May 13, 2008...11:36 am
Earthquake in China shakes Spain
This morning thispicture was published on the front page of ADN, a free daily newspaper in Madrid. When I went to ADN’s on-line site to find the picture, I came across this image, this one and this. I appreciate the guts it takes to print graphic images like the one that ruined my morning ride to work. I asked myself “would something like this be printed on the front page of The Eagle? Or even The Times?” Journalism in Spain is much different than in the US. Perhaps it’s because I misunderstand the context of many articles, but it seems to me that reporting is much more personal. At times it can seem lazy, at others, invasive. Photo journalism is on a completely different level than in the US. After spending three years in Spain I still find myself shocked and bewildered by some images that I see floating around the metro or disregarded on the street. Are these images - sometimes grotesque and gory - really necessary? Can we have a little compassion for the deceased and their loved ones? What about a persons right to privacy? On the other side of the coin I feel that Spain is fulfilling it’s journalistic duty to it’s citizens by not shielding them from the bloody truth. Literally.
Leave a Reply