Why publish images of death?

By Frank Craig, Editor
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Tuesday, June 22, 2004 


The photos of beheaded hostage Paul Johnson demonstrate compellingly the brutality, the inhumanity, and the deadly danger of the enemy we face. One of the more difficult decisions for a newspaper editor is the use of photographs graphically depicting death. 

I decided to publish in Saturday's Pittsburgh Tribune-Review a statement issued by Saudi Arabian terrorists who beheaded American hostage Paul Johnson. The statement included three photos of the dead man. 

Given the material's horrifying nature, Pittsburgh Trib readers deserve to know how and why I decided to publish it. 

I made the decision after consulting with many Trib editors and other staff. Some agreed with my decision. Some did not. 

The debate ranged over several hours and raised numerous concerns: Were the images too gruesome for newspaper readers? Would we appear to be "sensationalizing"? Does such material help terrorists by spreading their message, as well as fear or hatred? To many people, such photos only further dehumanize us all. Most disturbing, the photos tragically intrude into the grief of Paul Johnson's family, deepening their wounds. 

In spite of such concerns, I decided to publish the letter and its photos on an inside page, in black-and-white rather than in color and in a scale far reduced from the original size, to somewhat minimize its gruesome impact. I added a translation of the terrorists' statement. I placed a note prominently on Page 1 to warn readers of the material inside. 

These steps, of course, could not truly minimize the horror of this brutal act. Nor could they protect readers, especially young readers, from the repugnance most of us feel upon seeing it in graphic detail. 

So why publish it? 

Because the statement with its photos - issued so casually, like some bland press release - demonstrate compellingly the brutality, the inhumanity, and the deadly danger of the enemy we face. Words alone could not fully convey the cold-blooded savagery of this graphic declaration, with its gloating tone and its threat of more such acts. 

Americans must know without doubt, without flinching, without averted eyes, that threat's gravity and inhumanity. 

Like many newspapers and magazines, we previously published a photo of a smiling Pennsylvania soldier leaning over a corpse at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison. I felt that image was important to see, because it inarguably conveyed the cruelty that occurred there. 

When another American, Nicholas Berg, was murdered in Iraq, we published two images on Page 1, though no photos of the actual beheading. I felt the images we used showed that act's savagery as adequately as a more graphic image would have done. 

When four Americans were killed and mutilated in the Iraqi city of Fallujah, we published a photo of the overall scene. I felt that act's brutality could be conveyed through words without showing charred, twisted bodies hanging from a bridge. The murders in Fallujah were the kind of rampaging mob violence that has occurred in many countries. But a mindless, frenzied mob did not kill Paul Johnson, or Nicholas Berg before him. 

Those murders were viciously calculated, carefully planned and coldly executed by individuals who put knives to the throats of bound captives. Almost incomprehensibly, they recorded their savagery for the world to see. 

We live in a cataclysmic moment of human history. Iraq, Afghanistan, the terrorism in Saudi Arabia - even the unprecedented attacks of 9/11 - are merely tactical battles in a larger war with an enemy dedicated to destroying American and Western societies. 

If we lose that war, or if we choose not to fight it, the world and the lives of each of us will descend into the Dark Ages barbarity practiced by Paul Johnson's executioners. 

The photos published in Saturday's edition should offend and horrify you. 

I hope they also help you to comprehend the enemy's mentality and the extent of the danger we face.