I am speechless, and I wish the paper was speechless as well. Yesterday there was a situation in town where a man felt so despondent that he threatened his own life. His young son called 911 and the police, of course, came and helped this poor soul get the help he needs. Of course, this was big news about the town. It happened in our neighborhood, sort of... well at least close by, as our children go to the same school.
But what got my dander up was the fact that this poor man's picture is on the front page of the local paper. I ask, hasn't this man and his family suffered enough without taking up kitchen table space in almost every home in the surrounding 5 town area? Given the fact the paper in available on the internet, isn't their home life disrupted enough without cluing in the rest of the world?
I wish it was common courtesy to take people's personal trauma into consideration before posting images and publishing information in the newspaper or online -- which is worse. I know this man's daughter. And even if I didn't know her, no child needs this kind of attention. No family needs this publicity.
2 comments:
When I saw the paper that was my thoughts exactly! You said it a lot more eloquently though!
I agree with you. The media is very de-sensitized to the effect its reporting has on ordinary people.
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