justice.
STATS
I really liked this Web site. It’s nice to see that there’s a non-profit organization out there dedicated to cutting through all the B.S. that some newspapers put out. Just out of curiosity, I read the article demystifying a Chicago Tribune article about how dangerous moderate drinking is. As a college student, I’ve been known to enjoy a drink or two and so do my friends. I just wanted to see what STATS uncovered. Their article was hilarious. I like how they presented the side of the Chicago Tribune but then also counteracted each statement with an equally true fact. It just goes to show that you can believe everything you read.
This is a great site that is truly doing investigative reporting. They’re looking at what’s being fed to the public and trying to correct all that information – wrong or not – that’s going in. As a journalist, I’d want to bookmark this page to reference if I’m ever working on a story that is using a lot of medical and scientific claims. Sometimes it may seem like we are reporting both sides of the story when, in fact, we aren’t.
NCPP
Going back to what I said about having an on-going training session for journalists who often deal with polls, this NCPP article is a great resource. Bookmark these questions and ask them every time you come across a poll. One of the most important questions to ask is who paid for the poll. By knowing where the source of income came from, you can make an informed decision on whether or not the poll is even worthy of reporting. It can help eliminate all kinds of biased coverage. Another important piece of information is determining just how many people were polled and where exactly they came from. Is it really a random sample of Americans? Was the poll only conducted through the phone or online? These types of questions can help you determine whether a large chunk of participants are young, old, republican, democrat, middle-class, upper-class, black or white.
Week 9: Abstracts
Local Newspaper
My hometown is Punta Gorda, Fla., and its newspaper is the Charlotte Sun Herald. When I checked the site, it seems that the Charlotte Sun hasn’t reported in a newsroom diversity report for non-white newsroom staff from 1990 through 2005. In 2004 and 2005, the non-white percentage of circulation rate was 13.2 percent. It seems Charlotte County is 90 percent white and 10 percent non-white. The 10 percent divides into 3.3 percent Hispanic, 4.2 percent black and .9 percent Asian and Pacific Islander.
In my specific zip code (33950) the average median income is around $41,000 and only 6.5 percent of the population is non-white.
Ethical Considerations of the Web Link
Bonnie Bressers presents many sides to the controversy surrounding linking in the ever-changing world of online media. Many people view “deep linking” as a form of theft because it allows viewers to access direct pages, therefore bypassing a site’s homepage and its advertisers. Others believe that banning linking violates the free flow of information that was the cornerstone of the Internet’s creation in the first place. I like the analogy that Bressers uses when she says: “Prohibiting deep-linking, they maintain, is akin to telling newspaper readers that they can’t read the sports section if they haven’t read the front page first.”
I really don’t see deep linking as a problem as long as the site is being used with the same journalistic integrity that would be used in print form. If the site is relevant to telling the story, then it should be included. And, nowadays, almost every site has advertisements on secondary pages. Just because someone doesn’t see the homepage, doesn’t mean that they aren’t getting access to paying advertisers.
Former managing editor of the New York Times on the Web Will Tacy makes a great point on how to view linking if it’s at all controversial. Writing on the Web should take the same considerations as print. Tacy says we should look at the links of controversial sites the same way we would a disturbing photo. “If it’s gratuitous, you don’t use it. If it’s vital to the understanding of the story, you do.”
I agree with Tacy. Some links are essential to telling the story, even though some might view it as controversial. Journalists should present the whole story to readers, and that sometimes means showing them something that makes them uncomfortable. And, the good thing about links is that you can warn readers before they even click.
The Murky World of Conflicts of Interest
The title of this article says it all – murky. Conflicts of interest are tricky little devils that seem to get in the way of good journalistic practices. My advice: When in doubt, you’re probably doing something conflicting. Step back and evaluate the situation. It’s like when you see guests on “The Maury Show” and they want their significant others to take lie detector tests to prove their fidelity. We all know that if you’re already accusing someone of cheating and you keep seeing all these clues and the trust is gone, why do you even need the lie detector? The relationship is over. The guest has suspicions that are more often accurate without even hearing the results.
It’s the same way with conflicts of interest. Who are you trying to kid? Yes, it’s hard to keep yourself out of the picture, especially in a profession that constantly asks you to use all the connections you have in order to get information. But, a reader can see things and lose that trust, and then they won’t even need a lie detector test to know you’re fibbing. It all comes back to that one word – murky.
Readers: Anonymous Sources Affect Media Credibility
I agree with all the ideas that readers and the Associated Press came up with to avoid anonymous sources as much as possible. They say to only use unnamed sources if they provide information and not opinion, if the information is not available except for under the conditions of anonymity and only if the source is reliable. Readers say journalists need to go out of their way to say that the source wants to remain unidentified, connect the source to the story and report how they would know that type of information and discuss all possible motives the source might have for remaining anonymous. I think these are all great rules to abide by when considering an anonymous source.
However, when the article says that readers are willing to wait longer for a more credible story, I can’t help but think that’s a lie. In today’s world of 24-hour news broadcasts and the Internet, where you can find any story you want in less than five seconds, I don’t think many readers are going to wait. We live in an instant gratification society. If you have to wait longer than two minutes for your morning coffee, you get uptight. These readers act like journalists have all the time in the world. Have they ever heard of a deadline? It’s definitely true that they want the most accurate information available, but when they say they’re willing to wait, I have to say I question that.
Week 9: Story Idea
I read on Al’s Morning Meeting about an article published in the Wall Street Journal outlining a new study that found that daylight savings time actually increases energy usage. The WSJ reported: “[Researchers] conclude that the reduced cost of lighting in afternoons during daylight-saving time is more than offset by the higher air-conditioning costs on hot afternoons and increased heating costs on cool mornings.” Another study conducted in 2007 by economists Hendrik Wolff and Ryan Kellogg said the same thing.
It’d be interesting to explore this idea, especially on campus where the Office of Sustainability is trying to become more prominent. I’d talk to Dedee DeLongpré, director, about this new information. How would they try to combat it? Is this the first time they’ve heard anything negative related to daylight savings? What can students do to help offset the increase of energy use? Do they plan on making this issue more prominent on campus?
I’d also like to talk to UF students about daylight savings. I know we all dread the “spring forward” aspect because we lose an hour of sleep, but what do students really think of it? Does the fact that it was originally designed to save money sort of clash with the fact that it really doesn’t?
Another good place to look for an interview would be GRU. I’d want to ask them about energy usage right after daylight savings time (March 9) in comparison to the days and months before it. Maybe they could give me an average usage for an average home in Gainesville. I’d see if they could try and calculate what an average bill would be if there were no daylight savings, or I would just do it on my own with the information given to me.
For the online aspect, I’d make a chart with the information gathered from GRU. I’d also interview students who live in apartments and houses to see if they would give me an average GRU bill for all 12 months to see how it pans out. I’d have a special section with audio, including interviews with Dedee and a GRU representative. I’d also have interactive graphics on the chart when your mouse rolled over certain spots that would show what you could be paying if there was no daylight savings. I’d also have a special section devoted to the history of daylight savings and why Benjamin Franklin’s idea started in the first place. I’d possibly have a timeline of important facts pertaining to the history.
A thankless job
Today I job shadowed an editor of a local publishing company. As a relatively new editor — having only gotten the job five or six months prior — he already had a great insight to the ways of the editing world.
We got to talking about how relatively unappreciated editors are for their work. If you print a completely flawless piece of journalism, there’s absolutely no recognition. It’s only until you make a mistake, or misspell someone’s name or get a quote wrong that readers are outraged as they type e-mails and flood the office with phone calls. Essentially, editors want to strive for perfection, but is anyone really thanking them for their attention to detail and willingness to read copy over and over again until they can’t even stand it anymore? Not really.
So, I say to you: Be kind to your editors! Maybe even give them a pat on the back or a genuine ‘thanks’ to brighten their day. I’m sure they’ll remember next time when they sit down to edit your copy and breath a sigh of relief knowing someone out there really does appreciate them.
Week 8: Story Idea
Since this week’s announcement that Fidel Castro is stepping down as president of Cuba, tension between the country and the United States could be eased a little bit. When, and if, the US embargo is lifted, many tourism professionals speculate that cruise lines will be knocking down the doors of Cubans to make the small Caribbean island a future destination. Because of the lack of quality hotels, cruises lines would be able to bank off of their luxury ships.
To make this more a localized story, I would bring in the Spring Break angle. Many UF students are planning to go on week-long cruises, and I’d be curious to see just how many would consider Cuba as a destination they’d like to visit. Would they have any hesitation about visiting Cuba? Does it all stem from a dislike of Castro? If for some reason the embargo was lifted and cruises changed their destination packages, would any of the students consider changing their plans?
I’d also ask the agents at STA Travel in the Reitz Union about this topic. Their phone number is 338-0068. If cruises to Cuba were added to major chains like Carnival, Princess and Royal Caribbean, would they see an increase in interest for the destination? What kinds of traffic to they see to visit Cuba regardless? What sorts of hesitations have they noticed when it comes to Cuban travel?
I’d also talk to an expert on the political background of why Cuba and the United States have had such turmoil in the first place. One professor I’d like to interview is Stephen Craig, who is an expert on American politics. I’d also confer with Dennis Jett because he’s familiar with U.S. foreign policy and international relations, specifically Latin America.
Online I’d feature this story broken up. I’d have a student section and then interviews of the professional angle. Some graphics might include a timeline of Castro’s reign in Cuba and its declining political stance with the United States. I’d also have a graphic of a chart highlighting the past 20 years of American travel to Cuba and how they traveled and where they stayed specifically. I’d also have some audio clips of one of the professors outlining the potential significance of Castro’s resignation.
Week 7: Abstract
How Do You Photograph the Amish? Let Us Count the Ways
Let me start off by saying that this article was very well written. Liz Cox Barrett was smart when she interviewed so many different journalists to get a picture of how you can deal with touchy situations, like the one that occurred in Nickel Mines, Pa., with the Amish school shooting. She talked to local photographers, big AP photographs, and newspaper and magazine editors.
My favorite of her interviewees was AP photographer Carolyn Kaster. She’s got a great outlook on being sensitive to people’s needs and getting the picture. Yes, the event is a news story, but it’s also someone’s personal moment that you may or may not be intruding on. Kaster has a funny quote at the end of the story that is so true. “It’s a small world.” You never know what you’ll come across tomorrow. If you step on someone’s toes and then you meet then again at another event, they aren’t going to be very receptive and you may lose the shot. Journalists have a bad enough reputation as it is. It’s important especially for photojournalists to be extra sensitive. A photo certainly identifies someone and he or she might not want that.
I took a photojournalism class last year and there are a few tricks you can use to help keep the space between a grieving person and the lens. Some of the editors that Barrett interviewed used these tactics. For instance, try shooting from a distance with a long lens. That keeps the photographer from being right in a person’s face. Also, don’t single out an individual or make them completely recognizable. The Amish believe that having their picture taken is a violation of the Bible’s second commandment. The editors were able to get great shots and still keep a comfortable distance from the Amish by utilizing these techniques.
News is news, but you have to remember, at the end of the day, you’re still dealing with real people who have real feelings and real opinions.
What the F—K Are They Driving at?
This article in the CJR is hilarious. We’ve always been told as journalists to never change a quote or to paraphrase if we can’t get it right. I think the same should be said for expletives used in quotes. Gal Beckerman uses the example of Gen. Tommy R. Franks and his use of the F word in referring to former Pentagon official Douglas Feith. The New York Times ran an article, took out the expletive, and avoided any controversy over using a curse word. But, by omitting that word, it literally changes the entire interpretation of Franks’ quote. Beckerman is right when she says that it tones down his anger into mild exasperation.
I think news organizations should stick to the no expletive rule, but they should also be flexible with that rule. I’m not saying that every Jo Schmoe who uses a curse word in his interview should be printed, but high standing officials and people in the public light should be taken into consideration. A general is someone who is very high up in the military ladder and is also looked upon with respect and dignity. The fact that Franks would call Feith the “fucking stupidest guy on the face of the earth” is something that people should know. And like Beckerman says, if you’re not going to print the word, then at least let the readers know that you’re not so they can make their own assertions.
You Be the Editor
My abstracts deal with taste and sensitivity, and the article “You Be the Editor” is one that asks readers for their opinions regarding some gruesome photos taken in Fallujah, Iraq. Author Roy Peter Clark lists a bunch of questions one might ask oneself when considering a horrific photo like the one the New York Times ran showing burnt and dismembered American civilians hanging from a bridge while Iraqi citizens cheer. Clark asks whether you’d print it if the bodies were military, whether they were women or children, whether they were naked, or whether or not you could distinguish a face.
While I was reading some of the responses from people, I felt the same. One person said that the media coverage of Iraqi and the war has been pretty mild, yet it’s not giving Americans a chance to see the “truth” of what’s really going on. Another reader is disgusted over the photos and says there’s really no reason to publish them except for the shock value and the desire to sell more papers. It seems that most of the responders were in favor of running the photos because they represented a news event and also helped hit home what is really going on in the Middle East.
It’s so hard to tell what I would have done in this situation if I was an editor of a major newspaper, but I think I would have leaned more toward running the bridge photo. It’s a clear indicator of the kinds of horrible things that are going on because of the chaos in Iraq and beyond. The job of a newspaper is to report the truth and let readers make their own assertions and opinions based on that information. Yes, the photo churns my stomach, but sometimes I need a little reminder of just what people are really capable of.
Journalism: A Deeper Look 